Vibrant Brampton Festival will bring top South Asian acts together virtually

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Published July 16, 2021 at 7:51 pm

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Vibrant Brampton, one of the largest South Asian festivals in Canada, will be held virtually July 23 to 25.

Presented by the Arts and Culture Initiative of South Asia (ACISA), the 2021 digital festival will present international and local artists from across the globe. It will be streamed live on the festival’s Facebook page.

“This year’s festival will showcase more than 250 local artists from Canada, USA, UK, Pakistan and India with more than 50 acts over the course of the three components of the festival,” said Arpan Banerjee, ACISA co-founder.

Among the headliners is Bollywood playback singer Monali Thakur, winner of the Filmfare award for her song Sawaar Loon, who then also received the prestigious National Film Awards for her song Moh Moh Ke Dhaage from the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

Besides leading South Asian artists, the festival roster includes several non-South Asian acts including performances by Canadian Indigenous artists, Afro-Canadian artists, salsa, flamenco, reggaeton, pop, jazz and instrumental fusion expositions. One of the newest additions this year will be a hip hop-breaker-popping jamming session by leading local artists.

Other headliners at this year’s event include Manj Musik AKA Manjeet Ral from UK, Pakistani singing and Youtube sensation, Sarmad Qadeer and Avkash Mann.

The 2021 digital festival curtain raiser began with the 2nd annual edition of VSTAR, an online talent hunt of local emerging artists that began on June 21 and will conclude on July 20. The top three contestants will get the opportunity to perform at the Vibrant Brampton in-ground festival in 2022.

“More than 100 entries were received for VSTAR 2021 and top 46 were selected for the first round, coming down to top six finalists who will be performing on July 25,” said Ricky Bajaj, co-founder of the festival. “Last year’s finalists of VSTAR will be performing at this year’s Vibrant Brampton Festival, streamed live starting at 6 p.m. on July 23, 24 and 25.

The festival will end with a classical music and dance component, Vibrant Classical, to provide a platform for local classical music and dance artistes to showcase their art forms in the GTA. This part of the festival will be streamed live Aug. 7 and 8.

One of the primary sponsors of the event is TD Bank.

“We know that music connects communities and allows us to find common ground, discover new perspectives, and work towards a more inclusive future,” said Anna Iacobelli, senior vice president, TD Bank Group.

“That’s why we are so proud to celebrate Canadian music and to support Vibrant Brampton in helping amplify diverse voices in arts and culture and support artists that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

For more information, visit the festival website.

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