A retrospective of 2024 events in Bangladesh's music industry

Bangladesh's music industry, in comparison to previous years, had a comparatively successful year in 2024. 

This year was celebrated with a plethora of big-scale concerts and programs immediately following the chaotic July Uprising events; however, the industry was busy throughout the year with several noteworthy incidents.

On the day before Pahela Baishakh this year, the third edition of Coke Studio Bangla came out to enamour the fans after its first two successful seasons. 

Developed and curated by the incredible singer, songwriter, and music producer Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, Coke Studio Bangla immediately captivated listeners with three of its releases - 'Tati' (Arnob, Oli Boy, Jaya Ahsan and Gonjer Ali), 'Ma Lo Ma' (Pritom Hasan, Sagor Dewan, Arif Dewan, Aly Hasan) and the much-acclaimed remake of legendary band Warfaze's evergreen song 'Obak Bhalobasha' by its original singer and former Warfaze vocalist Babna Karim, alongside the current line-up of the band.

Showcasing a promising line-up including some of the country's most popular music stars such as Habib Wahid, Emon Chowdhury, and others, Coke Studio Bangla's third season suddenly went on a lengthy hiatus 7 months ago after the release of 'Obak Bhalobasha'. Even though the three songs garnered multi-million views, music lovers are still patiently awaiting the rest of the third season, and Arnob told local media that the songs will surely hit the platforms YouTube, Spotify, and Facebook of Coke Studio Bangla very soon.

2024 has also been the year of several mega concerts, most notably the much anticipated one-night-only reunion of the popular Bangladeshi band 'Black', the eminent Indian-Bengali actor-filmmaker-musician Anjan Dutt's mesmerising 'Anjan Dutt Metropolis Volume-2', the blissful solo concert of Bappa Mazumder at KIB, the much-hyped throwback concert to the golden days of band music in Bangladesh titled 'Dhaka Retro', and several other concerts featuring prominent Bangladeshi bands and music artists including Nagar Baul James, Miles, Artcell, Shironamhin, ARK, KaakTaal and more.

The July Revolution became a significant changemaker in the country's music industry. Many prominent music artists such as Prince Mahmud, Latiful Islam Shibli, Asif Akbar, and others, and several bands publicly joined the movement. A number of bands boycotted their future participation in the ousted Awami League's yearly flagship event, the 'Joy Bangla Concert' - and protested on the streets when young rapper Hannan Hossain Shimul (Rapper Hannan) was arrested due to his rebel rap track "Awaaz Utha" that resonated with the rebellious reform movement in July-August. The entertainment industry also protested when popular band 'Joler Gaan's vocal Rahul Ananda's Dhanmondi home was burnt and looted on August 5 as a result of the post-revolution outbreaks of violence.

Bangladesh Musical Bands Association [BAMBA] initiated the inaugural major live event, the 'Mukti Concert' in remembrance of the revolutionaries and their families who suffered injuries during the student movement, which was later cancelled. However, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) surprised the netizens with the largest open-air concert of the year titled 'Shobar Agey Bangladesh' (Bangladesh First), celebrating the 54th Victory Day on 16 December at the capital's Manik Mia Avenue.

Interestingly, Bangladesh also welcomed and celebrated several major Pakistani music artists and bands this year, with the 'Legends of the Decade' concert featuring Pakistan's rock icon Jal, 'Magical Night 2.0' in Dhaka featuring the popular Pakistani music artist Atif Aslam, and the most recent two nights performances of the subcontinent's eminent singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. 

Back in March this year, the 'Tecno Spark 20 Series Music Fest' was headlined by the Indian sensation Badshah, alongside several acclaimed Bangladeshi artists.

Venue selection has been a recurring issue in this year's concert, most notably after the July Revolution and the unavailability of the city's go-to venue for the concerts, the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB). 

Due to mob attacks on shows and other security reasons, many organisers had to shift their concerts to other venues - and the 'Legends of the Decade' concert featuring Pakistan's legendary rock band Jal fell victim to this, as the concert - which also marked the long-awaited return of Aurthohin's Sumon after his life-threatening illnesses, had to be shifted from Purbachal's Dhaka Arena to the North Court of Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka, which disappointed many concertgoers.

Due to these situations, Army Stadium had been the default venue of the later major concerts featuring Atif Aslam, Abdul Hannan, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, but the venue's strict restrictions (such as the prohibition of cameras-power banks, etc) and its location in the busy area of the airport created dissatisfaction among audiences and media professionals. Another venue of the Bangladesh Army, Senaprangon at Mirpur hosted the 'Dhaka Retro' concert, but that location too was a hassle for the fans.

Even though the majority of the artists are not affiliated with politics, several artists, unfortunately, fell victim due to their political ideology and identity. Artists namely Baby Naznin, Ethun Babu, Monir Khan, and several others could not perform on the country's stage for a long time due to their political affiliation with BNP, and these popular artists have now returned to the industry with their full potential after the July Revolution.

Several of the movie songs captivated the audiences throughout 2024, and the top chartbusters 'Dushtu Kokil' 'Laage Uradhura' and 'Pheshey Jai' were from Shakib Khan starr superhit film 'Toofan'. 

Many other notable songs also enamoured the audiences including 'Beche Jaoa Valobasa' from 'Deyaler Desh', 'Borbaad' and 'Rajkumar' from the film 'Rajkumar', 'Manush Keno Erokom' ('Last Defenders of Monogamy') and 'Megh Balika' ('Kacher Manush Dure Thuiya'), to name a few.

At the end of the year, it can be stated that 2024 was an active year in the Bangladeshi music industry, and listeners and concertgoers are looking forward to another wonderful year ahead, hoping to be delighted by a plethora of events.