• By Mabel Pais

Witness the soulful rendition of Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa as they perform on October 19, 2024 at International House, 500 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10027 (ihouse-nyc.org – 212-316-8400).

KAILASH KHER

Kailash Kher is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians Kumar Gandharva, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Kailash Kher received the Padma Shri award in 2017 from the Indian government. He has also received two Filmfare Awards; Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film ‘Fanaa’ (2006) and Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu for the Telugu film ‘Mirchi’ (2013), along with several other nominations.

A. R. Rahman said of Kailash Kher, “Kher has a uniquely soulful, raw and high-pitched voice. I remember how I first heard of him. I had asked Mehboob, our lyricist, for a new voice that is earthy and strong, and he said, I have just the person for you. That voice can only be that of Kailash! And he sent Kailash to meet me. The moment I heard him, I knew that here was a voice that was so wonderful, and which had its own unique space…. I want to say that Kailash Kher’s voice has something that had been lacking a lot – it had pure soul! Allah Ke Bande is one of my all-time favorite songs.”

With his powerful voice and his unique style of music, Kher has established himself as one of the most popular playback singers of India.

Listen to Kailash – youtu.be/_nFO-sK2OSA

KAILASA

Kailasa is an Indian fusion band, founded by Kailash Kher. The name of the band is taken from an accented pronunciation of Kailash’s own name as well as Mount Kailash, the abode of Hindu God Shiva. Along with guitars, drums and keyboards, the band incorporates classical Indian instruments and sometimes traditional lyrics into their songs to infuse folk and a Sufi hue.

The band is renowned all over the world for being one of the only pure live Hindustani music bands and one of the most celebrated bands in India. What started off as a trio of Mr. Paresh Kamath, Mr. Naresh Kamath and Padma Shri Kailash Kher has now grown into a collective of some of the most talented musicians, instrumentalists and technical crew that the country has to offer.

The Kailasa Band has taken the music of the country to multiple countries: United States of America, England, South Africa, Australia, Mauritius, to name a few, having performed in various prestigious venues and acclaimed music festivals across the world, in a career spanning nearly 2 decades and over 1500 concerts. Some of the venues and festivals that the Kailasa Band have performed include but are not limited to: The Hollywood Bowl  in Los Angeles, The Kennedy Center in Washington, the historical ‘Fillmore Center’ in San Francisco, Royal Festival Hall in London, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, the ‘Santa Monica Pier Music Festival,’ ‘Stern Grove Music Festival,’ ‘International Music Festival’ at Webster Hall, New York, to name a few. The band has performed in more than 500 cities worldwide including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Singapore, Malaysia, Houston, San Francisco, London and New York.

TICKETS

For Tickets to attend the performance, visit IAAC.us

IAAC

Located in New York City, Indo-American Arts Council Inc. is passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of arts and artists of Asian Indian heritage. The artistic focus is primarily on the performing arts besides the visual, literary and folk arts. For information, visit IAAC.us.

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HIP HOP & SPOKEN WORD FEATURED IN DODGE POETRY FEST

• By Mabel Pais

Newark gets ready for an exciting night of Hip Hop and Spoken Word!

As part of the Dodge Poetry Festival, witness Hip Hop and Spoken Word Artists: RAKIM, BIG DADDY KANE, MC LYTE, DUPRÉ DOITALL KELLY, DJ SPINNA, CARIDAD DE LA LUZ (LA BRUJA), MAHOGANY L. BROWNE and TYEHIMBA JESS as they all take to the state on Saturday, October 19th at 8:00 p.m. to perform hit songs and share how spoken word is a big part of Hip Hop.

RAKIM, the influential rapper and “inventor of flow,” first exploded onto the scene with ‘Eric B. is President’ and raised the bar for all future MCs.

BIG DADDY KANE, formerly of the Juice Crew, is known for his lyrical dexterity on songs like ‘Young, Gifted and Black,’ ‘Ain’t No Half-Steppin’,’ ‘Raw,’ ‘Smooth Operator’ and ‘Set It Off.’

MC LYTE, the first female rapper to release a full solo album, dominates the mic on ‘Ruffneck,’ ‘Cha Cha Cha,’ ‘Poor Georgie,’ ‘Lyte as a Rock,’ ‘10% Dis’ and ‘Paper Thin.’

DUPRE DOITALL KELLY transformed his platinum-selling music career into political activism. He currently represents Newark’s West Ward as their councilman. 

DJ SPINNA is producer and remixer for De La Soul, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Eminem and his groups Jigmastas, Polyrhythm Addicts and Domecrackers.

CARIDAD DE LA LUZ, aka LA BRUJA, is an Emmy-winning poet, activist, actor and current executive director of the famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

MAHOGANY L. BROWNE is a poet and organizer whose books include ‘Vinyl Moon,’ ‘Chlorine Sky,’ ‘Black Girl Magic’ and banned books ‘Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice and Woke Baby.’

TYEHIMBA JESS is the author of ‘Leadbelly’ and the Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Olio.’ Widely published and anthologized, his many honors include fellowships from Guggenheim and NEA.

TICKETS

For Tickets to the performance, visit NJPAC.org or the NJPAC Box Office or call 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)

Learn more at njpac.org

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, Business, and Education)