Category: Music

The Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur | Photo Credit: Courtesy: RIFF As the moon shines bright on Sharad Purnima, the five-century-old magnificent Mehrangarh fort gets ready to host musicians from across the globe. During the five-day Jodhpur RIFF festival (October 16 to 20), the sprawling historical structure turns into a performance arena. Into its 17th year,...

While Beirut remains caught in the crosshairs of war, an indigenous band that boasts a ragtime concoction of dusty Americana and the pulse of Lebanon mirrors the city’s resilience. Led by frontman Nader Mansour and guitarist Eddie Ghossein, The Wanton Bishops were forged in the crucible of resistance, their origins laced with serendipitous beatdowns nearly...

In the heart of Southern India, where percussion rhythms have long been the pulse of diverse music styles, artistes are not only experimenting with sounds but also giving their instruments a new look. For instance, some mridangists have transformed their instruments into canvases. This creative thought was sparked by the recent shift from traditional leather...

Homeland Security Investigation agents are seen at the entrance of U.S. producer and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs’s home at Star Island in Miami Beach on March 25, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP A new wave of lawsuits filed Monday (October 14, 2024) accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a...

Shabana and Shafeekudeen at the two-day Aikyam festival. | Photo Credit: RAGU R Shafeekudeen and Shabana, sishyas of Natyacharyas V.P. and and Shanta Dhananjayan, performed on day two of the Aikyam festival, held recently. The dancers, coordinated in muted shades of green and mustard, were as pleasing as the Kalakshetra bani that they showcased. In...

The artistes in the music video | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement A team of singers well-versed in Carnatic music and playback singing in Telugu cinema have come together for a music video on Argala Stotram. The music video released on Thursday, in time for the Navaratri and Dussehra festivities, has been composed, directed and produced...

Members of Madras Guild of Performing Arts and Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The Indian premiere of F.J. Haydn’s ‘The Creation’, presented by the Madras Guild of Performing Arts (MGPA), in collaboration with the Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo (GMSC), promised an evening that would transport the audience to the...

Freddie Mercury in his iconic costume – white pants with a red stripe, a white T-shirt and bright yellow military jacket | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives It’s a warm and humid October morning. But you hardly feel the heat walking on the clean, wide tree-lined roads in Mumbai’s Dadar Parsi Colony. This is an...

Odissi dancer Madhulitha Mohapatra, curated a two-day Naman festival recently in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Odissi, one of the classical dance forms, is marked by graceful postures, emotive facial expressions, bright costumes, and make-up. Pallavi, Ashtapadi, and Oriya poems, and Chaukha and Tribhanga stances form the basic movement through which Odissi dancers convey...

For an artist, the studio is often a solitary space, a sanctuary for ideas to germinate and grow. But what happens when a group of artists are brought together to share this sacred ground? The Serendipity Arts Foundation’s residency program offers a glimpse into this unique experiment. For three months, a diverse ensemble of artists...