TEHRAN – The Fajr Music Festival has announced a program for its 38th edition, which will take place in Tehran and 16 provinces from February 17 to 22. 

The festival is another part of the Ten-Day Dawn celebration, which is organized every year to mark the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. 

About 90 performances will be held at seven halls, including Vahdat and Rudaki in Tehran during the festival, the organizers said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Bands from Portugal, Russia, Hungary, India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Serbia will give performances. 

A dozen pop bands, five orchestras, 28 folk music groups, 14 traditional music ensembles and 11 anthem bands have been invited to perform at the event.

The festival will also take place at the same time in Golestan, East Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Khorasan, Zanjan, Hormozgan, Kerman, Mazandaran, Hamedan, Bushehr, Alborz, Lorestan and several other provinces.

The organizers also plan to set up the “Festival of Festivals”, a new section that will screen videos of concerts performed during the previous editions of the festival.

Posters for the previous editions and photos of their performances will also be showcased in exhibitions.  

The festival will pay tribute to Iranian tenor Esfandiar Qarabaghi, who died last December at the age of 79.

Qarabaghi was most famous for his song “USA, USA, Shame on Your Deceits!” recorded by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in 1979 after the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Several journalists and media, which have made outstanding contributions to music over the past year, will be awarded.

Photo: A poster for the 38th Fajr Music Festival.   

MMS/YAW