On any night of the week, in Kathmandu or Pokhara, there's no shortage of bars with a band playing. In the tourist areas of Lakeside or Thamel you can walk into just about anywhere and there will be a group of scruffy-looking youths with electric guitars, banging out forgotten english hits, from the 80s and 90s.
It's not that i don't love the trip down memory lane, when i am in Pokhara I always go to the same bar and the two cover bands there know all my favorite songs. But sometimes you want to hear something authentic, something Nepali, something good! If i wanted to listen to english covers every night I could have stayed home!
Its not that there are no good, original Nepali bands. Nepal is full of brilliant musicians and bands. Some of them even get gigs but they are often badly advertised. On a Friday or Saturday night, in Pokhara or Kathmandu, if you want to see Nepali music it is really difficult to know where to go. Eva Haase did a post on Dhori folk singing in Kathmandu and I can't wait to check it out when i get back. Other then that I have no idea where to go to regularly catch a good band.
My favorite Nepali band are in Pokhara tomorrow and I am going to miss it** NOTE**. Nepathya are rumored to be playing a few songs at a Trade Festival. Nepathya are a folk-rock band with a very definitive style and sound. Amrit Gurung, the vocalist is regarded as a bit of a living legend, his words appealing to both young and old.
I am really jealous of my friends who are heading out to see them. I did get to see them live once. It was on my very first trip to Nepal. I didn't know anything about Nepali music. I am embarrassed to admit I didn't realize who i was watching until about a year later. I wish I had payed more attention because I feel like I might have wasted my only chance to see them live
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