Running for its fifth year, South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk) will host its magical Summer Solstice festival, on Saturday 18th June.
The only all night festival in the UK, marks the longest day of the year and will be held at a beautiful grade II listed building, the Left Bank Leeds. The captivating performance will bring together critically acclaimed musical artists from around the world but will be formatted in a different way to previous years.
Five musically themed experiences will take the audience on a rhythmic journey from dust to dawn and each will feature their own headline act.
Smt Poulomi Chakraboraty, who now lives in Boston Spa, is the lead vocalist, taking the audience into the new dawn. Poulomi is a renowned musician and has performed worldwide but this is her first Solstice performance in Leeds. She moved to Yorkshire seven years ago and now teaches young musicians at SAA-uk youth academy.
Another famous act that will debut at this year’s Solstice festival is husband and wife team, Shubhendra Rao and Saskia De Haas Rao. Together they have travelled the globe performing ‘East marries West’, a mesmerising performance that is a musical bridge to many cultures. Shubhendra, is a composer and sitar maestro from India, Saskia is a cellist and composer from the Netherlands. Critically acclaimed in classical musical circles across the world, they have been asked to play at many highly prestigious events, including concert halls, jazz festivals and open-air festivals such as The John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts in Washington, The Edinburgh Festival and The National Arts Festival in South Africa, to name just a few.
They will perform ‘East Marries West’ at around 10pm, SAA-uk, CEO, Keranjeet Kaur Virdee explains; “We’re delighted to have secured world headline acts this year. ‘East marries West’ is a powerful piece of music which shows the strength music has to transcend boundaries and bring people together. International artists from across the world are flown in especially, allowing us to offer a real diverse range of beautifully composed music. The night is like no other and whether you’re an avid fan of classical Indian music, or new to the art form, we welcome you to come along with the entire family, we offer cushions and blankets to keep you comfy, it’s a spectacular experience which really leaves you feeling incredibly energized”
For tickets contact SAA-UK on 0113 244 5523 Tickets start at £30