Sangat with Qais Essar coming Oct 17

A brand new album is coming on October 17th! A collaboration with Afghan rabab player Qais Essar, the album is called SANGAT, which means beloved community. Pre-order the album now on Bandcamp or pre-save on your platform of choice.

We’ll be going on tour this Fall in the US to celebrate the album release. Grab your tickets now and spread the word!

Thursday October 9 - NYC at DROM 

Thursday October 16 - Berkeley, CA at The Back Room 

Saturday October 18 - Los Angeles, CA at Astralab 

Saturday November 8 - Chicago, IL  at South Asia Institute 

First Single of New Album Sage Warrior Out Now

The first track from my new album is OUT NOW on all streaming platforms! PAVAN GURU is my rendition of Guru Nanak’s 16th Century shabad about interconnectedness and Oneness found in everything. Listen here on your platform of choice.

Today is also the day you can officially pre-order my new album SAGE WARRIOR, which releases on September 6th.

This album is extra special because it is a deep collaboration with activist, best-selling author, and my dear friend Valarie Kaur, who is releasing a book with the same name, SAGE WARRIOR. Her writing inspired the music, the music inspired the writing, as we both explored the Sikh spirit of the sant sipahi, the sage warrior: the sage leads with love; the warrior answers the call to courage. The album and the book are both available to pre-order today.

Pre-order the album

Pre-order the book

Listen to Pavan Guru

FROM HERE documentary on PBS

I’m excited to share that FROM HERE, a feature-length documentary that I’m in, is now available to stream for free on PBS for the next six months. It is an intimate portrait of 4 of us children of immigrants, all challenging xenophobia and racism in our own ways through our art and activism.

The film was shot between 2007 and 2019 so covers a huge amount of our lives, our coming of age in times of shifting political landscapes and growing nationalism. A lot of my musical trajectory is captured in the film, as well as some of my organizing work in the Sikh community in New York.

Watch the film here or by searching “From Here” in the PBS app on your smart TV. We’d love to hear what you think, so be in touch after you watch it. It will be available until November 30, 2023.

White House, Brooklyn Museum, and...White House!

It’s been a busy and exciting spring!

Last week, I was invited to perform my song Chardi Kala at the White House Forum on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Washington, DC. It was truly an honor to share the stage with the likes of Rupi Kaur, MILCK, Keilana, and VP Kamala Harris herself. And of course we had to bring a little Punjabi hype with a dhol procession later in the day. You can watch my performance, accompanied by Utsav Lal and Tomas Fujiwara here on the White House YouTube Channel. We start at the 6 minute mark.

Last night my band performed at the iconic Brooklyn Museum as a part of Carnegie Hall’s Citywide series. It was a beautiful intergenerational event celebrating the Asian diaspora and global movements for justice and liberation. You can watch a clip of our performance here.

And, believe it or not, I’ll be going back to the actual White House tomorrow, May 8th, to play at a special event on the South Lawn. I’ll share the highlights on the other side! Thanks for all the support along the way!

Chardi Kala performance on GRAMMY.com

An intimate live performance of my song CHARDI KALA is being featured by the Recording Academy/Grammys’ on their Positive Vibes Only series! It’s truly an honor to be recognized by the Recording Academy in this way. You can watch the video in full below and read more on the Recording Academy’s website here.

The video was shot by Shruti Parekh and Ernest Stuart at Barbès In Brooklyn, NY. The performers in the video are Sonny Singh on vocals and trumpet; Jonathan Golderger on guitar; Mackenzie Shivers on harmonium and vocals; Yuka Tadano on bass; and Rohin Khemani on drums and percussion.

More & more album reviews!

It’s been a few months since my album Chardi Kala came out, and it has been heartening to see the incredible response in the form of press and album reviews. I am truly grateful to these thoughtful writers and all of you who have amplified this music and message. Songlines gave Chardi Kala 5/5 stars, Rolling Stone India gave it 3.5/4 stars, and it was in KEXP’s Top 10 songs the two weeks after it was released. You can see a roundup of all the press coverage here.

Here are a few excerpts:

Chardi Kala is vibrant, ebullient, and energized... Singh, punctuated poignantly by echoing guitar, humming bass and sighing harmonium, cries out a prayer for our ailing world.

- Jackson Sinnenberg, JazzTimes

This is Indian devotional music as Western pop with a trumpet as a driving force. To hear it is to realize there’s not much else like it anywhere.

- Bruce Miller, PopMatters

Singh’s voice arrives, like the breaking of morning sunlight, a bursting open of joy.

