Mariachi Flor de Primavera is a group of young Chicago mariachis who have been bringing the heart and soul of Mexico to the Windy City since 2023. Mariachi originated in the Jalisco region of western Mexico and and features passionate songs and rich vocal harmonies accompanied by guitars, vihuelas, violins, trumpets, harp, and guitarrón. Mariachi Flor de Primavera carries on the mariachi tradition in Chicago, performing at weddings, parties, serenades, and quinceañeras.

Performing Friday, November 6, 6:45pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: mariachiflordeprimavera.com
IG: @mariachiflordeprimavera

Abdoulaye Conde will perform together with Carlo Basile as a duo of kora (the West African harp) and acoustic guitar. Abdoulaye Conde is a self-taught musician and visual artist from Conakry, Guinea, now based in Rogers Park on Chicago’s north side. His work in both mediums blends tradition with contemporary influences drawn from his Malinke heritage and his experiences across cultures, celebrating resilience, joy, and unity. Carlo Basile holds a Master’s in Classical Guitar Performance from NEIU and studied for seven years with Anne Waller, head of the guitar program at Northwestern. He has performed, taught, and studied music in more than 30 countries, and has helped organize and fund Surabhi Ensemble’s Global Peace Tours to Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, Senegal, Mexico, and a five-state tour of India.

Performing Friday, November 6, 7:45pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: abdoulayecondeart.com
IG: @abdoulayecondeart

Tuvergen Band (“galloping” in Mongolian) is a Chicago-based folk-fusion trio founded by Tamir Hargana (lead vocals, folk lutes, morin khuur), Naizal Hargana (morin khuur, vocals), and Brent Roman (percussion, didgeridoo, vocals) in 2020. Hailing from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, Tamir and Naizal bring some of the country’s most distinctive sounds to Tuvergen Band, including the cello-like horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), various folk lutes (the Tuvan doshpuluur and West Mongolian tovshuur), and khoomii throat singing. An ethnomusicologist and Asian percussion specialist, Roman augments these sounds with a custom hybrid drum kit of twenty global percussion instruments and didgeridoo. The trio use this rich instrumental palette to perform what they call “modern nomadic music,” incorporating bluegrass, blues, rock, and more into its repertoire of Mongolian and Tuvan folk songs and originals.

Performing Friday, November 6, 8:45pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: tuvergenband.com
IG: @tuvergen_band

Ochin Pakhi (“Unknown Bird” in Bengali) is a Bengali folk band that performs ecstatic songs from India and Bangladesh, including songs of the Baul-Fakir musical mystics. Founded in 2017 and based in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, Ochin Pakhi nurtures artistic community through open rehearsals and public events such as the GaanMela festival, which they initiated and organized. Ochin Pakhi consists of Subhajit Sengupta (vocals), Swarnali Banerjee (vocals), Lucia Thomas (dotara, violin, khamok), Sam Hyson (accordion, violin), Leigh Greening (cello), Tzippy Rhodes (flute, manjira, chapri), Nate Torrence (khol, bansuri, alghoza), and Mehtab Kirtan (tabla).

Performing Friday, November 6, 9:45pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: ochinpakhichicago.org
IG: @ochinpakhichicago

Qais Worroryar is an Afghan American musician whose artistic practice centers on the rubab, carrying forward the classical traditions of Afghanistan while shaping them for a new generation. A dedicated disciple of Grand Master Ustad Homayoun Sakhi, he draws from one of the most influential living lineages of Afghan classical music. Grounded in his Afghan musical heritage and shaped by his life in the United States, Qais approaches the rubab with both deep respect for tradition and an openness to artistic evolution. Through raga improvisation, traditional repertoire, and subtle contemporary expression, he creates a distinctive musical voice that honors the past while contributing to the evolving identity of Afghan music today. In this concert, Qais will be accompanied by Arun Sabapathy on tabla.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 2:30pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
IG: @qaisrubab

