‘Gypsies – first concert without Sunil

The Gypsies went into action, on Sunday, February 6th, at the Nelum Pokuna open air theatre – their very first concert performance without their main star, the late Sunil Perera. Although Sunil was very much missed, on stage, Piyal, and the rest of the gang did entertain the crowd, and they loved it.

There were four bands, at this particular event, with each outfit being given 25 minutes, on stage.

The evening’s lineup included the bands Daddy, 2Forty2, Doctor, and Yohani and Lunu, along with Chitral, Bathiya and Santhush, Sanuka, Senaka, Raini and Jayasri.

The organisers requested the Gypsies to dedicate their 25-minute set, in memory of Sunil, and they obliged with all his hit songs.

It was a poignant moment for the crowd as there was no Sunil on stage, to entertain them, with his unique style, in presentation and vocals, but Piyal, and the rest, they say, did a magnificent job.

A music fan who checked out this particular concert had this to say about the Gypsies performance:

“I went along with friends for the ‘Dream Music Fest’ concert and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

“It was a happening scene and the Gypsies were very entertaining, especially seeing Piyal doing all his brother’s hit songs.

“It was nostalgia, no doubt, and we did miss Sunil, but we enjoyed what the Gypsies did on stage.”

Yes, one thought that without Sunil, the Gypsies would find the going pretty tough, but they have adapted themselves well and have been seen in action at quite a few weddings and other events.

Piyal, who is now at the helm, said that they are keen to do concerts, and the Nelum Pokuna event has given them the impetus for more concert performances.

“We were wondering how it would work out, without Sunil, but the crowd accepted us as we did things our way, and differently, too.

Sunil can never ever be replaced, and Piyal has acknowledged it.

“Just his presence, on stage, makes the audience go ga-ga, so with no Sunil, we have decided to do things differently,” said Piyal.

In fact, they were working on plans to do a tribute concert for Sunil and also commemorate the band’s 50th anniversary with a mega event in March.

However, with the Omicron variant still very much active in the scene here, Piyal says they have temporarily shelved those plans.

“There are lots of restrictions where such events are concerned and even the crowd capacity is restricted.

“We would like to have a full house for our tribute and anniversary concert and give our fans their money’s worth, but right now that is not possible, due to the pandemic.

Piyal is hoping that the setup here would further improve so that the Gypsies can make their presence felt, in the showbiz scene, in a big way.