While teenagers enjoy the concerts of the rising young stars such as South Korean Super Junior and American singer Katie Perry, their parents also want to have a bash.

Expect the parachute pants generation to go wild again in an upcoming concert that will transport them back to their high school years.

Titled “Bank Permata Indonesia 80s”, the concert will be a reunion for anybody who longs for the musical ambiance of the 1980s. The concert is to be staged by the alumni of senior high school SMA N 82 Jakarta, known as Delapan Dua Daha, ARB Productions and Bank Permata.

It will take place at Senayan Tennis Indoor on Sept. 15, offering full entertainment that will last from 7 p.m. to midnight.

“We have seen many performances by overseas musicians in Indonesia, but we barely give chances to our local artists. We want to highlight local legends through this event,” ARB Productions owner Artha Bangun told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

He said the concert would have a reunion concept expected to transport the audience back to the nostalgic events of their youth. The school alumni on the committee generally come from the generation who went to senior high school in 1980s, so they were quick to make a decision to bring back the music that was the soundtrack to their heydays.

He said the committee had been preparing the concert since last year and they were determined to make it real this year especially after an artist who was on the list of performers, veteran singer Utha Likumahuwa, died in September.

Artha, a former radio anchor of Prambors Radio in Jakarta and who participated in popular radio drama Catatan Si Boy (Boy’s Diary) in 1984, will team up with radio anchor Ida Arimurti as the hosts of the concert.

“This concert will run without intervals, so everybody can have non-stop entertainment. We will bring back the thrills of the old days. Some of it may look tacky to kids today, but they are necessary for perfect nostalgia,” he said enthusiastically.

The five-hour concert will present the audience with the disco nuances of the 1980s that was marked, among other things, by bright, shiny mirror balls. They can shake their hips to two disco eras that will feature two popular DJ from the 1980s — Olly Tandjung and Jockie Saputra.

The event, which is expected to attract a crowd of 2,500, will also lay on much-loved dishes that have managed to survive such as goat fried rice from Kebon Sirih, Roti Bakar Edy (Edy grilled bread) and AHA Burgers.

Elfa Singers perform in a beauty pageant competition in 1988. (JP)
The dozens of artists who will enliven the event include Vina Panduwinata, Titi DJ, Imaniar, Tri Utami, vocal group Elfa Singers, Fariz RM, Harvey Mallaiholo, Mus Mujiono, 2D (Dian Pramana Poetra and Dede Dukun) and band Java Jive.

The concert will also feature bands presenting cover versions of songs from legendary rock bands. Among them are Solid 80 with songs from British band Queen, the Cockpit Band, which belts out the songs of rock group Genesis and Acid Speed featuring Rico Korompis, who perform songs from The Rolling Stones.

Lita Zein of Elfa Singers, said her group planned to perform three or four songs, including their 1987 hit “Pesta” (Party) and a new song titled “Dari Hati ke Hati” (From Heart to Heart).

The multi-award winning vocal group, which is currently producing a new album, has been around in the music industry for some 30 years with various line-ups. They currently consist of Ana Julio, Agus Wisman, Lita Zein and Uci Nurul.

“The special thing about this concert is the chance to be on the same stage with our old friends. It will be very exciting because we hardly meet fellow musicians from the old bands,” Lita told the Post.

Unlike other concerts that have festival tickets where the audience can buy low-cost tickets but need to stand to enjoy the music, this concert will provide seats for everybody.

“Considering the ages of the expected audience, we will also provide necessary health equipment such as an ambulance,” Artha said, adding that tickets for the concert will range from Rp 500,000 (US$52) to Rp 1.5 million.

The audience will receive a T-shirt in exchange for children’s books to be donated to Yayasan Gerakan Anak Indonesia Suka Baca (The Children Who Love Reading Foundation) in a corporate social responsibility event held by Indika Energy.

Nostalgia concerts are not new in Jakarta. Recently in June, two boy bands joined forces — New Kids of the Block (NKOTB) and Backstreet Boys (BSB) — and charmed their fans in a nostalgic fiesta of music from the 80s and 90s.

Last year, Kahitna, a legendary band from the 90s, held a successful concert to mark its silver jubilee in the music industry. Held in the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), the concert was a sell-out event attended by thousands of fans who had grown up with the band.