I can’t hide the fact that I’m a Texas girl born and bred and that I love my home state. And everyone knows that the Army chose Northern Virginia for us and we had no say in the matter. That’s the active duty life. Because of that, I feel like people are always a little hesitant when they ask me how I like living here. At first, my response focused around the seasons and colors. (They are quite lovely.) But more and more I find myself enamored with the diversity of culture that I’m able to experience. It’s not that Texas isn’t diverse. I’m just more immersed in it here, and the Washington, DC area is such a cultural melting pot.

The first South Asian event I played for was a wedding cocktail hour, and they just asked for Top 40 covers. I had no idea Bollywood violin covers were even a thing. At my second event, they asked ahead of time if I knew any Bollywood songs. I said sure! And I bought a few tracks and some sheet music and pretended I knew what I was doing. It was a HUGE HIT!!! Everyone had cameras out and was singing along! That’s when I thought to myself that I was onto something.

Fast-forward two years and I now have several hours of Bollywood hits in my repertoire, and I absolutely LOVE it! I learn new songs for every South Asian event, and it’s typically a collage of instrumental covers and DJ-ing with violin on top. This allows for more variety and virtually unlimited special requests. I own two traditional costumes (hopefully more soon) and I’ve found a niche that fits me to a tee! I even sing in Hindi on a few of them. Talk about a surprise!

Click here to watch my new Bollywood Violin Demo!! I just uploaded it to YouTube last night, and it’s a series of live clips from recent South Asian events I’ve performed for. Thank you so much for reading and please share if you know someone who will enjoy this!