Local singers entertain Chicago area music lovers

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Music lovers from the Greater Chicago area were treated to a musical extravaganza March 31 at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, Ill. Hosted by Blue Sparkle Events, the event showcased four local singers who entertained the audience with old and new melodies. More than 500 people attended the show, supported by Air India and Natraj Travels, a Blue Sparkle Events press release said.

Master of ceremony, Elizabeth Singh, welcomed the guest and noted that music unites people across culture, across ethnicity, and across languages. The show started with a performance by Varun Singh Latamba and his orchestra, after which Bhupendra Singh, popular as “Kishore Kumar of Chicago,” took stage. He entertained the audience with popular songs and also entertained requests from his fans during the show. Singh recently launched his own album in Mumbai under the music direction of Baba Sehgal.

The next performer, Rama Raghuraman, an educator by profession and formally trained in Indian classical music, sang popular songs by legendary singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

After soulful renditions by Raghuraman, the audience was treated to some peppy Bollywood and bhangra numbers by Pavithra Anand, the lead singer of the popular Chicago-based fusion band Funkadesi. The group presents a culturally unifying vision through music by merging Reggae, Indian and African music.

Ajay Bhatia, Singh’s partner for the past 20 years was the last performer of the evening.

The singers were supported by a live orchestra with Hitesh Master Nayak on keyboard, Puranlal Vyas on tabla, Shivanand Bangar on side percussions, Richard Christian on octopad, Devdeep Latamba on drums, John Mall on base guitar, Raju Ali on lead guitar and Varun Latamba, lead on guitar.

“Blue Sparkle is an Event Management Company that believes and delivers impeccable management, coordination and execution of events and adorn them with a spark of elegance” said Sunita Sharma Latamba.

The group is hosting its next event, a tribute to legendary singer Kishore Kumar, on Oct. 28. The funds raised will go to the Shankar Eye Foundation to combat blindness by supporting their goal of 2000 free cataract surgeries for 2017.