Vancouver fans of global music can enjoy a taste of Nepal at the Hollywood Theatre this Easter weekend. Nepali-American indie artist Bartika Eam Rai will bring her ethereal and heartfelt sounds to the West Side in a concert beginning at 8 p.m. on Sunday (April 20). Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are available for $50 on Showpass.com.
Rai grew up in Lalitpur in the south-central part of the Kathmandu Valley, where more than 80 percent of the population are Hindus. Another 17.2 percent are Buddhist. Many of her lyrics are in Hindi.
Rai moved to the United States as a teenager in 2015. The following year, she released her first single, “Khai” on YouTube. The Kathmandu Post described it as a “mournful ballad about loss, longing and loneliness”.
“Her soulful lyricism and haunting vocals were heartfelt and moving, sincere in a way not much of mainstream Nepali music is,” wrote the paper’s features editor, Pranaya SJB Rana.
She won Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female) for “Khai” at Nepal’s Hits FM Music Awards. It was one of six songs on her debut album Bimbaakash.
Listen to Bartika Eam Rai’s first hit, “Khai”.
Since then, Rai has released two more full-length albums—Taral (2018) and Aandhii, Ityaadi (2024)—as well as the 2019 EP Si/Ma- [Na]. She will mark her Vancouver debut with her performance at the Hollywood Theatre, which is to support her most recent album. Aandhii is a Hindi word that means “storm”; Ityaadi is another Hindi word meaning “et cetera” or that a list is not exhaustive.
Watch Bartika Eam Rai’s video for “jharisangadulchu” from Aandhii, Ityaadi.
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