Concert | Music that Blends Eastern and Western Culture, with Grammy Nominated Singer (In a Park)

Drawing from ancient traditions, Pakistani musician and author Ali Sethi's compositions tell stories of exuberance and joy from the margins. Connecting disparate identities and genres, Sethi imbues his music with metaphors and wide-ranging themes, leaving it open to interpretation and welcoming in a broad audience. Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and rapper Raja Kumari opens with her fiery lyrics and explosive dance performances, paying homage to her Indian roots. Roshni Samlal, performing a DJ set, bridges communities with her unique poetry and sound collages.

About the Artists
Playful connections -- between masculine and feminine, East and West, folk and woke -- have always figured prominently in Ali Sethi's music which transforms South Asia's love of metaphors and multiples into a panacea for our polarized world. Whether imagining a traditional poetry recital as a congregation of refugees in the video for his lullaby Chandni Raat, or vocalizing the monsoon in a symphony about war and migration at Carnegie Hall, Ali Sethi insists on making connections between disparate identities and genres until they become loose from their associations. "I load my songs with baroque themes and metaphors because they allow for multiple interpretations. It's a gloriously campy worldview that gave me solace as an out-of-place kid in Pakistan. The imagery invites you in, teases you, seduces you with its romantic symbolism. Then it breaks your heart. Is this a song about forbidden love between two countries, two tribes, or two people? I want to make songs that empower every member of my audience."

Raja Kumari is an American born, Grammy nominated, international singer, songwriter, and rapper fiercely proud of her Indian roots. She creates music, art, and dance in a powerful, magnetic, and fresh combination of her background, upbringing, interests, and influences. She is a fearless, charismatic personality and natural-born storyteller whose songs are an undeniable sonic bridge between East and West. The music fuses the rhythms she absorbed as a trained classical Indian dancer with her love for hip-hop and her constant musical evolution as an artist. Kumari is one of the top female rappers in India and has graced the covers of numerous publications including Rolling Stone India. She has co-written songs with Gwen Stefani, Fifth Harmony, Twin Shadow, Iggy Azalea, and John Legend.

Roshni Samlal is a New York-based, Trinidadian tabla player who has studied within the Farrukhabad, Benares, and Punjab gharanas or schools of Indian classical percussion. Roshni is now a prolific local teacher and performer, both in traditional, soloist repertoire, as a classical accompanist as well as within a variety of jazz, experimental, and chamber ensembles. Roshni also explores creating sound design landscapes as a narratorial context for tabla solos, incorporating poetry and sound collages that speak to topics of indentureship, post-colonial Caribbean identity, and migration. Roshni also crafts DJ sets influenced by her heritage and experiences as an immigrant during the 90's.

Doors open 6:00 pm.
For Deaf and hard of hearing communities, there will be an ASL interpreter at the left side of the stage.