South Asian Folk Music Evening

Join us on 19 September from 4 to 7 pm, at the Patio of K-Building, near the corner of King Rd & University Drive, University of Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, for an evening full of South Asian folk music, and refreshments, followed by open mic for you to showcase your music talents.

We have invited the following B.C. based, South Asian artists for this event.

Harinder Saini: Hailing from a village in Tanda, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India, Harinder has been passionate about singing from a very young age. She honed her talent by performing at cultural events. Her exceptional voice caught the attention of the legendary Punjabi folk singer, Surinder Kaur, who was deeply impressed by Harinder’s performance. Today, Harinder continues to sing Ghoriyaan, Sithniyaan, Boliyaan and other folk songs for the wedding events through her company “Raunkaan events.”

Daksh Kubba: Born in Delhi, Daksh embarked on his musical journey after arriving in Canada as an international student. A talented music composer and songwriter, Daksh began creating music in 2005 alongside his roommate. He joined his current band in 2007, and together they have achieved significant milestones, including performances at the Olympics and prestigious venues like the Elizabeth Theatre. Over the years, Daksh has had the privilege of collaborating with legendary artists such as Sain Zahoor and Adnan Sami, further solidifying his position in the music industry.

Gurmukh Singh: Born in Nangal, Rupnagar, and raised in Amritsar, Punjab, Gurmukh had a deep-rooted passion for music since childhood. Gurmukh is inspired by the timeless melodies of Mohammad Rafi and his father who himself led an orchestral band. After completing college, he founded his own band in India, named Musafir, which successfully performed around 500 shows in India. In 2022, Gurmukh relocated to Canada, where he is now set to release his debut album, “Trapped.”

Devinder Kaur Johal: 88-year-old Devinder is originally from Jalandhar, Punjab. She moved to Canada in 1977. Although she had a lifelong passion for singing, it wasn’t until she joined the Indo-Canadian Senior Centre in 1995 that she began writing songs. Throughout her life, Devinder felt deeply about the oppression of women and longed to be a voice for change. Canada provided her the platform to express these sentiments through her music. She remains grateful for the opportunity to advocate for women’s empowerment through her songs.

This event is a part of our ongoing efforts to archive folk music traditions of South Asia at SACDA. We are very thankful to City of Abbotsford, Culture City program for sponsoring this event.