- Annie Mok, Bandcamp Daily

“On both a musical and political front, this is a brilliant release.”

- Songlines Magazine

Debut Album Out Now - Press Roundup

After over two years in the making, my debut album CHARDI KALA is out now! Stream and download the album on your platform of choice here. Thanks to all who made it to the album release show at a near-sold-out Joe’s Pub on a Tuesday night! What a beautiful evening.

Some early album reviews are in, and I am overwhelmed by the incredible response.

On Chardi Kala, Singh has done that rarest of rare things as a musician—he has actually charted new ground, pushing the idea of South Asian fusion music down a new, previously unexplored side path. But he also ties into a broader cultural moment, as diasporic desis navigate a world of increasingly complicated identities.

- Bhanuj Kappal, Live Mint (India) , full review here

The title refers to the Sikh principle of eternal optimism and that’s definitely what comes through across the span of his album. He taps into his formative years performing kirtan, but true to his all-embracing mindset, he packs a lot of other musical influences into his sound. The results are utterly irresistible.

- Steve Smith, Gothamist & WNYC, full piece here

Sonny masterfully combines Punjabi & Sikh traditional roots melodies and rhythms with rock, funk, reggae, Mexican music and other musical influences.

- World Music Central, full review here

NPR Music All Songs Considered: Aisee Preet

Aisee Preet was on NPR’s All Songs Considered today! Excerpt below and read/listen to the full piece here.

Another uplifting song comes with a Punjabi spirit and is based on a 16th-century poem, propelled by brass and percussion. The musician leading the ensemble is Sonny Singh who's also part of the ensemble Red Baraat. The song "Aisee Preet" is from his debut album Chardi Kala.

WNYC Soundcheck's Weekly Music Roundup

Aisee Preet was included in John Schaefer’s Weekly Music Roundup on WNYC. Excerpt below and full piece here.

We first met Sonny Singh as the trumpeter and vocalist of Brooklyn’s Punjabi dance band Red Baraat; now he’s preparing to release a solo album called Chardi Kala, which combines his own pulsating brass- and percussion-driven music with Sikh texts that go back centuries. “Aisee Preet” is a 16th century devotional poem given a treatment that is totally contemporary, even as it dances along on traditional Punjabi rhythms and drums. The video was shot in Richmond Hill, Queens, mostly at the temple that is now the center of New York’s Punjabi Sikh community – although when I was growing up, just one avenue away, there wasn’t anything nearly as cool in the neighborhood.

Brooklyn Vegan - Favorite Songs of the Week

Brooklyn Vegan has included Aisee Preet in 2 pieces this week:

29 New Songs Out Today

Our favorite songs of the week (playlist)

Red Baraat's Sonny Singh has announced his debut solo album Chardi Kala, due May 13 via self-release, and new single "Aisee Preet" is a groovy song about a serious topic, as Sonny explains: "The reality is our community usually only makes headlines in the United States in times of tragedy as victims of racist attacks and hate crimes. Part of our intention with this video, and my music in general, is to amplify the beauty, love, and strength in the Sikh community, who have dealt with so much oppressive trauma but remain in chardi kala - revolutionary eternal optimism."

Songlines Magazine: Sonny Singh's 'Aisee Preet'

Excerpt below and full article here.

Ahead of the full album, Singh has released a video for the first single, 'Aisee Preet'. Based on a 16th century Sikh shabad (devotional poem) by Guru Arjan, the tune gets an injection of brass in Singh's update and a percussive lift from traditional drums, including dholki, dhad and chimta. The video was filmed in Richmond Hill, the epicentre of New York's Sikh community, and is released today (April 14) to mark Vaisakhi, the start of the Punjabi new year and the celebration of the birth of the Khalsa.

Rolling Stone India: Sonny Singh Celebrates Vaisakhi and the Spirit of Community in ‘Aisee Preet’ Video

Excerpt below and full article here.

The opening track on Chardi Kala, “Aisee Preet” vibrantly offers Punjabi folk arrangements and surges with rock and cheery brass band sections. In addition to Singh on harmonium and vocals, the track brings in guitarist Jonathan Goldberger, sarangi artist Michael Dwan Singh, trombone by Ernest Stuart and drummer-percussionist and mandolin player Dave Sharma. Singh says about interpreting Punjabi devotional compositions, “For me, there are no musical limits on what I am able to do as long as I am serving the poetry. Whenever spiritual and religious texts are involved, there will be some who take issue with different approaches – but I’m okay with that.”

