Following the successful return of our bi-annual INDIKA Festival in November 2023, Milap presented an Autumn 2024 season of Indian Arts & Culture, that took place across Merseyside from September – November 2024.
Showcasing some of India’s most acclaimed musicians, alongside both established and emerging talent from the UK, the city region also enjoyed an expanded programme of Diwali celebrations, featuring Visual Art, Food, and more.
The opening show saw Milap take a short trip across the Mersey, to present Wirral-born bass virtuoso Shez Raja in a homecoming show at Birkenhead’s Future Yard.
September 28, 2024, 7:30 pm
Voted one of the ‘Hottest Bass Players in the World’ by readers of Bass Player magazine, Shez Raja is renowned for his high energy live shows, unique Indo-jazz-funk sound and global star collaborations with Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Trilok Gurtu and Wayne Krantz.
A mere couple of days afterwards, Milap returned to The Tung Auditorium in Liverpool for another free lunchtime concert, this time spotlighting classical north Indian Hindustani music, featuring the captivating vocals of Dr. Vijay Rajput.
2nd October 2024, 1:00pm
In this meditative afternoon raga concert, Vijay will take audiences through a powerful and soulful blend of classical, folk and Bandish compositions, accompanied by an incredible line-up of musicians including Kousic Sen on tabla, Kirpal Singh Panesar on esraj and Professor David Clark on harmonium.
The second evening concert of the season featured the world-renowned Indian classical musician Rajhesh Vaidhya.
26th October 2024, 7:00pm
Rajhesh, a maestro of the veena – a traditional South Indian stringed instrument – is set to captivate audiences with a specially curated set of ragas chosen for the evening. Rajhesh’s unique style, characterized by exhilarating speed and the use of electric and amplified strings, has earned him critical acclaim.
The end of October saw Milap once again spearheading the city region’s celebrations for Diwali – the iconic Hindu Festival of Lights. Building on last year’s successes, 2024 sees an expanded programme of events, including children’s storytelling and craft workshops in association with The Reader, the return of the wildly popular Diwali Brunch at Bundobust Liverpool.
25th October –
5th November 2024
A highlight in Liverpool’s arts and culture calendar, River of Light is an annual free event that provides an outdoor illuminated gallery on Liverpool’s Waterfront, featuring light and sound from local, national and international artists. This year’s installment will feature 12 large-scale installations of Visual Art centred around the theme ‘Play’.
2nd November 2024
10am & 12:30pm
The Reader + Milap present
Diwali at The Storybarn
Following on from last year’s sell-out event, The Reader’s Story Hunters are back with the spirit of Diwali exploring the Indian festival of light.
To bring the season to a close, Milap returned to the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room in the company of the world renowned Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty.
15th November 2024, 7:00pm
A celebrated musician, composer, and educator, Rajeeb’s mastery over the Sarod is unparalleled; his performances are renowned for their emotional depth and technical brilliance, effortlessly transporting listeners to the heart of Indian classical music.
Milap’s Artist in Residence, and world-renowned Tabla maestro Kousic Sen featured prominently within this Autumn programme:
I always love performing in the musical city of Liverpool. I’m really looking forward to playing with wonderful musicians and friends Dr. Vijay Rajput, Rajeeb Chakraborty and of course Rajhesh Vaidhya. Each of these musicians perform in a completely different style to each other, so I’ll be changing the way I accompany with tabla for each concert.
With Vijay’s concert, audiences can expect a calm, meditative experience. It’s always fun and interesting to play with Rajeeb – we both know each other so well and have performed hundreds of concerts together so we like to challenge each other on stage!
I love performing with Carnatic (South Indian classical) musicians whenever I get the opportunity and Rajhesh Vaidhya is one of the best in the world! Audiences are in for a real treat this season.
