Jaffna Music Festival

International Groups
Chirkutt from Bangladesh became popular in the Bangladeshi scene with the release of their debut full-length album "Chirkuttnama" (2010). Their powerful lyrics, energetic and unique compositions, varied use of eastern and western instruments and musical scales, elements of fusion and folk music offer a very distinct local sound. Nirtya Nandan will be a mother-daughter duo performing several accompanying dance items.

Harmonia Do Brasil from Brazil are the sweet voiced Nanda Garcia, the singer, plus the trio Alessandro Cardozo, playing the small guitar (a Brazilian instrument known as ‘cavaquinho’), Charles da Costa with the acoustic guitar, and Netinho in charge of percussion. The trio has been playing together for the past 14 years throughout the main cities in Brazil. They have participated on several music festivals all over the country and they have also recorded "Brasileirinho", a CD and DVD launched in 2005 that participated on Cannes Film Festival. For the Jaffna Music Festival, Harmonia Do Brasil will play a miscellaneous collection of Brazilian music: samba, bossa nova and choro, among other rhythms.


Casa Murilo from Norway began with two Englishmen who met two Norwegian girls in Brazil. They met a great man called Murilo. When the two Englishmen later left Brazil for Norway, they named their band after him as a dedication. They are well known on the Oslo underground for their wild, energetic live shows. They released their second album “The Rise And Fall” in 2012.


In Jaffna, you will meet the two founders of the band, Chris Winfield and Dan Hesketh who will also perform at the main stage with the Bangladeshi band Chirkutt, whom they met during the 2012 Casa Murilo Asia Tour. The two bands quickly became musical friends and gave a large joint outdoor concert in Dhaka. In Jaffna, to everyone’s delight, they will meet again. What do you get when you mix an indie-rock band from Norway and a folk fusion band from Bangladesh? A very good time!


Ila Arun Troupe from India is a led by a leading folk and Bollywood singer who has been working with Rajasthani folk artists for the last 30 years and has brought folk music and folk dance of Rajasthan into the mainstream of the Indian Music Scene and made it popular all around the world. The group consists of folk singers folk dancers and musicians playing rare folk instruments.
Sabreen Association from Palestine focus on live and public performances, networking with musicians, public productions and music in schools in the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The musicians performing will be Charlie Rishmawi a multi-instrumentalist who enjoys many musical genres; John Robert Handal who is a percussionist; Joseph Duqmaq who is an accomplished saxophonist/pianist and Mohammad Abu Hamdah who specializes in Folklore Dabkeh and contemporary dance.

Hat-trick and Fiddle from Norway are Ulf-Arne Johannessen and Erlend Viken, two up-and-coming performers offering a small taste of the Norwegian folk tradition. They will demonstrate Halling, a highly competitive music
and dance tradition, where men are like roosters trying to impress women with their skills. 

They will also be performing with Nritya Nandan, Bangladesh and Aru Sri Art Theatre, Sri Lanka. Nritya Nandan from Bangladesh, is a vibrant dance duo who are versatile dancers in Maipuri, Bharatha Natyam and Oddissi, They are also popular Bengali Folk dancers who depict the lively, colourful, and rhythmic local folk culture. They will combine together with Hat-Trick and Fiddle, Norway and Aru Sri Art Theatre, Sri Lanka. Aru Sri Art Theatre from Sri Lanka will feature a selection of classical Barathanatyam and Kandyan dancers who are also engaged in Folk and Contemporary dance. They, together with a selection of eminent classical musicians, are to collaborate culture and skill in the dance programme between Hat- Trick and Fiddle, Norway and Nritya Nandan,Bangladesh.