Tonight’s the night for Country Roads!
The colonial splendour of the Mount Lavinia Hotel will be coloured with shades of the Wild West as the much awaited Country Roads Concert 2014 is held tonight at 6.30 p.m.
Singing for a cause: The Mavericks, Astrid Brook (above) and (below) Feizal Samath at a previous show
Country Music Foundation (CMF) president Feizal Samath is convinced “the décor is going to be spectacular.” Cowboy hats, wagon wheels and even a few horses are all a part of this evening’s attraction at the concert. That’s just the setting: the concert will have a veritable feast of country music performed by some well known performers from the UK, Germany and of course, our homegrown talent.
Soulful singer Astrid Brook from the UK and the rollicking German band The Mavericks led by the effervescent Dirk Glaessner have returned with new music and some old favourites as well. An addition to the line-up, Feizal says, is Sri Lankan group Anno Domini who have come on board the Country Roads bandwagon for the first time. They are gearing-up along with a few other more familiar names at the concert–Cosmic Rays and the Country Revival Band to have the audience singing along to those grand old country classics.
Special because the concert itself is an effort in aid of children, Feizal and a few others will perform a popular and meaningful tune with their children in a Country Roads first. It has always been about the cause for the CMF who tirelessly put the event together every year. “It originally started off as a one time show- a feel good project,” says Feizal who has been the moving force behind this long-
Familiar faces: Tyronne of Cosmic Rays (right) with his son
running effort. Going from strength to strength every year, proceeds from the show have been used to initiate and carry out projects that benefit children. This year, partnering with Save the Children, the CMF hopes to fund a certification for tea that assures the product is made in a child-friendly zone.
“It’s a nice feeling” for Feizal and the CMF who have seen the concert blossoming from a one-time initiative to a full-on brand. Encouraged by the positive response he says, “we have some regular patrons who come for the music as much as they do for the cause.”
Despite the positive vibes organizing the event has been a challenge, says Feizal, who contemplating a break in the following years, feels that this could be the last Country Roads Concert for a while.
The Country Roads Concert-Music with the Power to Heal will take place at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, this evening at
6.30 p.m. Tickets priced at Rs. 2000 and Rs. 1500 are available at the hotel. So come on down and enjoy the music – a song for
the children!