Mehr Ali and Sher Ali Qawwals

Originally from a family of classical musicians in the Alwara Talvandi tradition, Mehr Ali and Sher Ali were born in 1948 and 1952 respectively in Raja Jang village of Kasur, Pakistan. Beginning with classical music, they learned later the art of qawwali from their father Badaruddin and Ustad Bakhshi-Salamat. Their first radio performance happened in 1970 and their television debut eight years later on Lahore Television. International fame came to them in 1980 with a successful tour of West Asia and South Africa. They were acclaimed the best performers at the International Festival of Religious Music 1996 at Fez, in Morocco. In the same year, they were the leading group of Pakistan Music Village in London. They were also accorded the FNAC 4-star rating for their CD ‘Music of Pakistan’ released by Buda Musique in Paris. In 1997, they received the Sufi Music Village Award in London. The prestigious Asia Society recital in New York happened the following year and received wide coverage in US media. In 1999, they represented Pakistan at the very first Mehfil-e-Sama held outside the subcontinent at the House of World Cultures in Paris, France. They have performed at the Festival of Sacred Voices, Music Village, London, and at the prestigious Beteddine Festival in Lebanon. The duo made a month-long tour under the auspices of the World Music Institute. Mehr Ali and Sher Ali are closely linked to Sufi shrines and have performed at all the major Mehfil-e-Sama throughout Pakistan. They have more than 20 audio cassette titles to their credit and four internationally published CDs.