[Rijah, a singer, song-writer, arranger and producer from Boston, USA, was on a vacation in Kolkata. She got to perform at the Dalhousie Institute, with a little help from her friends]
It’s been a week and we are still listening to Rijah. Rijah who? The only one I know, to use the title of one of her songs, and one I met quite by accident. A friend asked if I could recommend a venue for her first concert in India and forwarded a link to her music on Spotify. I listened. I was sold. The home of jazz in Kolkata, the Dalhousie Institute (DI), was an obvious choice. The decision to hold the programme on the lawns with the winter chill in good shape was an easy one. Rijah would be followed by the retro rock band, The Jiverz, a double draw in the middle of the week, Wednesday, January 15. A no-brainer, the DI said a resounding “yes”.
The writer, who helped organise the show, introduces Rijah to the DI audience
At just 21 years of age, Rijah ruled the stage with her diminutive frame overpowering the stacks of instruments in the background. Born and raised in Jersey City, she was not far from the musical influences of New York. The influences stride confidently into her music. You can hear the R&B, jazz and soul on which ride the finger-picking style and vocal inflections that she adds to carry forward the poetry of her lyrics. Composing and recording music from the age of 16, born into a musical family, it was but natural that Rijah joined Berklee College of Music, Boston, and is pursuing her journey there. Her grandfather, whom she was visiting is Sumit Roy, better known as Kolkata’s Belafonte, while both her parents have been deeply involved in the performing arts in India and the US. Rijah confessed that she learnt more about music, mixing, arranging and composing during the Covid pandemic. She calls some of her songs ‘Lockdown Originals’.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Rijah was not far from the musical influences of New York. The influences stride confidently into her music
Rijah has put together a band that has been featured for two years in a row on NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. They have performed well-appreciated live concerts at multiple places across the USA, Spain and most recently, at the Soundside Music Festival alongside musicians like Norah Jones, The Goo Goo Dolls and Boyz to Men. She’s going back to perform in other venues like Anaheim Music Festival and NAMM 25.
At the concert at the DI, her first ever in India, she used her virtual band on tracks for some songs, mixing the sound expertly while frontlining the vocals and guitar. She shifted effortlessly from acoustic to electric guitar only pausing to unsnag a vagrant guitar strap as she changed, tuned soundlessly and chatted with the audience. A 300-strong music loving crowd was happy to sing along to Good Morning and to clap along to other songs when requested. She did a couple of covers too, but quickly came back to her own music, which resonated with the listeners.
The 300-strong music loving crowd was happy to sing and clap along to the songs
Rijah ended her set with House in Tattoos, the words of which reverberated with this writer. She poetically weaves imagery of how we leave impressions of ourselves like tattoos around the house. The tiles in the kitchen, the scratches on the floor, the stain on the counter top … there’ll always be the strings tied to you, this house is covered in tattoos.
After the programme, Rijah happily mingled with one and all, hanging out with youth her own age too. An impression she created — and this is true of many accomplished musicians — is her humility, respect for the audience, acknowledgement of the sound engineers and support staff, and willingness to be guided and advised on stage. No ego hang-ups. We have a lot to learn from this young performer especially in the Age of Attitude! Her latest EP album, Motion Pictures, explores the bridge between youth and adulthood in an innovative use of R&B with some delightful finger-picking guitar work, backing vocals and instrumentation.
At just 21 years of age, Rijah ruled the stage with her diminutive frame overpowering the stacks of instruments in the background
We wish her career just goes Up, Up, Up as she sings in the haunting piece Up:
I put all my energy into what I love, is it enough? Hope it’s enough, Hope it only goes up, up, up from here …
Rijah’s music is available on her YouTube channel and on Spotify.