Cokefest Brings Pakistan’s First Digital Music Festival

Cokefest is returning, and this time you can experience the music festival from your homes. Partnering with two of the country’s top tech companies, Cokefest has put together the first-of-its-kind digital music festival to deliver a concert-going experience. Through this first-ever digital music festival in the country’s history, the innovative company has found a safe way to entertain the masses with some great music.

Fahad Ashraf, GM Pakistan, and Afghanistan at The Coca-Cola Export Corporation said, “Coca-Cola is disrupting the new normal by creating a virtual event enabled through latest technologies. With CokeFest 2020, we wanted to avoid large gatherings whilst still keeping the spirit of music alive. So we brought some of the best musical talents in Pakistan together with the country’s leading tech companies, to bring you a virtual experience that feels as close as possible to attending an actual musical concert”.

Starting on 20th November, the three-day digital festival is powered by Patari and Tapmad, and promises a live concert experience.

Yassir Pasha, CEO of Tapmad, a local video streaming platform, explains what the aim was behind the platform’s tw-way communication experience. “Our strategy was to create dynamic two-way communication in terms of content integration with the user.”

Explaining how this will pan out he said, “The concept is that you can watch content on the player while you can shop the look (you can buy what the artist is wearing!!!!) and if you’re hungry you can shop the food options below. Basically, we managed to integrate promo-codes literally raining on user screens for them to catch and avail, all the while experiencing Cokefest!”

Sharing her thoughts on the need for providing underground artists with a launching pad like Cokefest, Patari CEO Zarlasht Faisal says, “Many of the artists in this line-up have not been picked up by mainstream brands before,” said Faisal, “but Coke has been super supportive and trusted our instinct.”

Explaining how the Cokefest 2020 line-up was built, she said, “We selected the artists based on what people were listening to on our platform. Each one of these artists has been in the top trending list on Patari and we are confident that this emerging talent will set the (digital) stage on fire!”

Here’s a sneak-peek at the 12 extremely talented artists that Cokefest 2020 is going to feature:

  • SomeWhatSuper

This Lahore-based new-age music group comprises Talha Dar and Feroze Faisal, and is best known for the smash hit single called ‘The Sibbi Song’. Released in early 2017, the song went on to share the stage with Atif Aslam at the Lux Style Awards!

This musical duo has been making waves and capturing hearts along the way, promising a fun-filled selection of EDM music for their Cokefest audience.

  • Young Stunners

The pioneers of Urdu rap in Pakistan, Young Stunners first released their music in 2013 with major hits like Burger-e-Karachi and Maila Majnu before rising to stardom. The band’s duo, Talha Anjum and Talha Yunus, are best known for their rude but brilliant lyrics and are hailed as the naked-voice of the youth.

  • Kaky Thousand

At the helm of Kaky Thousand is a 9-year-old Baloch rapper Waqas Baloch. The music prodigy has shown the country that he is a superstar in his own right and is here to stay – loud and proud! He has been practicing rap with his older brother – who gave him the name ‘Kaky Thou$sand’ – since he was five.

Inspired by Bohemia and his Punjabi rap, this little star has shown Pakistan that age is literally just another number – talent can come from anywhere, at any time. Rattling expectations of hearing grievances, his debut track Apna Daur Ayega is not only inspirational and uplifting, but it also puts all faith in hard work – we hear you!

  • ESharp

Music that couples a good sense of humor is this Karachi-based indie-rock band’s forte. With three albums under their belt, the band members Ahmed Zawar, Anwaar Ahmed, Qumber Kazmi, Asher Minhas Damanwala, and Rajil enjoy a huge national fan-base.

The third album, Choti Choti Khushiyaan, can literally turn that frown upside down. Their infectious onstage energy will have you wanting to sing and dance along – so if you don’t know the words to their songs – look them up right now!

  • Abdullah Siddiqui

Abdullah is many people and talents in one: an electronic pop-rock singer, a songwriter, and a producer. The talented 20-year-old has collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the country. Abdullah is based in Lahore and has set his genre of music apart from any other likely to be seen in the country. His collaboration with fellow Cokefest artist, Shamoon Ismail was instantly loved by all who listened.

He also partnered up with Meesha Shafi to produce a deeply melancholic track called Magenta Cyan. This will be his first appearance on Cokefest and is bound to be transcendental.

  • XPolymer Dar

Apart from being a solo artist, the Islamabad-based Punjabi rapper Mohammad Dar aka XPolymer Dar is also co-founder of the band Rap Engineers, a veteran rap group that started producing music in 2005. One of his famous productions includes the OST for Verna featuring Mahira Khan. Xpolymer is also known for introducing rap-battle in Pakistan through the They-See Battle League and has become a pillar of recognition for Pakistan’s rap scene.

  • Shamoon Ismail

Having entered the local music scene six years ago, this man hardly needs an introduction. Creating his own genre called Jutt Blues, Shamoon has managed to bag nominations at the Lux Style Awards for two consecutive years; Singer of the Year in 2019 for Marijuana and Song of the Year in 2020 for Late Night from Brown Sugar!

  • Natasha Baig

Hailing from the breath-taking valley of Hunza, Natasha is one of Coke Studio’s multi-talented artists; an athlete who played under-19 cricket as an off-spin bowler in district matches, who is now pursuing a successful career singing sufi-rock. With her single Jawab-e-Shikwa on Coke Studio, she showed-off the strength in her beautiful voice, taking the world by storm, quickly becoming an international favorite!

  • Sirine Jahangir

Sirine has an inspiring story. She started losing her eyesight when she was 9-years-old but refused to let that stop her from living out her dream. For her, music is salvation; and the world agrees! She made it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, and has since given one powerful performance after another. While Sirine will not be flying into Pakistan due to corona, she is excited to reach out to her Pakistani fans and has promised to give a virtual performance to remember!

  • Ali Noor

This veteran rockstar’s riveting music pumps loud and proud from literally every car-stereo in Pakistan! With an entire entourage of original songs, this man is ready to knock the shoes off of our feet!

“A lot of the line-up chosen is a mix of younger, hotter acts like Kaky Thousand, Young Stunners, and being given the opportunity to play at a trendy platform like Cokefest is a dream come true for them and a party on our screens for us!” says Faisal. Moreover, all these brilliant Cokefest artists will also be revealing the coveted Coke Studio 2020 lineup!

To register for the event all you have to do is follow these simple steps:

  • Download the Patari app on Android or iOS
  • Register and sign-up for Coke Fest (Patari x Tapmad)
  • Use the unique code provided to view all three days of the event on the Tapmad app or website! (Android | iOS)

You can buy official merchandise and avail crazy food discounts, witness the hottest acts in Pakistan perform live, and get a peek into Coke Studio 2020! Sign up for the party of a lifetime starting November 20th-November 22nd.

See you all there!

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