By Mabel Pais

The Mahindra Blues Festival, situated in an iconic 70-year-old Bollywood Studio, is held annually in Mumbai, India and has become one of the most important blues events in the country.

This year, Mahindra Blues Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) join forces to present Mahindra Blues Special on Saturday July 15 at 6 pm & 7:30 pm, a one night only celebration of the many communities connected to the blues with performances at two special locations on the Lincoln Center campus. Both performances are FREE.

First, at 6:00 pm, catch Indian-born Aayushi Karnik with NYC veterans Russell Hall on bass and Cameron MacIntosh on drums at The Dance Floor at Josie Robertson Plaza, playing original music fusing blues guitar and jazz harmony.

At 7:30 pm, make your way to Damrosch Park to take in the incredible vocal stylings of Brianna Thomas and Ella Sang The Blues, followed by the Corey Harris Band, known for mixing New Orleans, Caribbean, and African influences into their eclectic sound.

AAYUSHI KARNIK

“Aayushi’s playing, writing, and singing speak directly to the universality of the blues. She is a natural with human concerns and insights that touch something deep inside all of us.” -Wynton Marsalis

Description of set:

1. Blues/Rock Trio music
2. Original music that fuses with Songwriting traditions, Blues guitar playing and Jazz Harmony

Learn more at aayushikarnik.com.

BRIANNA THOMAS

“She brings new meaning to, if it plays in Peoria, it will play anywhere.” President Bill Clinton.”

Vocalist, composer, arranger Brianna Thomas is one of the most evocative and accomplished vocalists of her generation. Blessed with a sublime and soulfully syncopated soprano voice that scats, swoons, and croons at the speed of swing.

Soulful vocalist Brianna Thomas reimagines Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘These are the Blues,’ the only all-blues album Fitzgerald ever released, performing tunes including “St. Louis Blues” and “Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya.”

COREY HARRIS

Corey Harris: ‘Insurrection Blues’ coming November 4 on M.C. Records

Corey Harris can engage an audience, or draw crowds and acclaim around the world. But for Harris, the blues involves a deeper mission, and that includes weighing in when there is something timely that needs to be said. Insurrection Blues, Harris’ 20th album overall and first for M.C. Records, continues a blues journey that began with his debut album ‘Between Midnight and Day’ in 1995.

He’s collaborated with the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Tracy Chapman, and Dave Matthews, and won honors including the MacArthur Fellowship’s “genius award” and an honorary music doctorate from his alma mater, Bates College in Maine.

Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City

The Mahindra Blues Special is presented as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City (lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city) which began on June 14 and continues until August 12, the ultimate New York festival. This special summer event spans three summer months and features hundreds of events and thousands of artists, all in celebration of New York City.

The Mahindra Blues special is a free, general admission event. For more information visit lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is a cultural and civic cornerstone of New York City. Learn more at lincolncenter.org.

LCPA presents hundreds of programs each year, offered primarily for free and choose-what-you-pay, including many specially designed for young audiences, families, and those with disabilities.

MAHINDRA GROUP

Learn more at mahindra.com.

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ASIAN FILM FEST OF DALLAS

By Mabel Pais

Screening

Among Shorts

NEHA GAUTAM’s ‘Passenger Seat’

And many more

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) for its 22nd edition this year takes place, July 13-16. All screenings take place at the Angelika Film Center, Dallas (5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, #230).

AFFD Executive Director Thomas Schubert, said, “AFFD has always been a signature event for Dallas film lovers, introducing exciting films and cinema to DFW, and this year we will continue to try new ways to add to the fun.”

2023 ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF DALLAS LINEUP

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION

The Night Owl

Dir: Tae-Jin Ahn l South Korea l 118m

CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION

Drive  

Dir: Park Dong-hee l South Korea l 93m

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

The Accidental Getaway Driver     

Dir: Sing J Lee l USA, Vietnam l 109m

Waiting for the Light to Change     

Dir: Linh Tran l USA l 89m

ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES

Absence        

Dir: Lang Wu l China l 100m

Aporia

Dir: Ju-hyoung Lee l South Korea l 120m

Limbo

Dir: Soi Cheang l Hong Kong l 118m

Nakodo: Matchmakers        

Dir: Naoki Maeda l Japan l 110m

New Religion

Dir: Keishi Kondo l Japan l 100m

Next Sohee   

Dir: July Jung l South Korea l 134m

Night of the Assassin          

Dir: Kwak Jeong-deok l South Korea l 101m

Peafowl         

Dir: Sung Bin Byun l South Korea l 115m

Siren in the Shadows          

Dir: Hidenori Inoue l Japan l 127m

Stone Turtle  

Dir: Ming Jin Woo l Malaysia l 91m

The Childe    

Dir: Park Hoon-jung l South Korea l 118m

The Cord of Life       

Dir: Sixue Qiao l China, Mongolia l 96m

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES 

Children of the Mist 

Dir: Ha La Diem l Vietnam l 92m

Seven Winters in Tehran    

Dir: Steffi Niederzoll l France, Germany l 97m

SHORT FILMS

100 Dragonflies

Dir: Kyle Michael McCloskey l Japan l 20m

A Dawn at Minato City         

Dir: Sergey Vlasov l Japan l 7m

Ey You!         

Dir: Nicola Fan l Hong Kong l 6m

Passenger Seat        

Dir: Neha Gautam l USA l 18m

Passenger Seat’ shows the truth of being a cabbie in NYC: taking on predatory loans, struggling with deregulation, and competing with the rise of rideshare apps. But we wanted to humanize the complexities of financial struggle by centering tenderness in daughter-father Desi immigrant relationships.

Please Hold the Line

Dir: Tan Ce Ding l Malaysia l 18m

TICKETS

To purchase badges, tickets and for updates, visit asianfilmdallas.com.

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD)

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) is dedicated to celebrating and supporting emerging and established Asian and Asian-American filmmakers and sharing the rich diversity of Asian culture through the medium of cinema. Over the last 20+ years, the festival has provided opportunities for over 400 Asian and Asian-American filmmakers to share their vision, often providing the only venue for their films to be shown in Dallas. The films have also allowed festival goers a chance to experience other lives and cultures without leaving their seats.

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