FOLK DHAKA FOLK DHAKA FOLK DHAKA FOLK DHAKA
ফোক ঢাকা ফোক ঢাকা ফোক ঢাকা ফোক ঢাকা
FOLK DHAKA

FIVE WEEKS

FOUR ZONES · DHAKA, BANGLADESH

A CULTURAL MOVEMENT FOR DHAKA · 2026

ফোক ঢাকা

Where folk music meets contemporary Dhaka.

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Get tickets →Shop DhakaYeah
GULSHAN · UTTARA · DHANMONDI · BASHUNDHARA2026
BAULBHATIALILALONMURSHIDIQAWWALIBAULBHATIALILALONMURSHIDIQAWWALI
01 — THE ORIGIN
উৎস
A Creato initiative · EDITION ONE

We kept meeting a music nobody our age had ever really met.

Baul, Bhatiali, Lalon, Murshidi, Qawwali — an inheritance centuries in the making, that most of urban Dhaka now meets only as a wedding-stage novelty or a thirty-second clip on a phone. It has been preserved, archived and studied. It has almost never been designed — placed in a room people actually want to be in.

Folk Dhaka exists because the music does not need saving. It needs a stage that belongs to this decade.

READ THE CONCEPT
Appetite

A city that now pays for experience over product.

Rediscovery

Folk moving from heritage to contemporary taste.

Absence

No platform, no calendar fixture, no owner.

04 — THE EXPERIENCEঅভিজ্ঞতা

Nine ways in. One theme.

Live Folk Music011 / 9

Live Folk Music

Established folk artists and emerging voices sharing the same air, every night of the run.

Sufi & Qawwali022 / 9

Sufi & Qawwali

Late sessions built for the hour they belong to, in rooms with the acoustics to hold them.

Open Mic033 / 9

Open Mic

An hour each night handed to whoever signed up that week. No gatekeeping, no shortlist.

Instrument Showcase044 / 9

Instrument Showcase

Ektara, dotara, dhol, sarinda — played, explained, and put in the hands of anyone curious.

Poetry & Literature055 / 9

Poetry & Literature

Readings and conversation with the writers who kept these lyrics in circulation.

Bioscope066 / 9

Bioscope

The travelling picture box, restored — the oldest screen in Bengal, rebuilt for a phone-lit crowd.

Fashion & Lifestyle077 / 9

Fashion & Lifestyle

Handloom, jamdani and block-print makers showing work at the scale the room deserves.

Tok Jhal Mishti088 / 9

Tok Jhal Mishti

A food programme built on one flavour arc — sour, spicy, sweet — carried across every zone.

DhakaYeah Merch099 / 9

DhakaYeah Merch

The festival's visual world as objects people keep and carry through the city.

বাউলভাটিয়ালিলালনকাওয়ালিবাউলভাটিয়ালিলালনকাওয়ালি
10 — THE PROGRAMME
আয়োজন

A genre a week. A city in motion.

WEEK 01Baul & LalonGulshan · The opening
  • 17:00Gates & welcome processionCOURTYARD
  • 18:30Lalon repertoire — senior ensembleMAIN
  • 20:00Baul akhra sessionMAIN
  • 21:30Instrument showcase & open floorYARD
WEEK 02Bhatiali & River SongsUttara · The north
  • 17:00Boat songs at the lakefrontLAKESIDE
  • 18:45Bhatiali ensembleMAIN
  • 20:15Poetry & literature hourCOURTYARD
  • 21:45Emerging voices — heat 01MAIN
WEEK 03Sufi & QawwaliDhanmondi · The intellectual heart
  • 17:30Bioscope & archive screeningYARD
  • 19:00Murshidi sessionMAIN
  • 20:30Qawwali — full partyMAIN
  • 22:15Late sittingCOURTYARD
WEEK 04Emerging VoicesBashundhara · Campus finals
  • 16:00Campus heats — zone roundCAMPUS
  • 18:30Open mic showcaseMAIN
  • 20:00Finalists' setMAIN
  • 21:30The city votes — live countMAIN
WEEK 05Folk FusionCity-wide · The closing weekend
  • 16:00Makers' market & DhakaYeah dropALL ZONES
  • 18:00Fusion collaborationsMAIN
  • 20:00Winner of Emerging VoicesMAIN
  • 21:00Closing set — full ensembleMAIN

Five distinct cultural moments. Five creative executions. One continuous story.

