A massive, outdoor raga festival is happening this weekend in Brooklyn

A festival celebrating Indian classical music tradition with a modern twist is about to take over Downtown Brooklyn.

“Counterpoint: Brooklyn Raga Massive Festival,” presented by Clara Wu Tsai and the Social Justice Fund on Sunday, July 21, is the second event in the counterpoint series and will take place outside the Barclay Center on Ticketmaster Plaza from 2:30 to 7pm.

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This free event brings together five different ensembles with over 20 musicians. If you don’t know, Raga is a melodic framework in Indian music tradition that emphasizes improvisation and creative sound.

The evening welcomes all ages and even includes a show for kids.     

The lineup will be as follows: 

2:30-3pm: Raga Kids 

Raga Kids uses Indian solfege and percussion to immerse children into Indian classical music. They use original songs and instruments like the sitar and tabla to express the culture to kids.  

3:15-4pm: Ragini Ensemble 

The Ragini Ensemble utilizes improvisatory musical narrative which combines inspiration from indo-caribbean sound and the tradition of tabla as a solo instrument. 

4:15-5pm: Quadrature 

This ensemble explores black hole blues through intricate melodies and innovative sounds. Quadrature will include both original tracks and reinterpretation of notable songs. 

5:15-6pm: Rasa Yātra

Rasa Yātra aka “Journey of Essence” is an ensemble that takes inspiration from all parts of Indian classical music from the northern Hindustani and southern Carnatic traditions. 

6:15-7:15pm: In D

In D is a tribute to minimalist composer Terry Riley and his acclaimed piece “In C”, which is now celebrating its 60th anniversary. This is a whopping 20-person ensemble who will play instruments from all around the world including India, the Middle-East, Africa, and Europe. 

Brooklyn Raga Massive is a nonprofit musicians’ collective that provides direct support to South Asian classical music artists. They cultivate an environment of collaboration and support through energetic concerts and jam sessions, hence this upcoming festival. They also aim to facilitate a space of cultural exchange through educational initiatives, performances, and unique albums.