IT’S BEGINNING TO SOUND A LOT LIKE SPRING

Name: Falu. 

My full name, Falguni, means constellation and my pet name which is also my stage name Falu means Spring because my parents thought I brought the spring season in their lives. 

Currently: I am working on multiple projects – two adult projects and one children’s project. 

Favourite colour:  Red. 

Favourite designer: Riccardo Tisci. 

Favourite Bollywood star: Amir Khan. 

Favourite Hollywood star: Bradley Cooper. 

Favourite movie:  Shawshank Redemption. 

Favourite singers: Aretha Franklin, Beatles, Lata Mangeshkar, Ella Fitzgerald.

Favourite song: Sound of Silence by Paul Simon. 

Favourite tv show: Law and Order. 

Favourite ice cream flavour: Strawberry.

Favourite cuisines:  Thai. 

Favourite restaurant: El Parador.

Favourite sport: Baseball.

Favourite sportsperson: Alex Rodriguez. 

Favourite book: Becoming by Michelle Obama. 

Favourite activity:  Reading. 

I hang out: With my family and friends. 

I’m freaked out by: Ghosts. 

I need: Family. 

I want to be: A global musician.

 My role model: Bono. His work for Africa inspires me every day to make music. 

Tips to save the planet: Go green and save water.

In a perfect world:  People will live in peace and unity.

 Welcome to Global Mashups, Flushing Town Hall’s music series! On March 9, experience Global Mashup 1: Bollywood meets Global Roots Blues. Celebrate Holi with Grammy-nominated Indian vocalist Falu, whose quartet combines traditional roots with inventive rock, mashing with Hazmat Modine, distillers of multi-American-genres, melded with African, Central Asian, Caribbean and Eastern European influences.  Falu is internationally recognized for her rare ability to seamlessly blend a signature modern inventive style with a formidable Indian classically-shaped vocal talent. 

In her early years in Bombay, Falu (aka Falguni Shah) was trained rigorously in the Jaipur musical tradition and in the Benares style of thumrie. 

Falu’s subsequent career in the States had led to a series of collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler and A. R. Rahman amongst others. She was appointed Carnegie Hall’s ambassador of Indian Music in 2006, where her shows at Zankel Hall have consistently sold out. Falu has performed for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House and was also the featured performer at the Time-100 gala in 2009.  In 2015, Falu was named one of the 20 most influential global Indian women by the Economic Times of India. In 2018, she won the Women Icons of India award in Mumbai, India. She was an integral part of Givenchy’s September 11 fashion show in NYC, where she performed for a star-studded audience. Falu continues to pursue her commitment to introducing children to the wonders of the world through her recently released debut kids’ project, Falu’s Bazaar, which takes families on a musical journey through South Asia, as well as through her artist-in-residence position at Carnegie Hall.

Where:  March 9, 7 pm (dance lessons). 8 pm (concert). Tickets: $16/$10 members and students. Free for teens. Full schedule and tickets at www.flushingtownhall.org.

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