“Welcome to Afghanistan” Free Concert in Golden Gate Park (SF)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Seven Seas Music and Value Culture welcome you to a free music concert Friday November 5th, 2021 4pm-7pm at the music bandshell in Golden Gate Park celebrating Afghanistan artists. Both Seven Seas Music, an international music discovery and licensing platform, and Value Culture, a non-profit presenting organization, are local burgeoning businesses embracing world culture. This concert reinforces Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This concert is in partnership with Illuminate and the San Francisco Parks Alliance. The concert is free and open to all ages, and will also be streamed live on Stage It (www.stageit.com/). More information available at www.valueculture.org.

Welcome to Afghanistan will feature Afghani artists Kabul Dreams, Mozhdah, and Qais Essar.

[Kabul Dreams]

Kabul Dreams is a rock band from Afghanistan established in 2008 in Kabul. The band consists of Sulyman Qardash (lead singer and guitarist), Siddique Ahmed (bassist) and Jai Dhar (drummer). Kabul Dreams has paved the way for a modest but growing rock scene in Afghanistan, rebuilding itself after decades of war. The band’s motivation to perform came from their own love for music, but also from a public hunger for a new life after war – a life that included new music and art. In 2014, the band relocated to Oakland, California.

[Mozhdah]

Mozhdah Jamalzadah is an Afghan singer, actress, and talk show host. Referred to as ‘The Oprah of Afghanistan’, Jamalzadah hosts The Mozhdah Show, which often touches on issues such as women’s rights. Over three decades ago, she was forced to leave Afghanistan after the country plunged into civil war following the fall of the Soviet Union. Together with her family, the singer escaped first to Pakistan, and then found refuge in Canada, where she now lives in Vancouver.

After years of tracking her country in the news, Jamalzadah decided to take up journalism as a profession, but soon gave up that dream after realizing that singing was the fastest and most effective way of getting her political messages across.

[Qais Essar ]

Qais Essar is a contemporary Afghan composer, instrumentalist and producer who channels his melodic designs through the rabab, a 2,500 year old instrument from Afghanistan. He has toured extensively, sharing his new genre of music nationally and internationally. Essar has released two LPs, four EPs and one live album. His first LP, The Green Language (2014), quickly became an Amazon #1 bestseller, followed by his second LP, Tavern of Ruin in 2016. He has contributed original music to feature films also. In 2017, Qais was recruited by director Nora Twomey to compose an original song for her Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated film, The Breadwinner (produced by Angelina Jolie). He earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination for “Best Original Song” for his piece The Crown Sleeps. Additionally, he orchestrated a sold-out run of the musical Tear a Root from the Earth at the OBIE award winning Ice Factory at the New Ohio Theatre in New York City. Essar continues to be featured in festivals and venues around the world including the Newport Folk Festival, SXSW, The Kennedy Center, Treefort Music Festival and more.

[Music Bandshell at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco]

Live music has returned to the Golden Gate Bandshell’s iconic stage with a series of free outdoor concerts in Golden Gate Park, courtesy of Illuminate, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and community partners. The free, all-ages concerts will run through the end of 2021, with Singer-Songwriter Wednesdays, Jazz and Soul Fridays, Cultural and Community groups on Saturdays, and Reggae Sundays, as well as many special events.

The free concert series was planned for Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020, a yearlong celebration put on by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance. While the series kickoff was delayed by the pandemic, the Golden Gate Bandshell was upgraded with a new stage, built-in theatrical lighting and state-of-the-art Meyer sound system.

The 120-year-old Golden Gate Bandshell is the oldest structure in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, an open-air plaza built for the 1894 World’s Fair. Also called the Spreckels Temple of Music, the Bandshell was a gift to San Franciscans from sugar magnate Claus Spreckels.

For Value Culture inquiries email info@valueculture.org for Seven Seas Music email bmw@sevenseasmusic.com

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.