Joy Bangla Concert: Well worth the wait 

Popular band 'Lalon' did exactly what they are known for – make the crowd go wild with their songs. 

The band's frontman, Nigar Sultana Sumi, interacted extensively with the crowd, both during and between songs. "To all the women out there," Sumi asked, "Do we have to do the right thing at the right time?" The stadium went wild. She craftily used this as a segue to their first track 'Somoy Gele Sadhon Hobe Na'. The band performed 'Pagol' at last, driving the whole crowd to a literal and hysterical frenzy.

The Joy Bangla Concert has been an emerging platform for rock bands since 2015. It was held on 7 March, every year, commemorating Sheikh Mujib's historic speech. However, in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Joy Bangla concert was put on hold for two years. But the show was brought back to life this year, and it was one to behold. 

The seventh iteration of the show was held on Wednesday, 8 March, on the International Women's Day, at the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Rising stars Arekta Rock Band (ARB) performed alongside established acts such as Artcell, Cryptic Fate, Nemesis,Karnival, Meghdol, and Avoidrafa. The concert went on between 1 PM all the way past 11 PM, kicking off with ARB and ending with a newly invigorated Artcell. 

This concert, every year, reinvigorates the slogan 'Joy Bangla' amongst the youth. This year, the show also celebrated womanhood. Every band dedicated a song or two to all the women of the world.

When ARB officially kicked off the show, the crowd was thin in numbers. However, it did not take long for the stadium to start filling up. Fortunately, Dhaka's stalemate traffic was not an issue that day, as most organisations were observing the holiday of Shab-e-Barat. Even before ARB could get to their last song, the crowd thickened.

Karnival took the stage next, and Tinu Rashid's melodic vocals resonated throughout the stadium. By sundown, the whole venue was packed with people. 

Almost all the bands began with a patriotic song. Rafa performed 'Ek Sagor Rokter Binimoye'. Lalon began with 'Purbo Digonte'. 

Stalwart heavy metal band 'Cryptic Fate' came on next and they too began with the patriotic song 'Teer Hara Ei Dheuer Sagor'. The band's vocalist Shakib Chowdhury's powerful voice gave the song a grave timbre, doing it justice. Cryptic Fate's 'heavy' style of music was brilliantly highlighted in their performance of 'Akromon'. Shakib, being the star performer he is, growled "Akromon", and the entire stadium lost their collective minds. They also performed 'Rong' by The Watson Brothers, which was a clear crowd favourite. 

Nemesis was urged to perform 'Kobe', arguably their most popular track, as soon as they got up on stage. They, however, kept it for last; understandably. They also covered the patriotic song 'Maa Go, Bhabna Keno', and they gave it a Rock 'n' Roll treatment. 

Chirkutt took to the stage at a quarter past 9 PM. A full moon lit up the night sky. Their frontman Sharmin Sultana Sumi looked at the moon and said, "Such a lovely moon demands a love song," and began performing 'Prothom Preme Morey Jawar Gaan'. The song was really to die for. 

At around 9:45 PM, Chirkutt left the stage for Artcell. Why Artcell stopped making new music after just two albums was one of the longest running mysteries in the band scene, until the release of their third studio album 'Otritiyo', released earlier this year, breaking a 17 year silence. 

They began the show with 'Birprotip', a song from the latest album. They also performed 'Otritiyo' along with their older popular tracks. Whether this Artcell is the same as we remember from their glory days is a subjective question. Some love to hold on to their glorious past and look at them through that lens. Some see them under a new light. But at the end of the day, Artcell knows how to rock a concert, and they did, as expected. They closed the event late into the night – past 11 PM – with 'Dukkho Bilash'.