Fri, Mar 2 - 8pm - $17adv/$20door

The place: a club in the middle of Brooklyn renowned for its sophisticated clientele, its receptivity to innovation, and its ideas from abroad. On a small stage in a tight, dimly lit back room, several musicians are whipping a New York City crowd into a frenzy with an unprecedented, high energy, gut-busting fusion of jazz, hip-hop beats, rock muscle, funky go-go, and scalding hot bhangra. A horn section blares, percussionists pound, everybody shouts, and the group’s charismatic leader, Sunny Jain, holds the explosive songs together with rhythms from his dhol – the Indian double-headed drum played slung over the shoulder that provides bhangra with its frenetic heartbeat. And just as it was the month before, the line of patrons who came to this club in Park Slope stretched out the door and down the block because they couldn’t get enough of Red Baraat – a riveting ensemble that NPR has dubbed “The best party band in years.”Versatility is one the band’s hallmarks. Red Baraat can mesmerize an audience with a funk groove, turn a switch, and drive the same crowd to the brink of delirium. Since its formation in 2008 and those storied nights at Barbes in Park Slope, the magic of Red Baraat has spread far beyond New York City. The group’s second studio album in 2013, Shruggy Ji, debuted at #1 on the Billboard World Music charts and propelled the band on a nonstop three-year world tour that included appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD Festivals in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Along the way they sold out rooms as diverse as the Luxembourg Philharmonic and New York City’s iconic Bowery Ballroom, and performed at the request of The White House, TED and Olympic Games. Yet no matter how much success and notoriety Red Baraat has achieved, Sunny Jain and his comrades have never stopped experimenting or adding new elements to their peculiar alchemy.The group’s 2017 and third studio album, Bhangra Pirates, features a key element that the first two did not: guitarist Jonathan Goldberger, whose surreal textures and percussive playing is the ideal complement to Jain’s thunderous dhol. Additionally, the sonic pallet has further expanded with processed effects on both the dhol and sousaphone. The formidable Red Baraat horn section remains intact, while drummer Chris Eddleton draws his inspiration from hip-hop and rock. The album debuted at #4 on the World Music Charts Europe.Each musician in the band pulls from distinct traditions while speaking through their instrument with their own particular musical vocabulary. That it works so well is a testament to Sunny Jain’s utopian vision and his faith that communication across cultures doesn’t have to be vexed in the slightest. All it takes is empathy, creativity, love, and willingness to abandon reservations and surrender to the spirit of music and the moment. This effortless outlook empowers Red Baraat to do what it does best – communing with their audience in a joyful, near hedonistic celebration of music and dance, which tellingly draws a crowd even more diverse than the players on stage. “The universality of what Red Baraat does is undeniable,” says Jain. “Bhangra Pirates embodies that push and pull in all of us…free spirit, community, rebellion, tradition, and new journeys.”-----A baraat, explains dholi and bandleader Sunny Jain, is an Indian wedding procession – one that includes a groom on top of a horse, friends and family singing and dancing, and usually led by a brass band. (The “red” part of the group’s handle refers both to the symbolic meaning of the color in Indian weddings and the passion he elicits from his musicians and from listeners). Jain was born and raised in Rochester, New York, but his family maintained close ties to India, and with regular summer visits throughout his childhood he applied what he learned from his cultural heritage to his musical education. The drummer and composer recorded several accomplished jazz albums with the Sunny Jain Collective and has collaborated with Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Q-Tip, and the acclaimed Pakistani Sufi-rock band Junoon, among many others. Yet he always dreamed of applying the celebratory energy of the Punjabi wedding bands he had encountered on his trips overseas to American jazz, rock, funk and pop. With Red Baraat, he has realized his ambition and taken the project in wild improvisatory directions he’d never anticipated. 

 RED BARAAT FESTIVAL OF COLORS is a celebration of HOLI, a Hindu holiday marked by public gatherings of families, friends, and strangers rejoicing in song, dance, and the exchange of “colors." The holiday signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and an opportunity to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive. Bandleader and dhol player Sunny Jain curates a night of music highlighting the South Asian Diaspora in America...special guests and openers for 2018's Festival of Colors will be announced soon!

Fatbook is a collective of musicians that bring reggae and soul a heavy dose of Chicago groove.  A fierce rhythm section, rich mellow vocals, and big lush horns take you on an energized excursion weaving through genres - a soundscape that you can’t quite place and you can’t stop moving to. The members’ varied and distinct journeys in music and life come together as they make music that is fresh, colorful, and rooted in groove.  Fatbook was originally formed at Lawrence University and won back-to-back “Downbeat Awards” from the jazz world’s Downbeat Magazine in 2009 and 2010. The group has been based in Chicago since then, and their unique sound and high-energy live performances have propelled them as a force in the Chicago music community to stages all across the country. Fatbook’s members are also educators dedicated to bringing youth up within the world of music, dance, and art. The group’s vocalist Harjinder says, “Expression is essential for the human soul, and teaching is essential for the human community. We love sharing what we love.” An insistence for action and positive change resonates through the group’s motives and what they do.  The group released their self-titled debut “Fatbook” (Aug 2014) with 5 time Grammy nominated engineer and producer duo Manny Sanchez and Greg Magers (Lupe Fiasco, Umphrey’s McGee, Patrick Stump, and others), recorded at Chicago’s I.V Labs Studios and The Attic. Their Summer 2014 tour shared 20 dates from Chicago to Seattle, to LA and back, and ended with a featured appearance at the House of Blues Chicago. The members tour frequently with other projects throughout the USA and abroad, and the group continues to come together and push boundaries.  Come dance and spread the movement. …Lets wake up and live. 

Subhi is a singer, songwriter, composer based in Chicago. Her debut album (out this summer) is a Hindi Pop-Jazz album in collaboration with renowned musicians from the Chicago Jazz scene including Joaquin Garcia (Piano), Ivan Taylor (Double Bass), Gustavo Cortinas (Drums) & Rajiv Halim (Saxophone).  Born in New Delhi, Subhi moved to New York when she was 16 years old. Later, she moved to Chicago and kept actively traveling to Mumbai for work on several music projects. Being in Chicago, she wanted to embrace the city’s vibrant jazz into her music. She started working with local musicians and this collaboration helped her discover a unique style. Today, her music highlights her journey as an artist between two cultures & showcases a blend of her Indian roots and the prominent Jazz scene of Chicago.  Subhi recently performed at the 'Eye On India' festival in Chicago and her songs have been featured on NPR and WGN TV. She began her career working as a music assistant on Monsoon Wedding Broadway show in New York. She went on to compose, write, and sing for Bollywood movies and leading Indian digital studios.