Raghu Dixit To Play For The Queen Of England

 

As Raghu Dixit and his band march their way towards becoming indie rock royalty here in India, they’re also going to be hanging with actual royalty this summer.

Over the years, Raghu Dixit and his band have notched up an impressive numbers of firsts – first Indian band to play the prestigious John Peel Stage at Glastonbury, the first to hit #1 on the iTunes World Music Charts and also the first Indian act to appear on renowned UK
TV show Later With Jools Holland.

This May, The Raghu Dixit Project will add another very impressive first to that list – performing for Her Majesty The Queen Of England. The band have been invited to perform as part of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle on May 13, with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in attendance. Dixit will perform ‘Mysore Se Aayi’ in a performance that will also feature twelve dancers choreographed by Mayuri Upadhya of Nritarutya, one of India’s foremost contemporary dance companies. The performance will also be accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra.

Dixit said, “I am overwhelmed at the opportunity to perform for the Queen and the entire Royal Family at Windsor Castle. And with such an impressive line up of artists from around the world, I’m sure it will be a fantastic evening. We are putting together a music and dance extravaganza that is being choreographed by Mayuri Upadhya, from Nritarutya, one of India’s best dance companies, who will accompany me on stage along with all the Queen’s horses (550 of them!). I still can’t imagine what that will look like!”

The event will also see narrations from Dame Helen Mirren, comedians and television producers Sanjeev Bhaskar and Omid Djalili and performances by Susan Boyle, Il Divo and classical violinist David Garrett among others.

While in the UK, The Raghu Dixit Project will also perform live on BBC One TV show The Andrew Marr Show this Sunday, April 15. Post that, Dixit and his band will be part of an innovative new musical production called A Tale Retold, based on an Indian fable. The musical will see Dixit collaborate with members of British indie-folk act Bellowhead and Indian classical dancer Gauri Sharma Tripathi. Produced by The British Council and the Southbank Centre, A Tale Retold will premier with two shows on April 18th and 19th at the Alchemy Festival in London.