08 — THE GEOGRAPHY
ভূগোল

Four zones. One festival. Five weeks.

Rather than one mega-event competing for a single night, Folk Dhaka activates the city in sequence — each zone with its own venues, character and audience.

DHAKA AERIAL
Gulshan / Banani / Baridhara

Gulshan / Banani / Baridhara

The cultural core

Affluent professionals, expatriates, the diplomatic community, design-led consumers.

  • ◆Terracotta Tales
  • ◆Chef's Table Courtyard
  • ◆Jatra, Banani
  • ◆Gulshan Society Lake Park

A scouting shortlist — subject to availability, permission and commercial terms. Honest status: in discussion.

09 — THE CAMPUS CIRCUITক্যাম্পাস চক্র

Dhaka's universities already form a map of the city.

Heats→Zone rounds→Finale
011 / 4

IUBAT & AIUB

Uttara is the north anchor; AIUB on Progoti Sharani carries the circuit south into the Badda corridor.

022 / 4

NSU, IUB & UIU

Bashundhara and Madani Avenue hold the highest student density in the city — and the loudest feeds.

033 / 4

BRAC & EWU

Merul Badda and Aftabnagar close the loop as the south anchor of the circuit.

044 / 4

Worth adding

ULAB extends the circuit west. DU Charukola is the single most culturally credible campus in the country for folk.

07 — THE VISUAL WORLD
দৃশ্যজগৎ
SHOP OPEN YEAR-ROUND · FOUR EDITIONS A YEAR

DhakaYeah

The artists behind Folk Dhaka's visual world romanticise the chaotic capital through magical realism, nostalgia, pop culture and everyday urban life. Their work becomes the festival's identity — and its merchandise line.

NOSTALGIAFOLK & MYTHPOP CULTUREROOTED IN BENGAL
DHAKAYEAH VISUAL WORLD
LIMITED

Bioscope Print

A2 giclée on 300gsm cotton rag. Edition of 100, numbered and signed.

Ektara Tee

৳1,500৳1,250

Apparel

Lalon Tote

৳850

Accessories

Cha Mug

৳700

Home

Bioscope Print

৳1,800

Paper

Dotara Pin Set

৳450

Accessories

Folk Cap

৳950

Apparel

Murshidi Notebook

৳600

Paper

Qawwali Poster

৳1,100

Paper

Baul Hoodie

৳2,400

Apparel

Free delivery inside Dhaka on orders over ৳2,500 · 3–5 days nationwide

THE FULL LINE

The city, romanticised.

Magical realism, nostalgia, pop culture and everyday Dhaka — the same visual language that dresses the festival dresses the line. Every drop is tied to an edition and never reprinted.

Block-print study — Edition One

Block-print study — Edition One

Handloom collaboration, Dhanmondi

Handloom collaboration, Dhanmondi

Tote panel, first run of 200

Tote panel, first run of 200

BUNDLES
SAVE UP TO ৳350
The Festival Kit

The Festival Kit

Tee + Tote + Pin Set

৳2,550৳2,200

The Desk Set

The Desk Set

Mug + Notebook + A3 Print

৳2,700৳2,400

The Gift Box

The Gift Box

Cap + Tote + Pin Set

৳2,250৳1,950

THE DROP CALENDAR
FOUR EDITIONS A YEAR
  • EDITION ONEBaul & LalonWinterNov 2026PRE-ORDER OPEN
  • EDITION TWOBhatialiSpringFeb 2027ANNOUNCED
  • EDITION THREESufi & QawwaliMonsoonJun 2027PLANNED
  • EDITION FOURFolk FusionAutumnSep 2027PLANNED
◆

Printed in Dhaka

Every run screen-printed locally, in batches under 300.

◆

Artist royalty

A fixed share of every sale goes back to the illustrator.

◆

Edition-tied

Drops are numbered to an edition and never reprinted.

