Music of Sri Lanka - Where to find it
Hey Folks,
One thing I dont see mentioned much in travel guides or online is the music of Sri Lanka. As a music lover its something I always try and seek out and catch the traditional music of the country I'm visiting.
I dont mind either if its modern, local pop
ock or dance though I would be learning more towards the traditional side of things.
Can anyone have any recommend any location for live music, preferably of the instrumental type rather than the singing/dancing performance though I know sometimes they can be very intertwined. Travelling via Kandy, Ella, Galle and back to Colombo so looking for anything in these locations.
Cheers,
P
Sri Lanka has a very wide range of music styles, from Western-style pop to classical Indian music to local folkloric poetry called pal kavi. So it is difficult to understand what you are looking for. On any weekend, mostly in the bigger urban centers, there are concerts of most of these types.
Below is a clip of one of the monster hits that went viral internationally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgCliOxl41o
Cheaper option would be to travel in one of our long distance buses for around 1 hour or so and you will get to hear a lot of the music band stuff typically dished out in musical concerts in large open spaces.You could try one of these big night time concerts provided you have at least one Lankan to accompany you. Try your phone for our music too. Dial up local stations and much of their stuff is music. Srilanka is heavily into retro so you would find plenty of 80s/90s given airplay in local English stations. Thinking folk or traditional? Then better check into a cultural show in Kandy where Kandyan dance based music is displayed. A lot of drums in different varieties get to dominate our traditional music.
Edited: 2:17 am, January 13, 2025There's a lot for you to explore in terms of Sri Lankan music, but the sticking point is the live performances. Today the vast majority of music played live is aimed at a layer of youth who are interested in a sort of mourning at valediction. lol. The main focus is on bass sounds rather than any other instrument, and mourning about a girl rather than anything else. However there's also excellent music which has been totally hidden in the heap of what's known as "bus songs" which are meant to make a huge bass noise to drown anything else inside mainly long distance buses.
You can check online for any concerts at BMICH etc on your dates, and buy a ticket. If you mention your dates of visit then someone here might even name a few shows you could be interested in, if available.
Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka is the only one that plays orchestra music, and they focus on western classics.