Friends of the Gamelan (FROG) invites Chicagoans to experience the rich performing arts of Indonesia. FROG incorporated in 1980 as a Javanese gamelan community ensemble with the purpose of providing music instruction and performance. Chicago Balinese Gamelan music and dance ensemble was founded in 2017, and in 2023, the two nonprofits merged. Today, Friends of the Gamelan includes two ensembles with individually distinct sets of gamelan instruments, each respectively dedicated to Javanese and Balinese gamelan music and dance. This concert at GaanMela will feature the Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, who will perform beneath the dome of the sanctuary of United Church of Rogers Park, creating an auditory experience evocative of traditional performance practice in central Java, where gamelan is often performed beneath a semi-enclosed pendhopo structure with a high chamber of resonance. If you enjoy the concert, consider joining the ensemble, which rehearses multiple times a week in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood!



Performing Saturday, November 7, 3:00pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: chicagogamelan.org
IG: @chicagogamelan

Mary Hazboun is a vocalist and multidisciplinary artist born in Bethlehem, Palestine. She will sing timeless Arabic classics from Egypt, Iraq, and the Levant, accompanied by a traditional takht ensemble consisting of Majed Abu Ajamia (qanun), Adel Fadel (oud and violin), Sam Hyson (violin and accordion), Mohannad Al Zahabi (cello), and Edward Hanna (percussion). This concert celebrates the rich musical traditions of the Arab world, bringing together beloved songs and the beauty of Arabic maqam.



Performing Saturday, November 7, 4:15pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
IG: @maryhazboun84

Soul Latina is a dynamic, female-led Chicago-based musical ensemble that celebrates the rich, diverse tapestry of Latin American music. The quintet is fronted by the captivating, three-part vocal harmonies of singers Sonia Oyola, Narda Martinez, and Diana Mosquera, masterfully backed by Rachel Alicea on guitar and Jess Anzaldúa on percussion. As proud Latina artists rooted in the Chicago music scene, their repertoire reflects their deep cultural heritage, blending soulful boleros and romantic songs with the infectious, high-energy rhythms of salsa, cumbia, and merengue. Deeply connected to their Puerto Rican and Colombian roots, Soul Latina delivers powerful, genre-spanning performances that honor their ancestors while keeping audiences moving. From intimate listening rooms to lively dance floors, they are a beloved fixture at premier Chicago venues, including Le Piano in Rogers Park, Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret, and Drew’s on Halsted.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 5:00pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
IG: @soul_latina

Dani Chё is a Chicago-based performance artist. He explores discarded human experience through highly improvisational performances that fuse creative action, cabaret, clown routines and everything else imaginable in aestheticized location-specific environments. Dani was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and immigrated to Chicago at the age of 17. He sings Ukrainian songs and plays the bayan button accordion. His recent artistic works have included accordion sound baths, clown-guided meditations, live burials (full and partial), aquatic mermaid drag dramas, avian embodiment workshops, and attempts at re-foliation of winter trees.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 6:00pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: danicheexperience.com
IG: @daniache1

Aikyam Odissi Dance Collective specializes in Odissi, one of the oldest and most intricate forms of Indian classical dance, which originated in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Aikyam means oneness, harmony, and unity; Aikyam Odissi Dance Collective strives to create a space for Odissi and Indian classical dance artists to unite and collaborate. Dancers Sreyashi Dey and Colin Mascarenhas will perform accompanied by live music from Tanveer Singh Sapra (vocals), Sonny Patel (bansuri), Lucia Thomas (Hindustani violin), and Arun Sabapathy (tabla). Sreyashi Dey, one of the foremost exponents of Odissi dance, trained under Guru Mayadhar Raut and is the founder and artistic director of Srishti Dance of India, earning national acclaim for work that honors classical tradition while collaborating across artistic genres. Colin Mascarenhas is a Chicago-based Odissi dancer and LGBTQI+ activist who trained under Guru Jhelum Paranjape at Mumbai’s Smitalay and has performed at venues ranging from NCPA Mumbai to the Consulate General of India in Chicago.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 6:30pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
IG: @aikyamodcchicago

