Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium

Her original compositions embody the essence of Indian music while embracing influences from Mali and Western blues, rock, R & B, and nuances of jazz. With her 5-piece group of electric guitar, accordion, organ, tabla and drum kit, Ahluwalia creates boundary-breaking songs that invite us to explore the human condition, transcending the self by losing ourselves in a trance of groove and melody.

Born in India, raised in Canada and currently living in New York City – Ahluwalia has long been on a path to master the art of singing and composing. "When I was growing up in India", she recalls, "there were concerts that people from all over would crowd into. These concerts featured a repertoire, language and content that was both demanding and beyond the experience of a child. I was, however, entranced by the sound and feel of the music, even from an early age."

Writing both words and music, Kiran's songs speak of fighting civil wars within ourselves, realizing female desire by throwing away shame, untying knots that bind us to stale embraces, seducing a shy lover, of not having learned how to live, and about rage against the middlemen and institutionalization of religion. Her album 7 Billion also features her composition of the 1990s Pakistani Urdu feminist poem "We Sinful Women."

Her compositions and arrangements are a reflection of an ongoing quest to create timeless music in a modern and global context that looks to the future while still maintaining a vital line to its storied past.