Sundown Jam 2022, organized by the Western Musicians Association (WMA) took place on Sunday, the 20th of March 2022 at the 80 Club, Colombo. The show hosted 8 bands and 21 artistes who are all members of the WMA. President of the WMA for 2021-2023 and veteran singer of Misty, Rajitha Rupasinghe welcomed a sold-out crowd to a night of fun and music. “As the motto of WMA reads “musicians for musicians”, this night is for us. Tonight, we are here for one goal. We’ve been having tough times lately but as musicians, we have a saying – the show must go on!”.

The evening kicked off at sundown, slow and steady with percussive and instrumental music by the band Mathra, followed by the return of a beloved country and western band of the 80s, Orange Blossom Special who performed with Ellsworth de Silva and Kanthie de Silva. Switching up the tempo, the dynamic band C&C took to the stage to perform with veteran artists such as Rukshan Perera, Clifford Richards and Evans de Fonseka, and others. 

Having incited the crowd into a jovial mood, the band Daddy, performing for the first time ever with the WMA, and continued to amp up the crowd with favourites such as Bill Wither’s ‘Lovely Day’ and Collective Soul’s ‘Shine’ before being joined by artiste Radhika Rajavelu and Piyal Perera of the Gypsies who was a highlight of the evening for his performance of Bryan Adams hit song ‘Summer of 69’. Daddy was also joined by Sureshini Wanigasuriya. 

Popular band Warehouse Project performed a few of their own music before being joined on stage by up-and-coming artists Trishelle Wijethunga and Varuni Weeratne and veterans Neomal Peiris and legendary guitarist Derek Wickramanayake from Wildfire. 

With a repertoire that includes pop hits from the 60’s, the Redeemers also performed a set of songs of their own and in collaboration with solo artistes. The final encore stage was performed by the band Misty, a much looked forward to the band by the audience, that truly wrapped up the evening on a high note. 
Sundown Jam was held by the WMA as a fundraiser for the association, whose CSR and community reach projects have been core support to its members in surviving through the tough and challenging times of the pandemic and continues to have on artistes and their livelihood. 

With a fantastic line-up of the best Western musicians in the country showcasing a variety of genres ranging from pop, rock, country, and jazz, the Sundown Jam 2022 was a night of good music and entertainment. We also spoke to some of the attendees of the show to see what they had to say about Sundown Jam 2022.

Jermaine 
“It was really great. Nobody does this for our Western musicians. Given the last few years and how tough it has been for the musicians, really happy to see the success of this. We really enjoyed it!”

Shanaka 
“It was a brilliant show. I loved watching Daddy and Warehouse Project on stage.”

Nilanthi 
“Show was great. We just had a great time, standing and dancing along to the good music. Sundown Jam had a good mix of genres so we enjoyed all the acts.”

Chandika 
“It was a great show. We all love music and all the artistes were just amazing.”

Varuni 
“It was so exhilarating being back on stage again. Simply amazing to have performed alongside these fantastic musicians. I’m really happy to be back on stage!”

Charaka 
“It was such a brilliant show. We’ve been living with this music for some time and when you see these musicians back on stage and hearing these songs again after a very long time, it gets us ignited! All the bands are such legends and the fact that the show blended these legends with the new generations – perfect combination!”

Kundala Keshi 
“It was great, even though there were a few hiccups with the sounds occasionally. I came to see Daddy in particular and enjoyed all the other bands and musicians”

Chalaka
“I think everyone has been starving for entertainment and it was an amazing show. The Western Musicians Association and Rajitha have outdone themselves and I thought Daddy was really great. Congratulations Rajitha, you’ve done an excellent job. We need more like this!”

Shamendri 
“It was such a nice show. I came to rest, unwind and have a good time and I got to do exactly that. Warehouse Project is one of my favourite bands so I was happy to see them play”

Sudath
“It was such a fantastic show. I enjoyed it more because I know that the show is a fundraiser to help all the musicians here who are a part of the WMA. There is so much going on in the country but we will continue to keep going and support each other in these times.  Rajitha and the committee have done such a great job, thank you for the work they are doing to support these musicians. We really had a fantastic time.”
 ‘While the organizers were generous inviting many of its biggest supporters, it was sad to note that though the members of the media were issued special passes, no seating arrangements were made and the members of the media had to catch the 5-hour performances on their feet!’

Pix by Nisal Baduge