Son Pascal
You may not have ever heard of Son Pascal, but around here he’s something of a big name – singer, songwriter, performer, artist. Italian by birth, he has spent a lot of time in the UK, but it seems that Kazakhstan is where his heart is. If you want a quick education, watch these videos on YouTube – the song that brought this city a bit more kudos, Englishman in Shymkent (which also gives you a feel for what the city is like) and also his cheeky You should speak Kazakhsha (i.e. Kazakh).
Out of the blue we had a phone call just the other week, saying that he was due to visit Shymkent to do a number of concerts at various venues, but that one of the venues couldn’t do it, and they wanted to know if we were interested in hosting the gig in our cafe! This was very exciting news, showing that we’re now well known enough in the city that we were considered to be a viable option.
After consideration, we had to decline the offer, because we just couldn’t get ready in time to host an event of that size – however, we were able to negotiate with his manager and invite him to perform a private concert for our social club for people with disabilities (and a few others!) the following afternoon.
The concert in our cafe
And so one of the bigger names in the city arrived at the Social Village and performed a short set to a delighted audience, who enjoyed every minute of it. He did too, chatting with members of the social club and promising to come back the next time he’s in town. We think he meant it!
