“The biggest stand-up comedy act in India. Period”.- Tanmay Bhat, AiB co-founder.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) welcomes comedian Zakir Khan’s brand-new stand-up comedy national tour: Live In US, on Saturday, September 3, 2022, at 7 pm. This show will be performed in Hindi.

After two-hour length standup massively successful specials, Haq Se Single (2017) and Kaksha Gyarvi (2021) on Amazon Prime Video; and after selling out 100,000+ tickets across the globe, Zakir Khan is on the road once again with his latest stand up show. Khan has the ability to highlight comic elements in everyday life and is known for his “uniquely Indian” style of comedy, which involves him impeccably catching on to the emotions that are common to every Indian household. Zakir Khan is one of the brightest Indian comedians and actors in India. In 2012, he rose to popularity by winning Comedy Central’s India’s Best Stand Up Comedian competition. He has also been a part of a news comedy show, ‘On Air with AiB’ (All India Bakchod[) – a parody of ‘All India Radio.’

A writer by profession, he has been described by AIB’S co-founder, Tanmay Bhat, as “The biggest stand-up comedy act in India. Period.” This ‘Confused Desi’ serves his take on modern India, with a hard-to-resist style of humor that’ll have you nodding your heads and clapping as you relate to everything he says. His work includes comedy specials like Kaksha Gyarvi; an acclaimed Amazon Prime series, Chacha Vidhayak Hai Hamare and a podcast, ‘Umeed.’ Zakir is indeed a unique act, and it’s easy to see why.

Zakir Khan has a diploma in Sitar. He has stated that had he not been a standup comedian, he would instead be working as a music teacher. He became a known face in India’s stand-up comedy circuit in 2012 when he won the title of ‘India’s Best Stand Up’, a comedy competition organized by Comedy Central. Besides performing at many stand-up comedy shows, he has also ghostwritten and produced radio shows. His comedy style was applauded in NDTV (New Delhi Television Limited) Prime’s ‘The Rising Stars of Comedy’ television show. He is an emerging Urdu Poet and comes from a family of artists. He has presented his poetry in events like ‘Rekhta.’ On his train journey to Delhi, he wrote his first poem, “Mai Soonya Pe Sawar Hoon”. He also wrote “Apne Aap Ke Bhi Piche Khara Hoon Main”,”Bus Ka Intezar Karte Huye”. Apart from comedy, Zakir has also generated podcast series Ummeed on Gaana, where he shares the inspiration he got from incidents in his life, along with his other comedian friends.

Catch the ‘sakth launda’ (one who doesn’t easily fall for girls) himself,

Zakir Khan Live!

TICKETS

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

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THE PIANO GUYS

By Mabel Pais

‘THE PIANO GUYS’ take their show to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), on Wednesday, September 14th at 7:30 p.m.

From YouTube stardom to the top of the Billboard charts, The Piano Guys have taken the world by storm with classical mash-ups of your favorite rock and pop songs. Their Oscar-worthy music videos bring piano and cello out of the concert hall and into the most unexpected places: on a speeding train, a cliff’s edge, a beach, or in front of the Seven Wonders of the World. (It’s no “wonder” their gorgeous videos are streamed over 3 million times every day.)

The Piano Guys are Jon Schmidt (pianist, songwriter), Steven Sharp Nelson (cellist, songwriter), Paul Anderson (producer, videographer) and Al van der Beek (music producer, songwriter). Their mission is to uplift and inspire each and every listener.

HOW DID THEY START THE PIANO GUYS

What do you get when you mix up a marketing genius that does video, a studio engineer that writes music, a pianist that had a successful solo career, and a cellist that does pretty much everything? The Piano Guys: a miraculous meeting of “guys” with the same intrinsic purpose – to make a positive impact in the lives of people all over the world through music videos.

It all started in a piano store in a little Southern Utah town called Saint George. Paul Anderson, the store’s owner, was looking for a new, unconventional way to market pianos. The name of the piano store? The Piano Guys.

Paul embarked on a self-guided study of social marketing and started a YouTube channel and a Facebook page. He was an ambitious, talented risk taker and felt inspired that if he could find the right people to work with he could create the number one music video channel in the world.

In walked Jon Schmidt to the store. Jon requested Paul if he could let him practice on one of the store’s piano for his upcoming gig. Paul explained his idea to Jon and asked if he would be willing to be in a video promoting both the store and Jon’s music. It was a win-win. Jon had a gift for combining multiple genres of music in such an entertaining way that he had captivated and captured a broad, substantial fan base.

Enter Steven Sharp Nelson. When Steve was 15 years old, he met Jon when they had shared the stage at a concert in which they were both performing. Steve, a multi-instrumentalist, joined Jon at more and more of his concerts and their stage chemistry had audiences in stitches and in tears in two songs or less.

Then came Al van der Beek. After moving close to Steve’s home, Al invited his new neighbor Steve to his home with a decked-out studio. They began writing tunes together and discovered a supernatural songwriting partnership. Al’s studio and his engineering skills were to become the most important music-writing tool for ‘The Piano Guys.’

The Piano Guys say, “our mission will always be to produce music videos that inspire, uplift, and make the world a better place. If we can make a positive impact in even one person’s life it has all been worth it to us.”

TICKETS

Tickets for ‘The Piano Guys’ are available at njpac.org/event/the-piano-guys or at the NJPAC Box Office or by calling 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).

 The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)

Follow NJPAC Online:

Website:      njpac.org

Twitter:       @NJPAC

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Hashtag:      #NJPAC

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YouTube:        NJPACtv

Follow NJPAC’s Standing in Solidarity Series Online:

Website:       njpac.org/takeastand

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