Nihal’s Desi Live

As a relative novice to the world of Bhangra, I didn’t know what to expect of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Asian Network presenter DJ Nihal’s Desi Live. The only experience I’d had of it’s performance was at my cousin’s wedding, but that was in traditional form and not something I felt I could relate to.

This event promised to be different, with three of the biggest names in UK Bhangra coming together for the first time to perform on stage: Jaz Dhami, H-Dhami and Juggy D. Sure enough, it was; the night started off with Nihal prepping the audience for the first act – an artist by the name of Mumzy Stranger – who’s songs were an amalgamation of Rn’B and Bhangra, with doses of Reggae thrown in for good measure.

Following Mumzy was an exceptionally talented full live band to accompany the main acts and with each musician bubbling with charisma, sartorial swagger and impressive vocals, I was blown away by the talent. The only let down – apart from forgetting my preferred camera lense – was the sound engineering, which did the music no favours; at times it was easier to distinguish the thundering notes by covering my ears, and that was not fun. Despite this malfunction, I feel that DJ Nihal and the performers should be applauded for all the effort they made in presenting this music and for making a fan of me.