Brooklyn-based Red Baraat played to a packed house on Friday night as part of this year’s Global Arts Live series. Global Arts brings together artists from the U.S. and around the world who play music from a variety of cultures. A Global Arts representative introduced the band by stating, “I don’t have an answer to what genre they play. They’re Bhangra, hip-hop, rock, jazz, Bollywood … everything! It’s music that pulls your heartstrings so hard you just have to dance!” That introduction perfectly encapsulated the appeal of Red Baraat.
Red Baraat is a 7-piece group, led by frontman Sunny Jain who plays a north Indian drum called a dhol while also contributing to lead and group vocals. The band features a three-part horn section, with Alison Shearer on soprano sax, Armando Vergara on trombone, and Sonny Singh on trumpet, with the latter two also contributing to lead and group vocals. Jonathan Goldberger joins on guitar, and the septet is rounded out by Varun Das on drums and John Altieri on sousaphone.
The instrumentation is truly unlike anything else. The brass band foundation, the dhol, and effects-laden guitar are what allow the group to dip into so many different genres. The dhol is capable of producing huge sounds, and together with the drumset, produced massive grooves throughout the show. The sousaphone also lent a unique sound to the group’s basslines, making them stronger and more forceful than a bass guitar would. In addition, lyrics were sung and rapped in English, Spanish, Hindi, and Punjabi, adding to the multicultural appeal of the group.
The show opened with a duet between Goldberger playing his electric guitar with a violin bow and Jain’s dhol providing a rhythmic foundation. Goldberger’s guitar evoked some of the psychedelic greats, such as Jimi Hendrix, while psychedelic visuals danced across the background screen. This transitioned into the groove-based jazz-funk that made up the majority of the band’s sound. Red Baraat excelled at weaving together catchy lyrical hooks, instrumental horn passages, and solos. At various points, Shearer, Vergara, and Singh displayed their jazz chops, performing technically intricate and exciting solos. Another highlight came toward the end of the show, when Altieri stepped forward to deliver a rap while still holding his sousaphone. At times, however, the genre-blending may have been too much all at once. In particular, some songs seemed to flip between rock and jazz too quickly, making it sometimes difficult for the audience to lock into a groove.
Red Baraat has been on the scene for over a decade, and they have both a solid following and the ability to draw out new listeners. The crowd was clearly multicultural and had a variety of ages, and at multiple points people were singing along to non-English lyrics, indicating they knew the band’s catalog. At one point, Jain brought audience volunteers up to the stage for a dance competition and had the crowd singing along to the group’s refrains. With the high energy and fun nature of their music, it’s clear to see why Red Baraat is selling out shows.