School Performance: Sunny Jain (KCYS)

This performance is part of the Krannert Center Youth Series, weekday performances for public schools, private schools, and home school groups.

Sunny Jain takes musical inspiration from the scores of Bollywood classics, Punjabi folk traditions, jazz improvisation, hip-hop and more. Whether playing a Western drum kit or the Punjabi dhol, Jain leads his band with unbridled energy and joy. In this interactive concert, students will learn a variety of rhythms in differing musical styles, while enjoying an exuberant mash up of South Asian and Western music.

The career of Sunny Jain is a celebration of cultural diaspora: deep-rooted tradition that ripples outward, changing and being changed by the cultures that it touches. He is a composer, drummer, dhol player and thought leader. In 2022, Jain joined Planet Drum for their first show in 15 years, playing alongside drumming legends Mickey Hart (The Grateful Dead), Zakir Hussain, and Giovanni Hidalgo. Jain's five-piece band (drums, vocals, sax, guitar, bass) delivered a fiery NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2024. They toured North America appearing at the iconic Monterey Jazz Festival, Calgary Jazz Festival, Victoria Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, National Museum of Asian Art, and the historic Harlem Stage in NYC.

Recommended for grades 4–8.