Clampdown on Music Continues

In the latest in a series of bans on music concerts across Iran, a performance by well known musician Homayoun Shajarian has been canceled in Tehran.

The concert, part of Shajarian’s “Why you left” tour, was due to take place at the Interior Ministry’s assembly hall on January 28. “Although the contract was signed and all fees paid, it was canceled,” Toutounchian, the concert organizer, told Mehr news agency. He said the venue had now scheduled another event for that date.

The “Why you left” tour features Homayoun Shajarian singing traditional songs by popular traditional musician Tahmouress Pournazari. The tour began in Bandar Abbas following the mourning months of Moharram and Safar (the middle of October to the middle of December). The next performance is scheduled to take place in Semnan on January 18.

“We are looking forward to rescheduling the concert for next month, if conditions permit it,” said a spokesperson from Ghoghnoos Cultural Institute in Tehran. He did not elaborate as to what “conditions” he was referring.

On January 2, a concert by the band Lian was canceled in Bushehr following protests by a group calling itself Hezbollah Umah. The group’s concert in Shiraz was also canceled. Another performance, by pop singer Sirvan Khosaravi, was also prevented from going ahead in Bushehr.

A Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance official has spoken out against the recent clampdown, objecting to what he called “irrational protests.” If they continued, he said, there was a danger that young people would feel compelled to travel abroad to attend music concerts.

Read the original article in Persian