What happens when you bring a few hundred people together in a parking lot, add a food truck, some guitars, and a lot of favorite Bollywood songs? Apparently, a pretty wonderful Sunday evening.
We’d been following SF Indian Music Project for a while, and I finally got to experience one of their gatherings when they came to my neighborhood in Sunnyvale. A friend, her son, and I headed over to the Eggmania food truck spot on El Camino to listen and, very quickly, sing along.
Music that everyone could be part of
There were old Bollywood favorites, people arriving with guitars and spontaneously joining in, and an audience that was very happy to participate rather than simply watch. We bumped into friends we knew, met others, and spent the evening with people brought together by a shared love of music.
What I enjoyed just as much was what happened after the music ended. People stayed around talking about favorite songs, instruments and their own musical interests. Some shared what they played and what they might like to contribute at future gatherings, and more people joined the growing community WhatsApp group.
It felt less like we had attended a performance and more like we had found a community where people could participate.
Building community around a shared love of music
That’s part of what I find so interesting about what Jay Lohokare and the SF Indian Music Project team are building. It isn’t simply about putting musicians in front of an audience. They’re creating a way for people who love music to find one another, sing together and, sometimes, pick up an instrument and join in themselves.
For a few hours, it really didn’t matter what anyone did for work or which Bay Area tech company they worked for. We were just a parking lot full of people singing songs we knew and loved.
And it was fun. Really fun.
More spaces for experiences like this
I’d love to see SF Indian Music Project pop up in more places around the Bay Area. Cafés, restaurants, courtyards, community spaces and other local venues could all become homes for evenings like these.
Our neighborhoods become so much more interesting when there are opportunities to experience music and art together, especially when we’re invited to participate rather than simply consume.
We could use a lot more evenings like this.
This is the kind of local we want more of. ❤️