La Tosca is a little orchestra, the kind you could find in a Parisian Café Chantant in 1928. It is a unique historical and geographical fusion uniting musicians of different musical backgrounds such as Italian, French, Polish, and American. The band takes you on a journey through the Italian musical heritage of 100 years of repertoire corresponding to the biggest wave of the European migration to the Americas (1820-1920). The traditional music of Naples and Sicily meets the swing rhythm of Django in Paris, and brings you to the roaring atmosphere of the early American jazz. Polkas and Mazurkas will take you south to Argentina where the fusion of Sicilian music and Argentine rhythms gave birth to sensual tangos and milongas.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 7:00pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: latoscachicago.com
IG: @latoscaitalianmambo

Arpa Café is a Chicago-based folkloric ensemble that brings together three rich traditions of South American music into a rhythmic, virtuosic fusion: joropo from the plains (llanos) shared by Venezuela and Colombia, Andean rhythms such as the bambuco, and cumbia from Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The group also performs a wide range of other Latin American folk styles. The ensemble is led by award-winning Colombian harpist Daniel Rojas, who plays the llanera harp, an instrument known for its bright, distinctive sound. He is joined by Antonio Sánchez (Venezuela) on guitar, mandolin, and cuatro; Alfonso Correa (Colombia) on cuatro, tiple, and bass; and Diego Mosquera (Colombia) on maracas and percussion.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 8:00pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
IG: @arpacafe

Lehra Lehra is a collective of musicians playing the music of Sindh, a culture dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization 5000 years ago. The canon of Sindhi music contains Sufi poems and love songs in jubilant melodies and lilting rhythms. Lehra Lehra is led by Rogers Park local Nate Torrence on the alghoza, an ancient double flute iconic to Sindhi culture. He has performed Sindhi music across the USA, in Canada, England, and Pakistan. Lehra Lehra features traditional Sindhi instruments, including the danbooro, a strummed rhythmic drone, and surindo, a wooden bowed instrument. Together Lehra Lehra brings improvised interpretations of the ancient music of Sindh. At GaanMela, Nate will be accompanied by Sam Hyson (surindo), Lucia Thomas (danbooro), Tzippy Rhodes (chapri, flute), and Arun Sabapathy (tabla).

Performing Saturday, November 7, 8:45pm (Upstairs, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: nathantorrencearts.com
IG: @americanalghoza

Environmental Encroachment (EE) is a Chicago brass band and performance art group that uses mobility, costumes, and antics to create unique entertainment environments. EE’s mission is to create playgrounds for the body and mind through dance, music, and art. Since 1994, they have performed in parades, weddings, funerals, coronations, burlesque shows, and rituals involving synchronized swimming with sousaphones. Channeling the passion and spirit of Mardi Gras and Carnival, EE’s music includes original compositions and repertoire from international street band traditions such as New Orleans second line brass bands, European Klezmer, Balkan and Romani music, Brazilian Afro Bloc and Frevo traditions. Audience costumes are always encouraged.

Performing Saturday, November 7, 9:45pm (Sanctuary, United Church of Rogers Park)
Website: encroach.net
IG: @environmentalencroachment

Performing three times at GaanMela with Qais Worroryar, Aikyam Odissi Dance Collective, and Lehra Lehra, Arun Sabapathy is a rising tabla talent and avid percussionist within the new generation of Indian classical musicians. He performs for organizations such as the Indian Music Society of Houston, Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego, and various Indian Arts Organizations within the greater Chicagoland area. While Arun’s training and performing experiences have primarily been in a classical music setting, he enjoys other musical forms like Carnatic fusion and jazz, helping build bridges between different cultures through music.

IG: @arunsabapathymusic