Rock Solid 40: Miles' Journey of a Thousand Miles

Formed in 1979 by Happy Akhand and Farid Rashid, "Miles" was the very first Bangladeshi band to release their music in a CD. The band's line-up saw many alterations with passing time. The current line-up, that has almost remained unchanged since the '90s, could be taken as the most popular one so far. Brothers Shafin Ahmed and Hamin Ahmed, along with Iqbal Asif Jewel, Manam Ahmed and Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo, has led the pioneering Bangla rock band successfully throughout the years. Yesterday the band celebrated their 40 year anniversary with a grand concert.

The "Miles 40 Year Celebration Concert" was held on December 24, at the ICCB in Kuril, Dhaka. It was in fact the grand finale of a series of international and local concerts, road-shows, musical discussions and other promotional activities that Miles initiated to mark the year as unforgettable. The 28 international concerts were held in the USA, Canada and Australia. The band also collected funds in association with Jaago Foundation to support underprivileged children.

Miles came up with various celebratory ideas besides performing their golden hits during the gala event. In the segment "Sing with Miles", 3 talented youth, chosen by Miles through a contest, received the opportunity to share the stage with the band and sing the song "Neela" together. Miles also introduced and acknowledged some of their lyricists whose words were made famous by the band. The band performed 30 of their evergreen rock numbers, including "Chand Tara", "Firiye Dao", "Shesh Thikana", "Jadu" and more. Due to time constraints, the band did a medley of their hit songs as well.

Another great attraction of the event was Miles' collaboration with 5 of its near contemporaries. Band Feedback, Souls, Warfaze, Dalchhut and Vikings paid their tributes to Miles by convering five of the band's popular numbers. They also shared their personal favorite memories with Miles and congratulated them thoroughly. Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu, Drummer of Warfaze, was overwhelmed while talking about their musical journey. "Miles and Warfaze, we have been together like families through many ups and downs over the decades. Our journey has never been smooth, yet it feels wonderful today to see Miles celebrating their 40 years in the industry!", he said. Setu Chowdhury, guitarist of band Vikings, expressed his gratitude to the evergreens. "I grew up listening to Miles", said Setu. "Vikings has now been in the scene for 22 years, and we know how difficult it is to sustain for this long as a band. It takes much more than being able to compose and play great music. We, Vikings, are truly honored to be a part of this milestone celebration of Miles." "I came here with my 16 year old son", said Mr. Javed Mamun, an MNC officer at the event's Special Zone. "We both are big fans of Miles. I had almost all the albums in my collection when I was a student. This concert is bringing me back many fond memories of my youth!"

Initiated by Windmill Advertisement Ltd, the "Miles 40 Year Celebration Concert" has Center Fresh, HP, Igloo, Yamaha, Peugeot, Bongo, Bkash, Dhaka Live, Shohoz, Gaanbangla, Acme, Raj Logistics, Baggitude and Tasty Tibet as their partners for the event. The show was hosted by Azra Mahmood.