The festival will open on the 10th of May and will come to an end on the 17th of May and if last year’s event is anything to go by, this year’s festival will be better and even bigger, in fact they have moved the festival from their normal location to Bulebel. Slowly it is establishing itself as one of the event all the lovers of local music look forward to, in fact a number of people have been asking about the festival for quite some time. Each and every day has a special theme or a special act assigned to it which also includes a foreign tribute band of one of the biggest bands that ever existed.

Friday - 10th May at 21:00

Kevin Borg Live in Concert

Supported by: Glen Vella, Pamela, Barber’s Cut & Paul Curmi Dance Studio 

Saturday - 11th May at 21.00

Ira Losco Live in Concert

Supported by: Planet Seed & The New Victorians

Sunday - 12th May at 20.30

Pop Hits & Maltese Classics

Eleanor Cassar, Stephanie Zammit, Georgina, Franklin Calleja, Chris Grech, Olivia Lewis,

Luisana Bartolo, Nadine Barolo, Charlotte Bartolo & Gillian Attard’s Children Choir 

Monday - 13th May at 20:30

Red Electrick, The Riffs & The Crowns

Tuesday - 14th May at 20:30

The Green Gathering

Tarcisio Barbara, Kirstie Barbarbara, Kurt Galea, Naomi Balzan, Katoushka Mifsud, Malcolm Camilleri, Kirstie Balzan

Feast songs: Eleanor Cassar, Gillian Attard, Alexia Fenech, Stephen Mizzi

Wednesday - 15th May at 20:30 

Guns 2 Rose – Tribute Band

Supported by:  Fuse Box & Harriet Cohen

Thursday - 16th May at 20:30

Eurovision Song Contest – Second Semi-Final on a Big Screen (Malta’s Night)

Friday – 17th May at 20:30 

Bon Jovi Tribute

One can see the festival as an opening to the summer months activities as other activities take place all around the island during the summer months but most of them would not be held on such a grand scale. To organize such a massive event is not easy and Beland would not have been able to provide such a field with different artists were it not for the support they found from their sponsors. The event is free of charge but those in attendance are encouraged to give a small donation that will go directly to Puttinu cares as for another year, the event is being held in aid of Puttinu Care which works for such a noble case. So remember from the 10th of May to the 17th of May your entertainment spot should be in Zejtun at the Beland Music Festival. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for more information.

Source: The Beland Music Festival Facebook Page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WmJXIR9xtw

It is not something unheard of but surely unusual to hear a piece of music that simply stops us from what we are doing so we can actually listen and appreciate the richness of what we are hearing. Noting that most of the time, we do this for foreign artists, either because we are familiar with the voice or else because the song simply haunts us – it may actually be a combination of both. One thing is for sure, nowadays the general public has the ability to understand what good music is even though the genre might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Harriet Cohen is a new solo project by Deborah Borg Brincat the lead singer of local band Bletchley Park.

Deborah has been experimenting with music from a young age and also tried to be unique in establishing herself as an individual and not follow the norm. It was one of the reasons why Bletchley Park captured the imagination of a number of people as their style was unique and unheard of in our islands. This time round whilst Bletchley Park is on full speed ahead preparing for the launch of their first album – the lead singer of this band decided to work on solo project that moves away from the genre that she’s normally used to work on. It all started from an experiment to test the waters but the feedback the singer received was overwhelming and our local Harriet Cohen is determined to continue to haunt with her music.

The British name behind the solo project ‘Harriet Cohen’ comes from a very popular 20th century British pianist who had quite an inspirational life. Cohen used her music to reach out to different people, even though suffering because of the political situation during her time. Her music inspired a number of dignitaries which include a number of composers, politicians and other celebrities. She even captured the imagination of Albert Einstein. Our very own local Harriet Cohen is currently studying the famous Hungarian composer Bartok who dedicated his ‘Six Bulgarian Dancers’ to her. Harriet Cohen has been an inspiration to many and hence the reason why our local artist adapted her name for this melodic inspirational music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbp7eMZLuPo

The first single from Harriet Cohen is called ‘India’ and the song explores the theme of animal cruelty, particularly focusing on all the hardships animals that participate in circuses all over the world face. It’s a subtle way of sending a strong message across and considering the feedback the song got in its first few days online; I would expect it to flourish even further in regards to popularity and it would be a great shame if radios do not give airplay to such a great song. The inspiration behind this project of Harriet Cohen comes from the singers’ greatest influence Regina Spektor – an American artist born in Moscow whose style can be described as folk with a mix of classical music and jazz.

To break through a scene with a new project takes its time but ‘India’ and the project by Harriet Cohen seemed to have found instant success with astounding feedback. In fact many are already looking forward in hearing more material from the singer as if her first single is anything to go by we can expect some great material in the future. The singer now plans to take this project a step further in order to be able to share her music with the audience by organizing a live set where the audience can appreciate the sheer haunting talent of one of our own upcoming artists, who given her tender age will surely keep on developing and improving on this musical journey.

Source: Harriet Cohen - Press Release