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Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
500 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217) 333-6280
Category
Hours
View Website
One of the leading figures in North America's burgeoning Asian music scene, Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East encompasses myriad facets of Jain's identity both as a first-generation South Asian-American and as a global musician, from his own family's immigration story to his eclectic musical upbringing. He sources musical inspiration from the scores of Bollywood classics, Punjabi folk traditions, jazz improvisation, and rollicking psychedelic styles. An incendiary master of the South Asian drum called a dhol, Jain joined Grateful Dead's drummer Mickey Hart's Planet Drum in 2022 for their first show in 15 years, playing alongside drumming legends Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo.
His five-piece band delivered a fiery NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2024 as they toured North America, appearing at the iconic Monterey Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the historic Harlem Stage in New York City, among many others. This performance is guaranteed to get you dancing and in the party mood!