Celebrating South Asian Music and Culture.

RBC desiFEST set to rock Vancouver.

Over time South Asian music scene has established itself across Canada and it gets bigger and bigger every year.

This year RBC desiFEST, a street celebration of South Asian Heritage Month featuring Canada’s top South Asian artist in a music marathon being held in Toronto, has broadened its audience with a series of performances in Vancouver and Montreal....

Check out our events stage on Cordova Street between Cambie and Richards from 10am 'til 8pm on May 3rd.

We've also planned desiQUEST, the afterparty and boatcruise, featuring top talent from the day and special guest DJs, departing from 501 Denman Street at 9:30PM. Click HERE to find out more or add the event to Facebook, HERE.

The desiFEST program:

Priya Kumar

Priya Kumar and Camille Arneja are graduates from the Jai Govinda Dance Academy under Mandala Arts & Culture Society. They have extensively performed in Canada, United States, and India. A unique interpretation of dance has evolved within them creating a new style called Indian contemporary dance. Kumar and Arneja fuse eastern and western styles of dance without compromising the spiritual and sacred elements of Bharata Natyam.

Camille Arneja

Priya Kumar and Camille Arneja are graduates from the Jai Govinda Dance Academy under Mandala Arts & Culture Society. They have extensively performed in Canada, United States, and India. A unique interpretation of dance has evolved within them creating a new style called Indian contemporary dance. Kumar and Arneja fuse eastern and western styles of dance without compromising the spiritual and sacred elements of Bharata Natyam.

Cassius Khan

Cassius Khan is the only professional performing artist in the world who can play tabla and sing Ghazals simultaneously - A phenomenon unheard of in the Indian classical music scene.

Born to Naimatullah & Razia Khan in Sugar City, FJ Isles. Cassius S. Ahmad Khan is the sole disciple of Ustad Rukhsar Ali Khan of the Delhi and Farrukkhabad gharanas of Tabla playing. He was taught Ghazal gayaki from the late Mushtari Begum, and Harmonium from Sheikh Mohyudean. He is very well known as an electrifying tabla player with uncanny intuition, and a charsmatic personality on and off the stage.

Joti Shergill

Joti Shergill...........a woman designed like the rubik's square. She has so many different facets that its hard for anyone to keep up. From ripping up Punjabi Boliyan tiger style, to singing her Cher and Aerosmith tracks. She has sang for the elite of elite Bhangra teams in various competitions, ( UBC Girlz Bhangra Team, Punjab Cultural Arts Centre, Duniya Di Shaan, Giddha Punjabana Da, BC Cultural Bhangra Team, Punjab Folk Academy). It doesn't stop just here.

check out RBC desiFEST 2007 - TORONTO

check out last years sights and sounds! RBC desiFEST 2007 was a ground breaker!. Click HERE. Also visit, YouTube HERE, and MySpace, HERE

Sri Lankan Duo

“Sri Lankan Duo”- the first Sri Lankan husband and wife band was registered in BC in April 2006.

The members of the band are Susantha de Silva and Thisaranie Ranasuriya.

Shez Khan

Stepping on the scene is Vancouver’s very own talented singer/songwriter Shez Khan. Born in Kenya and educated in Canada, Shez infuses her rich cultural heritage with western melodies to create a sound few have been able to conquer. From a young age, Shez has been onstage performing at a variety of cultural shows both locally as well as internationally in countries such as Portugal, Kenya and the United States. Shez has performed both with live bands such as "jambo", as well as bollywood karaoke shows.

En Karma

En karma…… you ready?

Formed in 2006, En Karma began as group of friends who came together with one mutual goal in mind: to create music that people would love dancing to, as much as the band loved playing it. The line up began with Nick Chowlia on keys, Pip Dhaliwal on drums, Ravi Binning on dhol, Jatinder Dhesi (JP) on Dholak, and Ricky Thinda on bass guitar.

DJ Publicity - Bhangra King

Take 2 Years of deejaying and tell me how many people can say that they were the headlining bhangra dj for the Mcmaster/Hamilton Party Series which did over 800-1000+ every single party.

Then mention names like The Rishi Rich Project and ask what Dj opened for them and played bhangra in the Kool Haus for the very first time?

Then fast forward to January of 2006 and be only 1 of 3 deejays selected from Canada to showcase a whole countries talent @ Club Avalon in Manhattan, NYC for SASA 2006.

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The original press release:

One of a kind all South Asian Canadian music festival expands across Canada Vancouver, B.C., February 28th, 2008 –Vancouver will host RBC desiFEST presented by TELUS, Canada’s only South Asian Canadian music festival, for the first time on May 3rd, 2008 in Gastown, Vancouver. RBC desiFEST showcases approximately 20 outstanding, local South Asian Canadian artists, gives them exposure and helps to increase their profile in the mainstream music industry. RBC desiFEST presents the very best in South Asian Canadian music and dance with contemporary indo-jazz fusion and world music, along with cutting edge DJs from the Asian underground music scene. The festival also features dance and music workshops, cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts vendors and traditional South Asian delicacies.

RBC desiFEST originally launched in Toronto in 2007 and was an overwhelming success! As a result, plans to expand the festival are underway, with a kick off in Montreal March 29th, 2008. This national event will feature a DJ competition and the winner will be invited to be the ambassador at the grande finale event in Toronto on May 31st, 2008. The festival’s second stop will be right here in our hometown, Vancouver, where there will be a 10-hour South Asian talent search contest and a DJ competition. The winner of this contest will be invited to travel to Toronto for the grande finale event on May 31st, 2008.

Graham MacLachlan, RBC regional president for BC, said, “RBC is pleased to support RBC desiFEST and to see top South Asian Canadian talent being shared with a wider audience this year. We hope all of the dancers and musicians enjoy the festival and are inspired to continue performing.”

“TELUS and its team members are committed to give where we live,” said Rizwan Jamal, senior vice-president of Consumer Solutions at TELUS. “As such, we are proud to present an event like the RBC desiFEST which plays an important role in promoting and keeping alive the South Asian cultural richness across the country.”
     

RBC desiFEST Vancouver presented by TELUS
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Gastown - On Water St. Between Richards and Cambie.

FREE Admission
For up to date information on artists, events and daily prize giveaways please visit us at www.desifest.ca