Ragas Reimagined
Friday, July 17th, 2026
Surrey Arts Centre
13750 88 Avenue
Surrey
BC V3W 3L1
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm
Accessibility Information:
For information about seating, parking, washrooms, and other accessibility information see Surrey Arts Centre Accessibility Page.
Ragas Reimagined brings together two extraordinary ensembles for an evening of lush vocals, beloved melodies, and boundary-crossing sound.
Opening the night is Raga Echoes, a newly formed and instantly unforgettable ensemble presenting Live Unbound: an intimate, unplugged journey through iconic Bollywood-led South Asian songs. Inspired by legendary voices such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Shreya Ghoshal, Rekha Bhardwaj, and Shilpa Rao, the performance reimagines these well-loved songs in a soft, acoustic style. Raga Echoes’ live performance creates a warm, immersive soundscape that invites audiences to slow down, listen deeply, and reconnect with music that has shaped generations.
The evening then expands into the bold, genre-defying world of Raagaverse, the Juno-nominated, critically acclaimed Indo-jazz ensemble led by vocalist Shruti Ramani and pianist-composer Noah Franche-Nolan. Through improvisation, layered harmony, and evocative storytelling, Raagaverse reimagines the raga for a new generation. For this special performance, they are joined by globally renowned, Juno and WCMA-nominated tabla and ghazal master Cassius Khan.
Together, these artists bring Indian Summer Festival 2026’s curatorial theme, Ragas for a Ruptured World, to life. The night unfolds as a dialogue between memory and reinvention, intimacy and expansiveness, where beloved songs, ancient melodic forms, and diasporic improvisation meet in a powerful shared experience.
Funded in part with the support of a City of Surrey Cultural Grant.
CO-PRESENTED WITH
MUSIC SERIES PARTNER
SERIES SUPPORTING PARTNER
about the artists
raagaverse
Raagaverse is a Juno nominated Indo-Jazz fusion ensemble rooted in Hindustani classical tradition and shaped by contemporary improvisation. Raagaverse creates a musical world where ancient melodic frameworks meet lush harmony, rhythmic fluidity, and an ever-evolving sense of storytelling. Shruti Ramani’s musical fluency originates from her rigorous Hindustani training and degree under Dr. Ritu Johri in Mumbai, India, and her studies leading to a degree in Jazz from Capilano University. Her original compositions use melodies ornamented with traditional Hindustani nuances, with underlying modern Jazz harmonies and rhythms.
cassius khan
Cassius Khan, a globally renowned and award-winning Canadian musician, is uniquely distinguished for his simultaneous mastery of the Tabla and classical Ghazal and Thumri singing (poetry in Urdu and Hindi). He is the only professional musician worldwide to present his art in this dual format. Khan has received numerous accolades, including the 2005 Salute to Excellence Award, a 2008 Juno Award nomination, a 2011 Western Canadian Music Award nomination, and the 2019 Bernie Legge Artist of the Year Award. His performances highlight the extraordinary challenge of dividing his brain and focus between singing classical Ghazals and playing intricate rhythmic patterns on the Tabla.
raga echoes
Raga Echoes, founded in 2025, is a British Columbia-based live music production company creating immersive, themed concert experiences that showcase local musical talent through high-production live performance. Founded by partners in life and music, Aakash Mehta and Priya Joy, Raga Echoes was born from a simple but powerful observation. After moving to British Columbia, they noticed that while international touring artists frequently filled major concert halls, there was limited space for the extraordinary musicians already living and creating here - artists with world-class skill, depth, and artistry who simply needed a stage worthy of their craft.
The ensemble features Divya Sharma on vocals (top-left), Irfan Lawrence on bass (top-right), Shivam Kumar on keyboard (bottom-right), and Rishabh Gulati on drums (bottom-left).