FESTIVAL PRESS SO FAR:
"Afghanistan's first rock music festival [in thirty-five years] is being conducted like an urban guerrilla campaign. With the time and location of the main concert event kept undisclosed until 24 hours prior to showtime, the hope is that local extremists won't see it coming. But sometime in late September or early October, a stage somewhere in Kabul will be rocked by an explosion of jubilantly distorted guitar..." The Ethical Ear
"I entered the venue through an unmarked door that opened into a dimly lit room. The shadiness was intentional. The festival is considered a stealth operation; event details are disseminated last minute via texts, e-mail and Facebook notifications to trusted members of the music community in Kabul..." The New Yorker
"Musicians who play in societies where there is a serious danger from repressive governments or violent extremists are putting something real on the line. They tap into an uncomplicated notion of authenticity that's not easy to find in the West anymore. And that's fucking rock and roll..." The Atlantic
"Aren't you mad, doing this in Kabul?" BBC The Strand
Other media coverage already includes Aljazeera, Altsounds.com, BBC Newsbeat, Central Asia Online, Fergana News, FILTER Magazine, FreeMuse, The Guardian, HELO Magazine, Huffington Post, MSNBC, NBC, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Reuters, RIA Novosti, UN Dispatch, and on Facebook
We are SOUND CENTRAL: The Central Asian Modern Music Festival. Sound Central is Afghanistan & Central Asia's first regional rock music festival, as well as Afghanistan's first rock festival since Ahmad Zahir's show in 1975. It will be held in Kabul, with opening and closing nights in New York, September 15th to October 14th, 2011. This is a critical time in the history of Afghanistan & Central Asia. Musicians and youth in the region are more empowered than ever before. But at the same time, the Taliban who banned recorded music when they controlled Afghanistan 1992-2001, as well as radicals from Iran to Uzbekistan, continue to threaten or harass musicians and modernists.
We're creating this global event based in Kabul as a way we can build solidarity in a non-partisan, not even political but simply musical way. You will be joining supporters as wide and wonderful as: Kabul Dreams (Afghan), Ariana Delawari (Afghan/USA), The Dresden Dolls (USA), Blurred Vision (Canada), Acrassicauda (Iraq), Eklektika (Kazakhstan), Tears of the Sun (Uzbekistan), Poor Rich Boys (Pakistan), Maral (Iran), and others.
The New York events this fall will be fully publicized and we welcome your support! Any funds raised will go to supporting musician workshops and solidarity in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The Kabul events which include a workshop for musicians, side shows, and a main event, all in late September and early October, will be announced to the public by invitation only and in Kabul at the very last minute for security purposes (hence, the world's first "stealth" music festival).
If you are a sponsor or donor, please let us know your interest! We would love to have organizations who would like to cross-promote or advertise in any ways compatible with our cause including music companies, travel, mountain sports, and so on. We have two feature documentaries covering us, global media, music blogs, and will have big exposure in New York, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. This is not your average rock music festival.
Contact us if you'd like to sponsor, donate, recommend a VIP supporter, or other questions at: SoundCentralFestival@gmail.com
