KARACHI: The Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, celebrated World Music Day on Tuesday evening with a dash of youthful exuberance and a lot of musical flair. Hosting the event, musician Ahsan Bari told the audience that the day is celebrated every year on June 21. It was first celebrated in 1982.

The evening began with an open jam session when the young musicians of the council`s music academy were asked to display their talent. The first one was Zaryun who sang `Meri maan` from the critically acclaimed Indian film Taare Zameen Per.

He was followed by M Shoaib who sang `Khamaj` popularised by the band Fuzon; he was later joined by Prakash and together they crooned out `Tera Yaar Hun Main` from the Bollywood hit Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.

The mood of the gig was lifted when a girl named Neha belted out Bulleh Shah`s `Apne tann di khabar nahi`. She did that with a good deal of passion.

Sameer Hamza sang Atif Aslam`s `Jhoola jhulaey`after which Shuja Hassan attracted the attention of the audience with his rendition `Slow motion Angreza` from the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He did a nice job. The last singer of the opening bit was Atique who opted for the ghazal `Her zulm tera yaad hai` originally sung by Sajjad Ali.

The second segment kicked off with the band Jambroz`s cover tunes. They set the tone for their stint on stage with the (now) international Coke Studio hit `Pasoori`. They segued into the Rahat Fateh Ali hit `Main jahan rahoon` composed by Himesh Reshammiya. The band comprising talented singers but on Tuesday they sounded a trifle under-prepared. Next up was Hira who sang `Inteha ho gai`.

In between other musicians entertained the audience which increased with each passing minute. But the pièce de résistance of the concert was the popular band Auj, a prominent discovery of the Pepsi Battle of the Bands show. They justified their reputation and lived up to their billing. On stage, during the essential sound-check process, Auj performed `O jaana`. It was enough to get the young boys and girls` (not to mention some senior citizens`) undivided attention. Their first formal offering was the famous track `Raat`, which quite a few members of the audience knew by heart. Not only did they sing along the band, some of them also swayed to its beat.