Joel Veena, Indian Slide Guitar, with Mir Naqibul Islam, Tabla

Fresh off his recent tour of India, Joel Veena presents an evening of North Indian classical ragas and original songs played on the 20-stringed Indian slide guitar and accompanied by Mir Naqibul Islam on tabla. Immerse yourself in the tranquility and power of Hindustani ragas, framed by Joel's stories of travel and experiences learning in the rich oral tradition of Indian music.  Starting as a meditative and melodic invocation that builds to an ecstatic crescendo, Joel's concerts are a cascade of strings and beats that celebrate life and the depth of a rich musical tradition.

Mir Naqibul Islam:  An avid student of tabla, Mir has trained in the traditional Guru-Shisya style of Indian classical music from Pt. Ashoke Paul, disciple of the great tabla guru Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Now living and working in New York city, he performs regularly with musicians from a wide variety of other genres, bringing tabla to jazz, Middle-Eastern music and other contexts. By listening, learning and playing with musicians from around the globe, Mir is developing a unique musical aesthetic bringing together the influences of traditional Farukhabad-style tabla and 21st century New York. Mir has studied with Pt. Gopal Mishra and Pt. Suresh Talwalkar in the past and is continuing his talim with the great Farukhabad Mastero Pt Anindo Chatterjee.

Joel Veena: Joel ‘Veena’ Eisenkramer began his Indian music study in 2007 during a study-abroad program in Delhi, India. Deeply moved by the beauty of the Indian slide guitar and the ragas he heard, he was introduced to Dr. Ranjan Kumar, his first teacher. Since that time, Joel has been traveling to India to study as well as perform, giving concerts in places like the 2019 Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in Delhi. Beginning in 2018, Joel began receiving advanced training under the eminent sarod maestro Pt. Alok Lahiri. In 2023, Joel was honored with the Meenakshi Hariharasubramani Award for Excellence in Music.

Joel has self-produced 8 albums of slide guitar music, several singles and has been featured by Radio New Zealand and NPR. During the lockdowns, Joel performed and produced more than 35 live-streaming concerts for free that remain available online today.

These days, Joel resides with his wife Vidhi in Vermont, USA and Mumbai, India in between touring India, the US and Europe.

PLEASE NOTE: During the intermission, audiences can enjoy masala chai along with other refreshments that will be available by donation. Also on sale will be Indian handicrafts such as shawls, purses, backpacks and silver jewellery curated by Vidhi Salla, journalist, curator, and wife of Joel Veena.

For more info visit: JoelVeena.com

Stream Joel's music at: https://vibe.to/joelveena