Full album Chardi Kala coming May 13

I’m thrilled to announce my debut album CHARDI KALA will be out on May 13th. My latest single Aisee Preet is out now on all streaming platforms, along with a heart-warming music video filmed in Richmond Hill, Queens, the center of NY’s Sikh community. We released it on Vaisakhi, a Sikh holiday that commemorates the birth of the Khalsa.

Listen to Aisee Preet on all platforms here.

Watch the Aisee Preet music video here.

Pre-orders for the full album are available now on Bandcamp.

India Today article on South Asian American Musicians

I was featured in an India Today article entitied, “How young musicians are creating a genre of their own,” along with a handful of other desi musicians in the United States. Excerpt below and full article here.

A trumpeter and an original member of Red Baraat, Sonny Singh recounts growing up as a Sikh musician in a largely white Tucson (Arizona). Even though he was sometimes subjected to ‘exotifying’ remarks, Singh says the reception to his Ska band was usually warm. But in a post-9/11 America, when Singh’s rock band Outernational would open for other bands, he was forced to endure slurs and Osama bin Laden jokes. “For me, performing as a brown, turban-wearing Sikh has always felt like a political act,” he says. Almost two decades after starting out, Singh has also embarked on a solo project, where he’s reinterpreting Sikh hymns from his childhood using modern sensibilities.

WFYI Indianapolis Cultural Manifesto: Rebel Music Segment

I was a guest on WFYI Indianapolis’s show Cultural Manifesto in a segment called “Rebel Music.” We had a great discussion about music and activism, in which I shared my new music as well as a few tracks that inspired me as I was coming of age - one by Asian Dub Foundation, one by Ozomatli.

Listen to the program here (my interview starts about halfway through).

New Sounds feature on WNYC

My music was featured on WNYC’s show “New Sounds” by John Schaefer! Listen to the full segment here, which includes my track “Mitar Pyare Nu.”

Sonny Singh has been the longtime trumpeter in the Brooklyn-based Punjabi dance band Red Baraat. Now Singh is putting out a solo project that marries Sikh devotional songs to the sounds of funk, reggae, mariachi, and Punjabi wedding music. The songs reflect the Sikh concept of revolutionary optimism as a way of fighting oppression and injustice. It sounds serious, because it is; but it’s also a lot of fun. Sonny Singh plays Thursday evening, June 24, at the Brooklyn club called Mama Tried. This song is "Mitar Pyare Nu", or Go Tell My Beloved Friend

WPVM Asheville: Chardi Kala feature

WPVM 103.7 in Asheville, NC featured my new music and a bit of my story on the airwaves and in this blog post. Excerpt bellow and read/listen to the whole piece here.

Sonny’s music is deeply influenced by his Sikh faith, as music is a form of a spiritual practice and a way to connect to ourselves, each other and the divine.   The message behind Sikh poetry is of Oneness of humanity and the divine. It means that we must do anything in our power to fight for respect and justice for all people.

In his interview Sonny spoke about delivering and spreading a message for people to rise.

Chardi Kala.- Revolutionary Eternal Optimism, meaning even at the darkest of days and the hardest of times, we have an obligation to stay optimistic and hopeful, if we center love and oneness, we can overcome achieve justice.  Such a beautiful message is worth promoting.

Sonny hopes that his music can lift the spirits of those who are fighting for justice and liberation, and for those who are not, perhaps the music can serve as a wakeup call for action.

Opinion piece in Baaz on the meaning of Chardi Kala

I wrote a short piece for Baaz about the concept of chardi kala I aim to instill in my music and activism. Except below and read the full piece here.

Chardi kala is a practice, a vision, and a call to action.

Often oversimplified as simply meaning “optimistic,” chardi kala is deeper than an individual’s positive mindset, it is a collective steadfast determination of Sikhs, a resilience, a yearning for justice, and the will to achieve it. When we look at Sikh history as well as the current ongoing protests led by millions of Punjabi Sikh farmers, we get a glimpse of the true chardi kala spirit…

My music does not have a set of strategic and tangible goals like that of an effective organizing campaign. We artists attempt to tap into the emotional, subconscious, and spiritual realms. With our sounds and visuals, I simply hope my work makes people feel something. We are living through desperate times and I hope my music becomes a place of solace for listeners. I hope my music helps listeners begin to envision the world they want to live in. Once we can imagine it, we have no choice but to act. 

I am calling my album Chardi Kala because this is precisely what I hope to accomplish through my music - to lift our spirits and fuel our work for the liberation of people.