DC South Asian Music Festival hits DMV this July

July 21-23 festival will celebrate legendary South Asian talents as also give a platform for amateur and local artists

The DC South Asian Arts Council (DCSAAC) is back with their latest festival of the arts! After having served the DC region with South Asian Literary and Film Festivals, DCSAAC now brings for the first time the DC South Asian Music Festival.

Like all of DCSAAC’s endeavors, this festival to be held July 21-23, 2023 at the Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, will celebrate legendary and world renowned South Asian talents as well as give a platform for amateur and local artists to showcase their artistry, this time in music, to the South Asian diaspora.

On opening night, audiences will be delighted to experience firsthand the legendary melodies and classical tunes by Sarod Grand Master Amjad Ali Khan, accompanied by Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash. This is sure to be a night to kick back, relax, and drown in the beautiful strings of the sarod under such legends.

READ: Virtual DC South Asian Film Festival from Jan 16 to 30 (January 14, 2022)

The second day of the festival, July 22, will be a jam-packed day filled with a variety of delightful musical experiences. The day will begin with a talent contest, featuring the best of the best in local talent.

Following this program, audiences will get to witness firsthand the mellifluous music of Pandit Vishwas Shirgaonkar, who will dazzle audiences with his vocals in classical music.

Next up will be a young local talent, Kanjonavo Sabud, performing sitar for the DMV audience, after which will be a celebration of music with love beyond boundaries featuring the glorious coming together of sitar, oud, tabla and Arab percussion with the talents of Alif Laila, Anubrata Chatterjee, Khaled Al Maouloui, and Laith Alattar.

This will be followed by amazing performances of classical music by Harsh Khinchi and Sid Lahiri. The day will close with a dynamic musical program featuring the songs of Ghazal Queen Vatsala Mehra.

The final day, July 23, will commence with ensemble performances by some of the DMV’s finest singers including Sangeeta Mathur Simlote, Farid Mahmood, Shilpa, Parasuram Iyer, and Alok Srivastava, featuring the musical technique of Masala Beats (Sunila Bali) and emcee talents of Kartikeya Tripathi.

Following this, audiences will be transported to musical bliss with the Infusion Band, which will then round out the closure of the program with a program by the Grammy Award winning international artist Falu Shah.

Don’t miss this once in a lifetime coming together of a variety of musical talents! To book your tickets and for more information, please visit: https://dcsaaci.org/welcome-to-dcsamf-2023/#schedule .