Guitar Fest 2016 kicks off with a bang

A true showcase of talent was staged at the Sixth Annual Guitar Fest at the first leg of their four-city tour at Royal College Colombo. 

The music played encompassed an eclectic taste of sounds, from jazz, rock, country, Brazilian to Sinhalese. The instruments used were as varied as the melodic sounds. Rare instruments such as the Dilruba and the Sarodh could be heard, with more common string instruments such as the harp and electric guitar.

Classical Spanish guitars were not only used in the traditional way but as drums to produce simple beats. Wind instruments were also used such as the flute, accordion with simple percussion instruments. 

The island’s young talent was on stage as well as seasoned performers from Japan and India. A young lady by the name of Ms K. P. Thilangee stole the show with her use of the Spanish guitar. It was a brilliant performance and she is sure to go on to become a well-recognised artist.

The crowd even joined in signing when they were taught the chorus to a Brazilian piece by Ken Gonzo Sugamata for which he received a standing ovation. This is his third time performing at Guitar Fest and he says next time he would compose a song about Sri Lanka. 

In the closing speech given by one of the performers Andrew Obeysekara of the rock band Stigmata, he stated that the performers do not get paid and this makes If you would like to here this magical mix of talent and music which is completely free, there still is time to catch them at Kurunegala, Mihintale and Jaffna on the 25th, 26th and 27th of January respectively.

Pix and text by Dilantha DIssanayake