Country Roads…and so it’s back this time at Cinnamon Life
37 years is no short span of time and over the decades many are the memories the Country Roads concert has accumulated. The venues have changed, yet the audiences return for the mellow tunes by ‘the old faithfuls’ in ‘wild wild west’ style.
This year Country Roads takes place on Sunday, October 19 at a stunning new venue, The Forum at Cinnamon Life Level 8, with views of Colombo’s skyline, promising a memorable evening to add to the store of colourful memories that Country Roads fans have built up over the years.
The DBU Country Roads: Then American Ambassador Robert Blake with his family
The first concert in 1988, begun by a young Feizal Samath, was at the Ramada Renaissance (now the Cinnamon Lakeside). It was to be an enduring affair between hotel and show that lasted 13 years. Then for two years the concert shifted to the Oberoi (now Cinnamon Grand) and to the Colombo Hilton, the Dutch Burgher Union and The Airport Garden Hotel, Negombo, the Mount Lavinia Hotel, over the years.
The 25th concert was held at Hilton Colombo, Feizal recalls, and that year the hotel was transformed with giant images of children – highlighting the fact that the entire proceeds of the concert always go to children’s charities.
When Mount Lavinia Hotel hosted the concert they jazzed things up with huge beer barrels, a stable at the entrance with a horse for children to ride, and stewards in cowboy attire.
The DBU show held outdoors was a more informal affair. Robert Blake, the then American Ambassador, came with his family and sat down on a padura to enjoy the music. The second year at DBU was not so clement and the rains poured, remembers Feizal, though luckily there was a contingency plan and the audiences sportingly moved indoors, carrying their own chairs.
“The show at the Airport Garden Hotel in Negombo was almost a disaster,” laughs Feizal recalling an ill-advised decision to move away from the metropolis. “There were more musicians there than the crowd” though in true country spirit, they doggedly sang and played on, applauded by the limited gathering of fans.
During the formative years Country Roads also had a ‘jamboree’ every two months –a smaller version of the concert – at the Ramada and at the CCC Club. Held in an open space it allowed anyone to “just get on stage and sing”. This was during the early six-seven years.
Some Country Roads traditions have become so entrenched, says Feizal, recalling how an elderly lady walked up to him at one show to ask about the Country Music Foundation collection box that was missing that year, as she had brought her contribution.
And so it’s back! For many are the regular patrons who when bumping into Feizal on a lift or elsewhere, exclaim, “I say, when is Country Roads this year?”
Be there on Sunday, October 19 at ‘The Forum’, Cinnamon Life, at 6.30 p.m. for Country Roads with the German band Mavericks, the Cosmic Rays and young YouTube sensation Manethree, all billed to take the stage. Tickets, priced at Rs. 3000 and 4000, are on sale at Cargills Food City outlets in Kirulapone, Kohuwela, Majestic City and Staples Street.
Searching for an ideal partner? Find your soul mate on Hitad.lk, Sri Lanka's favourite marriage proposals page. With Hitad.lk matrimonial advertisements you have access to thousands of ads from potential suitors who are looking for someone just like you.