This past weekend, Indian-origin musician Raveena Aurora became the first Indian woman to perform at Coachella as she took to the Mojave stage.
Prior to this, Ritesh D’Souza of electronic music act B.R.E.E.D (joined by vocalist Tara Mae) was the first Indian artist to perform at the annual music and arts festival when the duo were invited in 2015.
Raveena Aurora, whose music blends jazz, R&B, and soul, is known for drawing inspiration from her South Asian roots. Her music videos are often a nod to her Sikh heritage and her sophomore album Asha’s Awakening (released in January, 2022) is a concept project from the perspective of a “Punjabi space princess.”
At Coachella, the first stop in her North America tour, she also delighted fans with a surprising cover of “Dum Maro Dum” from Bollywood film Hare Krishna Hare Ram (1971).
Only real ones will know the cultural significance of me singing dum maro dum at Coachella, a song from an iconic Indian movie “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” that was about the westernization of Indian spirituality 😜
— Raveena (@raveena_aurora) April 17, 2022
You can watch a portion of her performance here:
raveena singing dum maro dum at coachella exactlyyyy pic.twitter.com/vWWjxeGcVw
— ًraj #WatchRRR (@keogh4n) April 18, 2022
Notably, Aurora wasn’t the only Asian to perform at the annual music and arts festival this time around. Having returned after a three year hiatus, Coachella 2022 featured a slew of Asian talent who won over audiences, including Mongolian rock band The Hu, Indonesian singer NIKI, Korean hip-hop trio EPIK HIGH, and Grammy-winning Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab.
Coachella 2022, which takes place across two weekends, began on 15 April and the first weekend concluded on 18 April. The headliners included Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Swedish House Mafia, and The Weekend.
The next instalment will take place from 22 April to 24 April 2022.
Compiled from various sources