◆

Easy returns

14 days, unworn, no questions — exchange or refund.

NOSTALGIAFOLK & MYTHPOP CULTUREROOTED IN BENGALDHAKAYEAHNOSTALGIAFOLK & MYTHPOP CULTUREROOTED IN BENGALDHAKAYEAH
CAMPUS CROWD
11 — EMERGING VOICES
নতুন কণ্ঠ

The audience builds the line-up.

A dedicated Folk Dhaka community invites musicians across Bangladesh to submit a single song, a single phone video. The community votes. Campus heats and zone rounds narrow the field. The finalists take the closing stage.

  • ◆Every submission is free, original content
  • ◆Every artist recruits their own voters
  • ◆The discovery story becomes the marketing story
  • ◆Campus circuit and main stage become one machine
Submit a song

One video. One voice.

The city votes

Reels, shares, the community group.

13 — THE AUDIENCE
দর্শক
Projected · to confirm

The audience brands find hardest to buy.

AUDIENCE 1
PRIMARY · Cultural Urbanites, 22–38

Educated, high disposable income, experience-led. Ad-averse and subscription-shielded — but they queue for the right experience, then publish it themselves.

—

PROJECTED ATTENDANCE, ALL ZONES
AUDIENCE 2
AUDIENCE 3
SECONDARY · Students, 18–24

Reached directly through the campus circuit. Low individual spend, extremely high content output — every activation they photograph is reach nobody paid for.

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STUDENTS REACHED VIA CAMPUS CIRCUIT
AUDIENCE 4
AUDIENCE 5
TERTIARY · The cultural establishment

Artists, academics, media, the diaspora. Small in number, disproportionate in credibility — they decide whether a brand reads as genuine.

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PROJECTED DIGITAL REACH
AUDIENCE 6
ফোক ঢাকাFOUR ZONESFIVE WEEKSSEVEN CAMPUSESফোক ঢাকাFOUR ZONESFIVE WEEKSSEVEN CAMPUSES
16 — HOW TO JOIN
স্তর
Pricing held until the conversation is live. Founding tier anchored deliberately high.

Three ways in.

Four available · one per zone

ZONE PARTNER

BDT —

  • ◆“[Zone] presented by [Brand]”
  • ◆Full branding in one zone
  • ◆Zone retail rights
  • ◆Zone content series · artist award
  • ◆Zone-level data & report

One only

FOUNDING PARTNER

BDT —

  • ◆“Folk Dhaka, presented by [Brand]” — on every asset, permanently
  • ◆Main stage, all four zones, entry arch, all campus rounds
  • ◆Exclusive category rights + co-branded capsule
  • ◆Title credit + 2 dedicated brand films
  • ◆Naming rights on Emerging Voices · all 7 campuses
  • ◆Full first-party audience handoff & impact report

Multiple available

EXPERIENCE PARTNER

BDT —

  • ◆Named layer — Food / Merch / Open Mic
  • ◆Branded activation space
  • ◆Sampling & showcase
  • ◆Layer-specific content · artist collaboration
  • ◆Activation-level data & report
FAQ
প্রশ্ন

  • Four editions a year, each running across four city zones. Edition One is five weeks — a genre a week, moving zone to zone. The shop stays open between editions.

SPONSOR A CONCERT AND YOU BUY AN EVENING

JOIN FOLK DHAKA AND YOU INHERIT A TRADITION

Founding partner · one only · edition one↗
TARGET PARTNERS
Target list — in conversation, not confirmed.

No brand currently owns folk music in Bangladesh.

AARONGKAY KRAFTANJAN'SDESHI DOSHYELLOWAARONGKAY KRAFTANJAN'SDESHI DOSHYELLOW
BENGAL BOICHHAYANAUTEMK CENTERALLIANCE FRANÇAISEJATRABENGAL BOICHHAYANAUTEMK CENTERALLIANCE FRANÇAISEJATRA
BECOME A PARTNER→Target list — in conversation, not confirmed.
EDITION ONE OPENS IN
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Get the drop

Line-up adds, venue reveals, and first access to every DhakaYeah release.

DEMO FORM — NOT WIRED TO A MAILING LIST