Back 2 Love 2015 Featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in Houston
By Vanshika Vipin
HOUSTON: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the rising supremo of the soulful music, brought in the peace of the Sufi music and the magic of qawwalis to the NRG Arena on May 24, in Houston once again. Organised by Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum Shows in association with Amir Makhani of Shaks Entertainment and Sunny & Khurram Khairani of SK event, this show was a complete sell out. The arena was filled with music lovers who had gathered to listen to their favourite singer crooning to the different genres of music from qawwalis to sufiyana sangeet to ghazals to latest Bollywood music.
Rehan Siddiqi, the man behind the series of successful concerts, managed a record sales for the show thus creating Houston to be the only destination in USA witnessing such huge number of turn out for the Back 2 Love tour of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Houston audience has always showered love and praises for this coveted singer and the jam packed arena was just the standing testimony of the affection.
God resides in the details. Rehan proved the quote right by distributing more than 7000 roses to the audience and giving them a warm welcome. The concert started with an enthusiastic welcome by Rehan followed by one minute of silence observed for the recent earthquake victims in Nepal and the gory terrorists killing in Pakistan. He then welcomed the Ustaad on stage. Incidentally, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is the first ever Pakistani musician invited to perform at the 2014 Nobel Peace prize concert.
Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan paid tribute to his uncle and mentor Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at the start of the show. They played a small video of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan featuring julelaal dum mast kalandar as a token of respect. The opening song Tere naam tak was enough to get the attention of the entire audience hooked on to the stage and the screens. The show was being broadcasted on various channels across the globe. Then followed the Rahat Ali standards like allahu allahu allahu, a Bollywood hit Mein tenu samjawake, and others like Koi bole dariyan hai, Surili aankhiyon wale, Tumjo aye zindagi main bate ban gayi, Tere bina tere bina dil naiyo lagda and many more.
The musical trance was broken with a small break for refreshments. Rehan Siddiqi took this opportunity to thank all his sponsors including Rolls Royce who were a part of the same show in 2013 too. He thanked Maharaja Jewellers and Prasla Law firm who were the associate sponsors and Shanai restaurant who were the hospitality partner. He also gave a special mention to Noor Ladds who had been generous to book 2000 tickets and support the event.
After the mini break which was infused with a belly dancing performance, Rahat reclaimed the stage back and started off with the musical treat. He started with ghazals like tere aankhon ke dariya ka, and Yeh jo halk ahalka suroor hai. And then progressed to the more generic choice of Bollywood music like Dagabaaz re, Main jahan rahu, O re piya, Teri meri prem kahani hai mushkil and Taak te rehte tujko saanjh savere. The audience was left wanting for more of these songs but as all good things have to end, so did this concert end at past 12 am. The last song was the super hit track damadum mast kalandar, it got the entire audience swaying and dancing to the number.
The show was indeed a mega success. The Qawwalis were splendid and Ustaad’s impromptu improvisations and playing with the sargam were lajawaab. He has a unique way of playing with the notes with such ease that it bears the hallmark of an extremely talented vocalist who has immense mastery over classical music. At the end of the show, Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said , “I love Houston, I have performed all over the world but the feeling I get, and the support I receive every time in Houston is overwhelming and humbling” .
The organisers were beaming with joy after the seamless execution of the mega concert. Rehan Siddiqi thanked his partners for the support of this event, namely Mashood Kaiser of World Food, Faisal Kamal of Embassy Suites and Mike Batches of Mercedes Benz, Sugar Land. He had words of encouragement for his sounds and light team that gave a magical experience to the audience, managed by DMMS with Arif Memon as the Technical Director.
Before ending the concert, Rehan also announced his next upcoming shows for the Houston audience, FUSION featuring Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Prabhu Deva and a team of 90 performers at NGR Arena on August 21, Arijit Singh on October 3, at NRG Arena, The Living Legend; Asha Bhonsle on September 5, at NRG Arena. The tickets for the concerts are now on sale, available at Sulekha.com
For further details about the show and for upcoming shows contact Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115 Or visit Hum Tums Shows website at www.humtumradio.com