Arooj Aftab hits Brighton Festival in its first week tomorrow night (Wednesday 7th May) as part of Anoushka Shankar’s specially hand selected line up for this year’s Brighton Festival. This award-winning Pakistani-American is a multi-hyhenate singer, composer, and producer. She has worked in various musical styles and idioms and was nominated for a Grammy in 2022 as Best New Artist.
Aftab’s music has been described by many sources including Huff Post and Al Jazeera as a blend of jazz fusion, jazz, electronica, neo-Sufi (new to me too!), folk, Hindustani classical, classical music, indie pop, minimalism, and acoustic music.
Showcasing tracks from her recent fourth album, Night Reign, has been released to universal acclaim, earning two Grammy nominations in jazz and global performance categories, showcasing the Brooklyn-based artist’s defiance of genre boundaries. This album appeared on many Best of 2024 lists and received praise from the Wall Street Journal, who said its ‘beauty is self-evident, and it stands on its own’.
Having spent her teenage years in Lahore, Pakistan, she has lived in Saudi Arabia, and currently in America where she first came to wider attention with her viral cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Her previous album Vulture Prince brought her to the vanguard of the cultural zeitgeist, earning her a Grammy for beguiling standout track Mohabbat.
Aftab is also renowned for her rapturous live performances, having appeared at festivals including Glastonbury, Coachella and Primavera. I am very much looking forward to this event!
Get a taste of her recent stunning live extravaganza here: https://youtu.be/0doG7LpEK1w
Details
Venue: This event is taking place at Brighton Dome Concert Hall
