Coachella 2023 All About Inclusivity: From Diljit Dosanjh to Ali Sethi, and Many More

This year, South Asian music lovers are flocking to Coachella due to the festival's impressive lineup of South Asian performers.

The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, one of the most profitable music events in the world, is held annually in Indio, California, over two consecutive weekends in April.

Indian singer and actor Diljit Singh Dosanjh and Pakistani singer and composer Ali Sethi are among the South Asian acts making their festival debut this year, performing alongside international acts such as BLACKPINK, Kid Laroi, Charli XCX, Labrinth, Jai Wolf, Joy Crookes, Jai Paul, Frank Ocean, and Underworld.

Google users searched for Pasoori by Sethi the most in 2022. Dosanjh, who is extremely well-known among the global Indian diaspora, will be the first Punjabi language performer to perform at the festival.

Last year's lineup also featured South Asian artists such as Raveena Aurora and Arooj Aftab, but the elevated profiles of this year's performers make it a monumental occasion for the fans.

Who hasn't encountered his music? "I am ecstatic about South Asian headliners, it's insane!" she exclaims.

The diversity and "brown inclusivity" at Coachella are appealing to followers of South Asian artists, who see it as an opportunity to "experience joy" alongside other Americans.

Ms. Patel reports that a dozen of her peers discussed "our community" at Coachella and felt a sense of belonging.

South Asian singers and movie stars frequently tour North American venues swarmed by their adoring admirers.

Radhika Kalra has witnessed multiple Dosanjh concerts in the United States and Canada, but she "can't miss him on such a massive stage."

Ms. Kalra, a trained dancer, intends to have nine friends, all South Asian females from New York, "practice a few steps to the Diljit song Black & White" in preparation for the festival.

For South Asians who grew up in North America listening to Bollywood and other South Asian film tunes, this is a landmark acknowledgement of their culture.

Even though the Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh has millions of admirers, he occasionally experiences being star-strucked. While advertising one of his films on The Kapil Sharma Show, Diljit shared a humorous anecdote about his brief encounter with Justin Bieber, a popular Canadian singer. Dosanjh revealed that the two had met at the airport in Dubai and then proceeded to relate the amusing story in Hindi.

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