Tens of thousands enjoy Miles' London concert
Bangla rock music has come a long way in the past four decades, and has a fan following even outside the country at a scale that not many would imagine. Case in point: the concert by Miles in London this past week that drew a staggering 45,000 people.
Miles front-man Shafin Ahmed revealed the number to The Daily Star, when he spoke about the concert. In what was essentially a Baishakhi Mela (fair) at the Weaver's Park in East London organised by the semi-government Tower Hamlets Council, Miles headlined the show Shafin called “Our biggest concert overseas in the long history of Miles.”
“And it was not just because of the big number,” Shafin said. “We were surprised to see that British Bangladeshis know our songs so well. They sang along and made requests, and that is how we knew that they know our music. And even the arrangement was fantastic, from the stage, sound, logistics and backstage, it was very professionally organised, and the British community was engaged in it” he added. “ntv broadcast the concert live. BBC Radio covered us with a full-fledged interview, and a number of local radio channels and Bangladeshi TV channels based in the UK also did good coverage there,” he added.
“Bangla rock music has a strong following abroad, and we feel it every time we do shows. We performed in North America right before the London show, and we have performed before across North America and Europe, and we can see that the audience is growing every year,” Shafin added. “And especially in the UK, the scenario is changing. Years ago, there were mostly people of one social cluster that lived there. But now there a lot of youths who have gone there to study from the urban areas here, and they are familiar to our music.”
Rock music has had its difficult years probably even well into the '90s when it was not accepted by the mainstream media, but it has grown from strength to strength with contribution from a lot of young and veteran musicians who have stuck to their guns. The fact that a Miles concert in London can draw a crowd as big is testament that Bangla rock music has stood the test of time and regional boundaries, and that can give a lot of hope to every aspiring rock musician of today.
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