Coast Capital Bhangra Competition

When: Saturday, May 14 – 6:30pm to 9:30pm (Doors at 5:30pm)
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 600 Block Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $25, $45 & Limited VIP www.vtixonline.com

The annual Coast Capital Bhangra Competition seeks the greatest talent from all four corners of the Earth! Ranked as one of the most prominent competitive Bhangra events in North America, thousands will pack the seats at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre to watch Bhangra teams from all over North America compete for $10,000 in prizes.

The City of Bhangra is known to feature never-before-seen artists to Vancouver and this yearis no different with folk singing sensation Jaswinder Daghamia arriving from India and Glasgow’s Tigerstyle performing their live stage act. The year’s finale will also present Shava, the only Finnish Bhangra band in the world, returning with their brand of “Finnjabi” madness.

Many other surprises line in await as performers and participants from all over the City of Bhangra festival descend on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for finale performances.


Tigerstyle consists of two devout Sikh brothers from Glasgow, Scotland who know their Bhangra music. Raj and Pops are trained in classical tabla, Gurmat Sangeet, and various forms of Punjabi folk music and instrumentation, yet they have a broad taste of contemporary music ranging from Hip-Hop to Drum n’ Bass and Dance. Pops and Raj began as DJs in 1997 when they formed Desi Bombsquad Sound System. Then, in 2000 Tigerstyle released, “The Rising”. Aside from Bhangra, the boys have been producing tracks for their annual Shaheedi albums.  And as of late, Tigerstyle has formed a live band and will be bringing this band to the 7th Annual City of Bhangra Festival.

Shin, founding member of the seminal British Band DCS, brought UK Bhangra to new heights.  Since 1983, Shin has been performing world-wide with DCS. The shear energy of their live shows and ‘in your face’ performance is the mark of their brand of British Bhangra. DCS’ sound represents the identity of the British Asian and have prove this by scooping up numerous awards for “best live band”.  Shin himself has been recognized many times over for his vocal ability and prowess as the most versatile Punjabi Singer. Unfortunately, the entire band couldn’t come down, but DCS’ front man and lead singer Shin will be collaborating with Vancouver rockers, En Karma at VIBC’s 7th Annual Coast Capital Bhangra Competition.

Jaswinder Daghamia is a multi-talented recording artist from India.  Unfortunately, after two failed visa applications Jaswinder Daghamia won’t be able to leave the Motherland to perform in Vancouver… we’re still crossing our fingers that through the power of “Jaadu” something might change, but don’t want to get your hopes up.

The VIBC Society is proud to introduce the Surrey Celebration Dance Team! The SCDT was created as a joint partnership between the City of Surrey and the Arts Council of Surrey in hopes to become a legacy project for Surrey. These 20 young dancers aged 16-24 are Surrey’s up and coming talent and performed during the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Surrey Torch Relay and Celebration site stages with intensity. These talented dancers have also trained in bhangra and are looking forward to wow audiences of VIBC 7th Annual City of Bhangra Festival.

First place winners of the Coast Capital Bhangra Competition in 2006 and 2007, the infamous UBC Girlz Bhangra Team is back and will be performing at the 7th Annual Coast Capital Bhangra Competition. But we’ll let you in on a little secret… these bhangra champions won’t be competing but will be performing a very special number with the oh-so adorable sweethearts known as the Shan-E-Punjab Little Stars. The two groups teamed up together for a unique performance during the 2010 Olympics at the BC Victory Ceremonies, and for those of us who missed it, will get an opportunity to see these two groups take the stage once again.

Formed in 2006, En Karma is Vancouver’s Bhangra Rock Band. The line-up includes, Nick Chowlia on keys, Pip Dhaliwal on drums, Ravi Binning on dhol, Jatinder Dhesi (JP) on Dholak, Ricky Thinda on bass guitar and Inder Kooner on vocals. En Karma is a distinct and unmatched commodity in the Bhangra industry. The only Punjabi band in North America, En Karma’s members deliver musicianship and performance abilities without compare. Drawing on their UK influences for live band arrangements and infused with their more contemporary influences in Vancouver, En Karma has created a unique Bhangra sound that is all their own. In 2010, En Karma was nominated for a Brit Asia Music Award, showcased at Canadian Music Week, and performed at three sites during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Sure, rocking out to our ipod is fun, but nothing compares to seeing Finnish gorah’s rock out at a live Bhangra show! The world’s only Finnish Bhangra band is returning to VIBC’s City of Bhangra Festival. Shava is a band that falls into the category of “must-see live” as opposed to “the MP3 will do.” Winners of the 2010 Folk Music Record of the Year, Shava’s blend of Bollywood-Bhangra dance beats have created a distinct global sound. The five-member band from Helsinki, Finland have discovered many parallels between Finnish and Punjabi traditional music and culture. Known for their cultural mash-ups mixed with a little rock and roll, our sing-along favourite has to be Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha featuring Gurcharn Mall http://youtu.be/m8_LynHb6kA

Competing Bhangra Teams

  • Shan-E-Punjab Arts Club (SPAC)
  • Nache Sher Mastane
  • Panj Bhangra
  • Bhangra Republik (Calgary)
  • Nachde Punjab Girls
  • North Delta Bhangra Team

Tickets are available online at:

http://www.vtixonline.com/event.php?event_id=257

And at the following locations:

Anmol Video
2638 Cedar Park Place
Abbotsford
(604) 855-0111		 Grover’s Video & Laser
2448 Clearbrook Road
Abbotsford
(604) 855-5250		 B4U Video & Computers
#185 – 8138 128th Street
Surrey
(778) 565-4641		 Golden Star Video
9369 120th Street
Surrey
(604) 583-1960
Golden Star Video
#116 – 12830 80th Avenue
Surrey
(604) 543-6222		 Ravi Video
#101 – 8334 128th Street
Surrey
(604) 599-1110		 Kamal’s Video Palace
9324 120th Street
Surrey
(604) 592-9777		 H&R Audio Video
7569 6th Street
Burnaby
(604) 525-5430
Main Video
6621 Main Street
Vancouver
(604) 322-8763		 DVD Palace
3223 Kingsway
Vancouver
(604) 434-4786