The two-day long Nepal Music Festival kicks off today at Bhrikutimandap park in the Capital.

The festival will feature a total of 16 bands and artists comprising of Nepali rock scene, in the likes of Cobweb, Shadows, Monkey Temple, and Jindabaad; and up-and-coming acts such as Pahenlo Batti Muni, Didi Bahini, Ma and Swopna Suman, among others.

The fest will also see a performance by eminent tungna player Bir Bahadur Biswokarma. The concert will serve as a fundraiser for Biswokarma, who despite being visually-impaired has been supporting himself and his family solely by playing tungna in his native district of Sindhupalchok.

Besides musical performances, the fest will also host spoken poetry recitals by poets Nawaraj Parajuli and Samip Dhungel; food stalls and gaming stalls. This is the fifth edition of the festival, which started back in 2012. Entirely run by the efforts of over 80 volunteers, the festival is sponsored by Tuborg.

Speaking to the Post on the eve of the fest, festival manager Prajjwal Kattel said that the objective of the festival is to get the movers and shakers of Nepali music scene together and have fun. “Through the fest, we aim to promote the Nepali music scene, and provide a platform for musical acts to perform and connect to the audience,” Kattel said. “We want more and more youths to get in touch to Nepali music scene, which we believe would go on to uplift the existing condition of the industry.”

The first day of the fest will see performances by eight acts. The fest will start with a performance by Electric Air and will wrap up with Shadows’ performance. The festival will run from 12 noon onwards.