Culture club

Bluegrass lent itself perfectly to a collaboration between American, Sindhi and Baloch musicians

Music is felt; it needs no words as it is a language in its own right. Imagine watching an American folk music band rehearsing local melodies with Pakistani folk singers, playing songs that transcend borders, differences and eliminate a divide between the two groups.  

The Kentucky Winders, comprising of Nikos Pappas, Seth Folsom, Nick Lloyd and Jesse Wells, arrived in Pakistan in the last week of August following an invitation by the US Consulate Karachi. “Pakistanis are exposed to all kinds of American culture, from fast food restaurants to pop music and movies, but this is a more realistic depiction of our culture,” explained Mark Kendrick, public affairs officer at  US Consulate General Karachi. “This isn’t Hollywood, this is our culture and we wanted to share it with the people we work with.”



While many foreigners would balk at the thought of coming to Pakistan, the Winders paid little heed to the picture of the country, portrayed by the international media. “We were nervous at first,” admitted Lloyd, the bass player, when asked about their decision to visit Pakistan. “Friends and family members asked us if we’d gone crazy, but we knew that of a country of 20 million people, not all of them could have been fighting. And the people we have met so far have been just wonderful.”

Kentucky Winders during rehearsals. PHOTO: HUSSAIN AFZAL

Karachi was not the only stop on the band’s itinerary, as they played for one night in Hyderabad as well. In Jamshoro, the band accompanied Sindhi folk singers and left the audience awestruck as they played Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan.

Meet the band

Hailing from three different states in America, The Kentucky Winders play what is known as ‘bluegrass’, a subgenre of country music that is influenced by jazz, as well as Irish, Scottish and Welsh music. Bluegrass traditionally incorporates the fiddle, banjo, upright bass and guitar. Nikos Pappas, who leads the band, lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and plays the fiddle while also working as a professor. Music in Nikos’ family goes as far back as 180 years and he jokes, “In my family, the in-laws have to give an audition if they want to get married to one of us.”



Folsom, who plays banjo and guitar, moonlights as a carpenter. Lloyd plays and builds professional upright basses in Cincinnati, Ohio and Wells, who is also a professor, plays guitar. “The Kentucky Winders have come to Karachi regardless of their day jobs in the US,” Kendrick said. “They are not here because there is money involved, but because they love music.”

Music as a shared language

For the band, the trip to Pakistan offered a unique opportunity to present their traditional American music in a land steeped in melody.  All the members of the band said it was not difficult to play with Pakistani musicians. “Who needs words when you have music as a shared language?” says Pappas. Additionally, as Lloyd explained, folk music lent itself perfectly to the collaboration with the Pakistani musicians. “Folk music around the world is not very different, as the genre itself brings together a combination of numerous cultures,” he said.

The band played at the M.A.D school in Karachi, as well as the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. The trip to Karachi did not just comprise of work: the band took some time out to visit the beach (where they gleefully rode camels) and popped in to see Frere Hall.



In a special performance on August 28 at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa), as part of the two-day Sangat musical programme, the Winders were joined by Sindhi folk musicians, Baloch folk singer Akhtar Chanal Zahri and students from the institution. The highlights of the evening were joint performances of Lal Meri Pat and Danay pe dana. While the Winders played classics such as Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase, Milwaukee Blues, Curly-headed Woman and Seth crooned a love song, All Night Long, Akhtar Chanal twirled around the musicians in a traditional Baloch dance. Students from Napa chimed in during a segment of patriotic songs such as Yeh Watan Humara Hai and Jeevay, jeevay Pakistan.

The Kentucky Winders describe themselves as ‘curators’ of music rather than inventors. They play some of the oldest melodies in the genre of folk music, as they believe these songs have emotional resonance for the listener. The songs they choose, such as Curly-headed Woman, tell stories of love and loss or depict a way of life in rural America. The melding of these songs and the spirited contributions of the Sindhi folk musicians made for an evening of truly boundary-blurring music.

Urooj Jawed is a subeditior at The Express Tribune Web Desk.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 6^th, 2015.