New Year on the right note

Serenade your way into 2079 with the many sounds of Nepal from 14 - 20 April at the Dhokaima Music Festival that will bring together the traditional and contemporary melodies of Nepal and abroad to bid a fitting farewell to the year gone by.

The festival will begin with a gentle folk flute performance, followed by the regular Yala Maya Classic which has been traditionally held on the second day of every Nepali month for over a decade. 

“Music in Nepal is a rich confluence of various genres and all these tunes are like cousins of each other,” says organiser Sunniv Rajbhandary. “So it made sense to bring them together for a festival on Nepali new year where people can join in, relax and appreciate the ever evolving culture of Nepali music.”

Day 3 will be the Namlo mini music festival with artists Uḍumbara, Kutumba, Namlo and the NMH Children’s Choir, while the finale of the ongoing Drum Jatra 2022 will take place on the fourth, presenting the highlights of the percussion festival.

Then after a short break of three days, on 20 April, the finale of the festival will host a surprise concert, opened by Bibhuti. 

In the vibrant music scene of Nepal where rising and established artists co-exist harmoniously, Rajbhandary believes that the music festival will be the perfect addition to support original music by musicians across genres and generations. 

Likening it to the variations in art, he adds that this will allow the artists an intimate platform to showcase the changing forms of expressions, which in turn reflect the changing times, societies and attitudes. 

Dhokaima Music Festival

Dhokaima Cafe, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Day 1: New Year’s Day

1 Baisakh (14 April), Thursday

Folk Flute music at Dhokaima

Entry free

Day 2: Yala Maya Classics

2 Baisakh (15 April), Friday

191st edition of Yala Maya Classics

Entry free

Day 3: Namlo Music

3 Baisakh (16 April), Saturday

Namlo mini music festival – Folk music / Community / Food

Featuring Uḍumbara, Kutumba, Namlo and the NMH Children’s Choir

Entry: Rs250 (for ages 5 - 11) 

Rs500 (for ages 12 and above)

Day 4: Drum Jatra Finale

4 Baisakh (17 April), Sunday

Showcasing the top highlights of Kathmandu’s percussion festival

Entry: Rs1,000

Day 5: Surprise Event

 7 Baisakh (20 April), Wednesday

Opening act by Bibhuti. More detail to be revealed.

Entry: Rs500 (pre-sale)

Rs1,000 (door)