The second edition of the Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Achievements Awards (SEPMA) has officially kicked off with a Digital Musical Summit that brought together Pakistan’s biggest musicians, inlcuding the established names as well as prodigies.
The Summit in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad began with a white carpet event which was attended by musicians, producers and other bigwigs of the industry. Keeping in mind the nature of the situation we are currently living in, team SEPMA ensured that all SOPs such as social distancing, wearing of face masks and hand-sanitization were followed by every guest.
The summit in Karachi took place at Koel Cafe and was hosted by actor and host, Hira Hussain. Alongside her, Shaista Lodhi, Sidra Iqbal and Faizan Haqquee acted as moderators for the discussions.
Some of the biggest names in entertainment industry were invited to speak at the musical summit, including Javed Sheikh, YBQ, Omar Omari, Saqib Malik, Ali Tariq, Alizeh Valjee, Saif Samejo, Irfan Pardesi, Ali Ashraf, Rasikh Ismail, and Faakhir Mehmood. The summit began with a welcome note, followed by speakers who discussed music-centric topics such as:
The evolution and future of music in the digital age, legacy of music — sur aur kahani, role of music in performing arts as well as its importance to the government, music in brands and marketing, evolution of music in films, importance of justice and compassion in society through music, the future of music post COVID pandemic, connection between music and mental health and between food and music and the subsidization and budget of international music.
Read: Shaan-e-Pakistan brings SEPMA’s Digital Summit for music lovers
The three-month long SEPMA event, led by Huma Nassr, will go global, bringing together musicians of all genres, providing them with opportunities to be heard internationally.
The guests line-up in Lahore included Shafqat Amanat Ali, Seemi Rahael and Shahzad Nawaz. In Islamabad, Shahnaz Minallah, Naeem Zamindaar, Dr. Masuma Anwar Bangash, Abbas Ali Khan, Ali Ashraf, Arieb Azhar and Sarmad Ghafoor participated at the summit which took place at Eco Haveli on Peach Street.
On the occasion, Huma Nassr, stated, “This is the first digital Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Achievement to rise during these difficult days of a global pandemic. Music connects all areas of life, and SEPMA connects and collaborates all industries to raise the cultural milieu of Pakistan and Shaan- e-Pakistan internationally. Of course, music connects all and SEPMA mix tape volume 2 shall bring forward more original music by talented Pakistani musicians.”
SEPMA 2020 aims to repeat its best practices of the previous year, bringing together the Pakistani music fraternity to celebrate the diverse works of singers and musicians from all parts of the world. unfortunately, the physical presence of the event which was due to be held in Sri Lanka would be missed, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers have made the best use of different digital mediums available to get the word out for the Summit. On-ground events are continuing as planned with the proper safety procedures being put in place. The SEPMA team has re-strategized the award show to be engaging and entertaining, despite severe on-ground restrictions.
