When Indian singing phenom Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa appeared on the Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series schedule in New York, we grabbed our gear and hustled to tape as much as we could.
The footage is in post-production, but our Marketing Director Bharat Chari stepped up to write a quick review of the show:
In what was what the band themselves called a ‘special night’, Kailash Kher rocked Brooklyn on Saturday. Capping off a beautiful summer night, a packed Prospect Park danced to the sufi-inspired music of this phenomenon known as Kailash Kher. In addition to the many South Asians, the crowd of over two thousand people was very diverse, with all into the music and the energy from the stage, transcending the language barrier.
Kailash and the band at sound-check
The show opened with the bass-driven seductive song, “Jaana Jogi De Naal” and Kher’s set list ranged from his popular hits, “Teri Deewani”, “Allah Ke Bande”, “Saiyyan”, a new track, “Chaandan Mein” and to a cover of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Tere Bin Nahi Ladga Dil Mehra”.
Kailash with Paresh Kamanth (left) on guitar
The highlight of the evening was when Kher peformed a soulful rendition of “Naiharwa”, a rare track originally written by the poet Sant Kabir in the 1400s. With lyrics translated to “Your beloved will come in a dream-like state…that alone will quench the thirst of your heart”, the crowd was mesmerized.
Kailash Kher
Kailash Kher, an Indian singer whose songs have been successful in Bollywood films, was accompanied by the very talented and tight Kailasa band which Kher formed along with brothers Paresh and Naresh Kamanth.
Naresh Kamanth on bass guitar
The full band of 8 musicians played a range of instruments including the mandelin, guitar, percussion, tabla, violen, keyboard, and bass.The soulful songs were a mix of sufi, folk, classical, pop, and rock music.
Kailash and Kailasa take a bow after the high-energy show
The energy was amazing and the night memorable. Brooklyn-based band, Electro Morocco opened the show and the night was part of the Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series.
The mutli-ethnic crowd moves and grooves
Kailash Kher and the Kailasa band will be back in New York City later in the fall but in the meantime are touring more cities in the U.S.
Kailash takes command of the stage
Catch them if you can in your city and look for more on Kailash Kher right here on MTV Iggy in the upcoming weeks. The band’s new album, titled “Yatra” is scheduled for release in September by Cumbancha Records.
