The gloomy overcast Saturday was overshadowed by catchy music, pulsating beats, and bursts of colour at the Galle Music Festival held at the Samanala Grounds. This rich assortment of traditional Sri Lankan music including the contemporary genres performed by the artistes from various parts of the country thrilled crowds - both local and foreign - who braved the weather to immerse themselves in local culture. The Galle Music Festival 2016 in its 7th iteration, was organized by the music collaboration between Sri Lanka and Norway. 

The Galle and Jaffna Music festivals - which alternates between the two cities annually - serve as a platform for artistes and celebrates diversity in music and dance ranging from folk to contemporary. The festival comprised two sessions; the first part held at the Court Square in Galle Fort from 10am - 1pm, was held in collaboration with the Good Market and featured stalls and spaces that highlighted local art and culture; including cooking demonstrations of local cuisine, traditional masks and dancing costumes. Several artistes took the stage in teaser performances of sorts, giving the gathering crowd a taste of what was to come in the main event that was held later in the day. 

The evening session was held at the Galle Samanala Grounds, the event beginning with the lighting of the traditional  oil lamp by Guest of Honour Hon. Ambassador of Norway Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther and other dignitaries. The potpourri of culture showcased in the form of an impressive line up included performances by Hiran Wijesekera Dancers, Indigenous Art Performing Group, Sandasi Beat Drummers, Kaveri Kala Manram, Soul Sounds, Harishchandra Tukkawadu Kolam Drama Group, Islamic Social Heritage and Cultural Association, Kalaimakal Kala Mantram, Music Matters, Swani Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, urban rappers and International guest performer Raghu Dixit. Neither the rain nor the spirits of the performers showed any signs of waning throughout the day: the artistes bursting with enthusiasm, their passionate performances winning over festival goers of all ages and races. 

We caught up with a few performers and festival goers. Here's what they had to say. 

Performers 

Mrs. Priyadharshini (music lecturer at Swani Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies) 

We did a collaboration project with MusicMatters. It is our first time performing at this event and we were very happy to perform with them. 

MusicMatters 

It's a really great initiative. It's the only one of its kind that exists in Sri Lanka - this one and the Jaffna festival. Its a shame that more people don't see this kind of thing. 

Festival Goers 

Kaudike and Udeshika 

We are living in Galle, but this is the first time we are participating. It's a really good thing to gather people of all religions and races. Today we saw for the first time the Islamic Sufi performance and the Tamil musical performance. This way, people get to see performances by different cultures groups. 

Simon 

I found the performance with the tigers a little boring. I felt it was a little too long. But most performances were interesting and different. 

Shalini 

I came only a short while ago because of the rain, so I missed most of the performances. But the last few I saw were really good. I loved the Soul Sounds collaboration performance. The singing was amazing. Raghu was also very entertaining and kept the crowd on their feet. I think it's great that we have such events as these are in short supply. There are not many avenues to immerse oneself in culture nowadays. 

Tharindu 

I love Galle so I come here every excuse I get. So the Galle Music Festival was a good reason for me to return. Unfortunately the weather is horrible. Otherwise I'm sure more people would have turned up. But I think it's awesome that events of these kind are held. 

Lidush 

It's my first time at the Galle Music Festival. It was quite nice and there was a good variety of performances. 

By Rihaab Mowlana 
Photographs by Pradeep Dilrukshana