From Guitarists, For the People
“This is what we have and what we can give. This is our work,” guitarist Dewa Budjana said. Armed with a spirit of deep empathy, around 60 guitarists and poets joined forces to raise funds for the disaster victims in Central Sulawesi and Lombok.
In cooperation with Kompas daily and the Bentara Budaya Jakarta (BBJ) cultural space, the artists will hold a concert titled Indonesian Guitarists’ Charity for the Nation: Solidarity Music and Poetry at BBJ on Thursday (11/10/2018) at 7 p.m.
After a series of disasters struck Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara in August and Donggala, Sigi, Parigi Moutong and Palu in Central Sulawesi on Friday (28/9), many locals have lost their loved ones, homes and even food resources.
As of Tuesday (9/10), National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) data show that 2,010 people have died, 2,549 suffered severe injuries and 8,130 sustained minor injuries. The earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi also severely damaged 66,926 homes, rendering 62,359 people homeless.
Moved by empathy with the people in Lombok and Central Sulawesi, the 60 guitarists united with a number of poets to raise funds through the charity concert.
Guitarists appearing in the charity concert include Andra Ramadhan, Baron, Balawan, Dewa Budjana, Cokelat’s Edwin Marshal Syarif, Eet Sjahranie, Sheila on 7’s Eross Chandra, Barasuara’s Iga Massardi, Ian Antono, Tohpati, John Paul Ivan, Gugun Blues Shelter’s Muhammad “Gugun” Gunawan, Naif’s Fajar “Jarwo” Endra Taruna, /rif’s Adji “Jikun” Pamungkas, Pas Band’s Bambang “Bengbeng” Sutedjo, Voodoo’s Edo Widiz, Slank’s Mohammad “Ridho” Ridwan Hafiedz, Jubing Kristianto, Toto Tewel, NTRL’s Christopher “Choki” Bollemeyer, BIP’s Parlin “Pay” Siburian and Thomas Ramdhan.
Singers Armand Maulana, Andy /rif, Taraz, Stephan Santoso, Ebiet G Ade and Oppie Andaresta, as well as poets Joko Pinurbo, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Saras Dewi, Inayah Wahid and Maryam Supraba will also take part in the concert.
13 segments
The prominent guitarists will perform in 13 segments, outside of the poets’ performances. The segments include Six Strings, Session Guitarist, Millennial Formation, Rock III Formation, Blues Formation and a special performance by Ebiet G Ade.
The concert will be opened with a performance by Six Strings, comprising Dewa Budjana, Tohpati, Baim, Eross Chandra, Baron and Balawan. The musicians will perform the song “I Got Your Back”, which will be followed by performances of dozens of guitarists, singers and poets. The concert will be supported by professional sound arrangement by Donny Hardono and his DSS Sound System. It will be a rare majestic rock concert.
Guitar auction
The concert will also include a guitar auction and poetry fundraising sessions. Funds raised in the concert will be donated to the Kompas Humanitarian Fund to be distributed to disaster victims.
To ensure his participation in the event, poet Joko Pinurbo insisted to delay a trip to Malaysia. He said he was preparing a special poem in solidarity with disaster victims in Central Sulawesi and Lombok. “Hopefully, the event will inspire us all to increase our sharing spirit, tear down our greed and prevent things that can lead to disunity,” said Joko, or Jokpin, as he is popularly known.
Senior man of letters Sapardi Djoko Damono will also be at the concert to read out poetry on earthquakes and tsunamis. He said he hoped his poetry would inspire a collective awakening. “There will be a surprise during the poetry fundraising session,” Sapardi said, being coy about what the surprise might be.
Tempeh donation
Earlier in the day and before the concert, organizers will hold a tempeh-making training by senior Kompas reporter Dwi As Setianingsih, or Bu Ningsih, on BBJ’s lawn. The training session for up to 50 people will be an interesting experience for everyone involved.
Participants will be asked to donate at least Rp 1 million, which will be donated to disaster victims in Lombok and Central Sulawesi.
“People are familiar with tempeh made from imported soybeans. We will ask participants to make tempeh from local soybeans. Within the context of the recent disasters in Central Sulawesi and Lombok, making tempeh from local sources means that we are still strong in these difficult times. We have strength in food sovereignty. We have strength to overcome natural disasters,” Bu Ningsih said.
This will be the third time such a massive charity concert is held in collaboration between local artists and Kompas at the BBJ. In November 2010, a similar charity concert was held to raise funds for the victims of Mt. Merapi eruption.
A second charity concert was held in February 2014 to raise funds for victims of floods in Manado and Wasior, as well as a tsunami in Mentawai.
Together with money donated by Kompas readers, money raised at the charity concert funded repair work on state elementary schools SD 34 and SD 125 in Manado. Oppie Andaresta was present at the new school buildings’ inauguration as a representative of the musicians.
“I was so moved that Kompas and Indonesian guitarists could build schools with the donated money. During the flood, many have promised to help. Kompas and Indonesian guitarists fulfilled their promise,” Oppie said. (CAN/XAR/ABK)