Brooklyn Raga Massive announces Ragini Festival Pop-Up and Counterpoint

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The renowned music organization, Brooklyn Raga Massive, (brooklynragamassive.org) announced two major events for July, including a Ragini Festival Pop-Up, and its annual festival Counterpoint.

The Ragini Festival makes a mini comeback this summer with two events at Rubin Museum on July 12, 2024, featuring a trio of musicians (Roshni Samlal, Camila Celin, & Inana Lu Rose) in collaboration with Brooklyn Raga Massive, presenting sonic convergences and diasporic detours from regions along the silk road- from Mongolia to South Asia. This is a ticketed event. Folk and traditional lineages converse through a shared study of Indian classical raga, folklore and electronic/contemporary influences from the musical mecca of NY, a press release from BRM said.

Simultaneously, there is an un-ticketed, free event, where the Rubin Museum transforms its galleries into sonically Re-imagined spaces with DJ sets by Zara Dekho, offeringrain, and Roshni Samlal stationed throughout the museum.

On July 21, BRM is holding its annual festival titled Counterpoint at the Barclay Center as part of the Social Justice Fund’s Counterpoint series which brings world-class art and performance to Brooklyn, building on the borough’s rich cultural history, and reaching new audiences, the organization said.

The event brings together diverse ensembles exploring Raga inspired, creative music. The afternoon begins with a children’s program called Raga Kids that introduces both kids and adults to the subtleties and nuances of this non-Western art form. Ragini Ensemble pays tribute to South Asian diasporic roots across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The journey continues with the psychedelic raga rock of Quadrature while Rasa Yatra celebrates the profound essence of Indian Classical Music. Finally, we culminate in a grand convergence with “In D”, BRM’s original composition in homage to minimalist maestro Terry Riley and his “In C”, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. “In D” blends raga music and Riley’s concepts with 20 musicians playing instruments from around the globe.