Concerts & Events

For the past 27 years, Funkadesi has consistently and emphatically personified inclusive joy. Winner of this year's Chicago Music Award for Most Outstanding Group, Funkadesi knows how to wow crowds with their blend of Indian bhangra, Bollywood, and folk with reggae, funk, and Afro-Caribbean grooves. They deliver a virtuoso high energy musical experience. With members who are unprecedentedly diverse (Indian-American, African-American, Jamaican, Latino, and European-American), their music expresses their motto: “One family, many children…Insisting we all belong.”

VIP tickets include:
- Reserved elevated table seat at the back of the theater
- Backstage access after the show
- Access to exclusive video content (unreleased documentary, concert and studio footage)

Special Guests:

Sonal Aggarwal
Former international street performer turned emcee, Chicago-based Sonal Aggarwal is an actor, comedian, producer and movement artist. Her one woman show The Alchemy of Bliss played for a sold out weekend at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater and you can see her on Netflix's Easy as well as the short A Period Piece which debuted at SXSW 2020. She is a regular host of the Moth.

Nestor Gomez
Nestor Gomez was born in Guatemala and moved to Chicago in the mid 80's. He told his first story at a Chicago Moth Slam, as a way to get over stuttering. Surprisingly, he won the slam that night and has not stop sharing stories since. He has since raked up a grand total of 78 Moth Slams wins. He is also the winner of the 2022 National Storytelling Network Grand Slam. Nestor is also the creator/producer/curator and host of 80 Minutes Around the World an Immigration Storytelling show which features the stories of immigrants, refugees, their descendants and allies.

Jitesh Jaggi
Jitesh Jaggi is an immigrant poet and storyteller from India. He ended his career in Finance one day when he lost all his data that he forgot to save on an Excel sheet and realized that he just didn't care. That tipping point led to him becoming a writer and he is currently working on a book of essays. A four-time The Moth StorySlam winner, he also produces shows for the science-based storytelling organization, The Story Collider. His stories were recently played on the National Public Radio as part of The Moth Radio Hour. (He loves writing bios because he can refer to himself in the third person.)

SoulBillys
SoulBillys play rootsy Americana, ranging from dulcet three-part harmony to gritty rock cha-cha. They combine distinct renditions of popular music over the decades with down-home original music. Featuring Ray Ramirez on guitar/mandolin, Lloyd Brodnax King on upright bass/sax, and Chuck Sansone on percussion, SoulBillys are on their third year of a Friday night residency at Bernice's Tavern Chicago.

http://funkadesi.com/