Highlights from Chhandayan’s 9th Annual All-Night Concert of Indian Classical Music

One of the many wonderful things about getting a bit deeper into Indian Classical music is learning about the way ragas work better when they’re played at specific times of the day and night. E.g. When things get hectic after lunch here on Arthur’s Atwater Campus, we’ve learned to put Nikhil Banerjee’s Afternoon Ragas – Rotterdam 1970 on blast so we can keep things in focus.

So when there’s an epic Indian Classical jam like Chhandayan’s 10th Annual All-Night Concert of Indian Classical Music going down in New York City, you know it’s gonna be awesome ’cause this is how these nocturnal ragas are meant to be experienced: All through the night and into the woozy early hours of the AM. It’ll be just like sweating through the wee hours to the oonce-oonce-oonce except instead of extended trance breakdowns and all the hands in the air there’ll just be a collective sense of silent elation as Utpal Dutta “goes for it” with a wild 4am tabla solo. Plus you’ll probably feel a lot less shit come dawn. Please note: Sleeping bags and mattresses are prohibited.

Ready to get pumped? WFMU is previewing the show this Saturday, May 2 from 6-9pm on Rob Weisberg’s Transpacific Sound Paradise. For more Indian ragas we’d also like to direct your attention to the outstanding archives of now-silent audioblog The Magic of Juju. Likewise, the Pandit Pran Nath album that Babcock hipped us to back in early March is still available for download over at Big States.

What: Chhandayan’s 10th Annual All-Night Concert of Indian Classical Music
How much: Tickets range from $25-$100
When: May 9th 7pm – May 10th 6am
Where: The New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 W 64th Street, New York, NY 10023
More info: http://www.tabla.org/

Previously on Arthurmag.com:

1. Thursday night – Skeletons at ZEBULON in Brooklyn, NY
2. October 30: The Third Floor Presents “Night of the Wicker Man” at the 92YTribeca (NYC)