Sunday 6th September was a very busy day for us here at Asian Arts Agency!
We started the day with our stall at the fantastic Make Sunday Special event on Corn St in the city centre. This was the last Make Sunday Special event of the year but it was nothing short of special, packed with the usual mix of music, food, fun and shopping. We had great (and quite messy) fun with our rice game, where children (and a few too many adults…) competed over who could carry the most spoonfuls of rice from one plate to another in 30 seconds – without using their hands! Our winner was a young boy called Hari with a landslide victory of 16 spoonfuls,
But the stars of the day were our very own Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band, who blew everyone away with three performances of their exciting fusion of folk, jazz, Bhangra and Bollywood hits. Their 3pm performance in particular had a lot of attention, and attracted a huge crowd of smiling, clapping and dancing people. Bristol Mayor George Ferguson even stopped by to tell us how much he enjoyed the show!
But the excitement didn’t end there. In the evening the incredible Kiran Ahluwalia performed at the Bristol Folk House. This was the Indo-Canadian singer’s penultimate show on her UK tour spanning numerous dates and festivals (including the sold-out Shambala festival), and she gave a truly magical performance. The multi-award winning musician dazzled us all with her unique blend of Indian classical music, western jazz and Saharan blues with a modern twist. She played an inspiring mixture of hits from her back catalogue, featuring songs from her Juno award-winning albums Wanderlust (2007) and Aam Zameen: Common Ground (2011), and of course her fabulous latest release Sanata: Stillness (2014). The crowd loved every minute of her two-hour show and here are some things they had to say about it:
“Beautiful!”
“An interesting fusion of Indian and Western styles. Excellent musicianship and singing.”
“A wonderful way to spend a Sunday evening, expanding our musical horizons. A great gig and perfect venue!”
“So pleased to get the chance to see Kiran live and so close-up and close to home – thank you!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful programme. It was mesmerizing.”
“AMAZING!!”
If you missed Kiran at Bristol or anywhere else, there’s still time to catch her at Rich Mix in London on Tuesday 8th September at 8pm. (Tickets: £12 on the door/£10 in advance.)
Stay tuned for more exciting events coming up this Autumn!