Diaspora Arts is proud to welcome back Hamed Nikpay and his world music band to the San Francisco Bay Area. Join us for an evening of enchanting music on Sunday, November 19, 7:00 pm at the Brava Theater Center. Hamed will be accompanied by Dan Sistos, Music Director and guitarist, T.J. Troy on Tabla and percussion, and Alfredo Caceres on Flamenco guitar.
About the artist
A fusion vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, Hamed Nikpay has been a pioneering artist for over two decades, innovating far-reaching music extending beyond its time. He transcends all musical boundaries, and stealthily imbues the classical Persian melodies artfully with beats and sounds of other complementing genres; thus enriching the quality of the music he performs. And, as a student of rich Persian poetry, he intertwines his music with lyrics he incisively chooses from among the vast body of Ancient and contemporary Persian poets; thus creating a soulful genre unique all to himself. He calls it “Soufi Funk”, denoting East and West in harmony. As you listen to his music, you may hear a Persian balad with Rumi’s mystical poems in Bassanova, a poem of a modernist poet in Mystical Flamenco, or, transcendental poetry of the thirteen-century poet Hafez, in a melody that ingrains classical Persian music with Argentinian Tango. All along, infusing these creations with the Persian regional folkloric music that is soul-southing and heart-moving. His ensemble consists of an eclectic group of musicians from around the world, playing instruments embedded in the East and the West.
In addition to performing in concerts around the world, and producing a slew of albums and single tracks, Hamed has close ties with the movie industry performing both instrumental and vocal pieces in Hollywood films and TV series produced by Disney, Universal Studios, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Marvel, Games, and others. An ardent promoter of peace in his homeland and around the world, he was nominated the “Peace Musician” of the year by the U.S. State Department, in 2011.
When Hamed is not performing live, he extends his talent to areas requiring skills other than music. In 2022, he hosted the first-ever World Wide talent show “The Voice of Persia” trying his interest in showmanship by running and managing the judges as well as the participating talents in the show.
Similarly, in 2021, he founded the non-profit organization “Zang Records Inc”, to search for and promote mainly young unknown artists with exceptional talents from all corners of Iran, who had created music not ever heard in the public or not allowed to be heard by the Islamic regime. His painstaking search to discover and reach out to these exceptional talents resulted in streaming the musical work of more than thousands of artists without whose persevering efforts, would not have had the opportunity to achieve a global audience.
Purchase tickets and check out the event page on Facebook below!
