Rock band Indian Ocean, actress Shobana and musician Unnikrishnan to grace LIAF 2013

The four-day annual arts festival will be held on Saturday November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd at Kenneth More theatre in Ilford and on Friday, November 8th and Sunday, November 10th at RichMix, a popular music venue in East London.

Some of the highlights of LIAF 2013 will be the celebration of Carnatic and South Indian classical music as well as Indian rock and jazz.

Accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer and actress Shobana will perform between 7.45 and 10.15pm on Saturday, 2nd November at Ilford’s Kenneth More Theatre venue. National Film Award winner, Shobana has been honoured with the Padma Shri in 2006 by the Indian Government for her contributions towards the arts.

Meanwhile, New Delhi’s folk rock band Indian Ocean will perform at Bethnal Green’s RichMix between 9.30 and 11.30pm on Friday, 8th November for LIAF 2013.

Indian Ocean’s prominent artists in the 1990s included Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam. After 2009, when Chakravarty passed away, the band welcomed Tuheen Chakravorty and Himanshu Joshi as replacements. Following the departure of Susmit Sen earlier this year, Rahul Ram remains the only original band member who appeared in the debut album Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean’s music, popular among the youth, integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution.

Among the rest of the line-up at LIAF 2013 is Carnatic, devotional and playback singer Unnikrishnan. The music maestro has previously performed at several prestigious music festivals in the UK, the US, Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. One of his career highlights is his performance at the Festival of India held in Spain organised by the Indian Embassy – making him the only Indian Carnatic musician to do so.

LIAF 2013 will also feature performances by Pravin Godkhindi, the Indian bansuri (flute) player, Bangalore’s composer and violin virtuoso Jyotsna Srikanth, and popular UK Indian music-band Shanti Shanti Shanti which features a trio of artists - Shanti Jayasinha (Drummer), Ramesh Shotham (South Indian percussion) and John Crawford (piano).

While individual show tickets are priced from £10 and £15, a full festival pass will cost £65 and a single day pass will cost £30.

London International Arts Festival 2013 (LIAF 2013) will also feature an array of workshops on Oriental music, Bharatanatyam, Bollywood music and Indian drumming among others.

In addition to the rich display of musical talent, annual festival LIAF 2013 will offer visitors a variety of cultural food, shopping and children’s activities. 

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