BARMER BOYS (Rajasthan/India) - Barmer Boys are the next generation of performers that carry forward the centuries-old musical traditions of the Manganiyars andare the global ambassadors of contemporary Rajasthani gypsy folk and Sufi music. The band's versatility of styles and bubbling energy infuses each performance - from soulful Sufi kalaams to uplifting wedding and celebratory songs, songs of love and remembrance, to boisterous jams with beat-boxing and live DJ sets.
The group made their international debut in 2014 with shows at Roskilde Festival ’14, Borneo World Music Expo ’14, a US debut with a coast-to-coast tour in April ’14, and have been wooing audiences on television screens, cinema halls and festivals in India including MTV CokeStudio Season 3, NH7 Weekender, and Jaipur Lit Fest.
2015 featured the group making their Canadian debut at the 2015 Winnipeg Folk Festival and Flaunt Festival in Toronto, and a European tour with concerts in The Netherlands at Music Meeting, Nijmegen, in Spain at the Handmade Festival (Santiago de Compostela, Galicia), in Germany at Mother India Festival (HKW Berlin), and Denmark (Distortion Festival in Copenhagen, Musikbibliotek in Odense). Voted "discovery of the season" at the Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh, India, they have been playing sold out shows in Delhi, played at Hong Kong's Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival, and completed their UK debut in September, and were live on the BBC Asian Network (5 Sep 2016).
Top 10 Music Festival performances by Barmer Boys:
Roskilde Festival, Denmark (2014)
Mother India Festival, Berlin, Germany (2015)
Winnipeg Folk Festival, Canada (2015)
Distortion Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark (2015)
NH7 Weekender, Delhi, India (2014)
Ziro Festival of Music, Ziro, India (2015)
Music Meeting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2015)
Feito A Man, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain (2015)
Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival, Hong Kong (2015)
Amarrass Desert Music Festival, New Delhi, India (2011)
Press:
"Creating a maximum groove with minimal means" -
MixedWorldMusic.com, May 2015
“4 Stars! Incandescent Sufi voices that incite ecstasy” - Songlines
“Barmer Boys steal the show.. with their unique folk tunes, truly stood out at the festival” - IBNLive at NH7Weekender Festival, Nov 2014
“Mangey Khan’s voice needs to be heard to be believed” - Hindustan Times, Feb 2012
"The music rose above the repetitive tunes we hear in today’s clamorous folk market and was like a whiff of fresh air" - Indian Express, Nov 2012