Combing the masterful and unique guitar styles of Joel Veena and Ryan Lee Crosby, the RAGA BLUES is a fresh musical manifestation rooted in culture and the oral tradition. Joel Veena plays the 20-stringed Hindustani slide guitar, fusing almost two decades of traditional study of North Indian music with contemporary sensibilities. Ryan Lee Crosby plays the 12-string and slide in the rare Bentonia Mississippi Blues style, having honed his skill directly with the living masters in the southern United States. They are accompanied by range of percussion styles, including tabla and the calabash gourd. 

"The blues is a lot like its own raga," explains Joel Veena, "There's a scale, an ornamentation style, a strong mood and atmosphere...And I've studied a bit of the blues and Ryan has studied North Indian music on the slide guitar as well. We share an aesthetic in a lot of ways: richly atmospheric, driving guitar music..." 

Audiences can expect to be treated to a  rooted and dynamic musical evening from artists who are deeply authentic: each traveling to receive and transmit their music directly from the source while simultaneously interpreting it for global audiences. 

From deeply introspective and beautiful ragas to hand-clapping, jump out of your seats good times: a RAGA BLUES show is fuel to ignite and energize.