Anitha Arya

Anitha is a multi-talented artiste with an impressive pedigree. A trained classical music singer, she is equally comfortable in genres such as folk, film music, pop and ghazals. She has been featured on radio and TV in India and has won several awards at inter-collegiate music competitions. She is a budding lyricist and composer and has been featured on the Kannada devotional album “Muktidate Mukambike”. She is sure to be on song today!

Swarna Venkatraman

Swarna has a unique voice and a soulful rendering style that will enthrall you. She has learnt carnatic music from her mother and has participated in many music competitions and dramas during her college days. She gratefully acknowledges the support and encouragement she receives from her family as she indulges in her passion for music.

Durga Venkataraman

Durga is a versatile singer with an impeccable command over her voice. She can render a wide range of songs with consummate ease. She is in the IT profession and counts singing and dancing as her passions in life. Durga is an active member of the Chinmaya mission and seeks to contribute actively to social causes.

Ram V G

Ram is a self-taught musician for whom music has always been more than a passion. He is a hardcore devotee of Illayaraaja who literally worships his music. At the same time, he has ample interest in a variety of genres, from Thyagaraja to Beethoven, from pop to heavy metal. He truly enjoys all kinds of music

Payal

Payal hails from Mumbai and worships RD Burman and Asha Bhosle. She is never satisfied until she masters a song to perfection. Very choosy with her song repertoire, she selects, practices and masters a song the moment she likes it. Payal has won several awards in school and is a passionate singer with a lively voice.

Bala Murugan

Bala’s musical inspiration comes from his parents, who love to sing. His lack of formal training was hardly an impediment – he has put in long hours of singing practice everyday in (as he puts it) “empty corridors, too shy to reveal what he was doing”. Well – we can’t vouch for that, but we can certainly vouch for the fact that he wears his passion on his sleeve and pours out his soul into every song that he sings on stage. As the audience is irresistibly transported along with his soaring crescendo, we wonder - is this the same shy crooner in the empty hallway?

Chenthil Gurunathan

Chenthil has been a fan of light music since childhood. Music has been an integral part of his life and he has participated in a lot of competitions and performances. He considers himself fortunate to have been born at a time when Illaiyaraaja dominated the Tamil music industry, listening to immortal film songs from that era as he grew up. With A.R. Rahman flowering and Harris and Yuvan carrying the torch, Chenthil is clearly on a streak with respect to living through good times! Lest you think that he is a mere idle listener – he is a supremely gifted vocalist who brings the great compositions of these legendary composers to life on stage.

Srivatsan Sundararajan

Srivatsan's early music education started at the age of 4 from his father Shri P. Sundararajan. Later, he joined the Bhakta Rasika Ranjani Sabha music school of Mumbai and trained in carnatic classical Vocal and Mridangam. He has undergone 12+ yrs of vocal training, given performances at various places in Mumbai and earned appreciation from carnatic music rasikas. He has also participated in light music competitions and has performed on stage through his school and college years. He is ready to “light” up the stage with his “class” today!

Vaidi

Vaidi takes inspiration from S.P.Balasubramanian. A self-taught singer, Vaidi is a keen learner and constantly improvises on his delivery. With no formal training, this passionate singer considers Sonu Nigam his guru. Vaidi has won several awards in school and is a soulful singer who brings life to all his performances.

Raj Kanth

Music has been a passion for Rajkanth since childhood. He started learning guitar when he was 14. During his college years, he displayed a marked preference for the music club rather than more ‘academic’ exercises. Now safely ensconced in the IT profession, Rajkanth nevertheless remembers the nostalgic days of inter-collegiate cultural events and competitions rather fondly. Once also a professional musician, Rajkanth is back on stage. Armed with an electric guitar and immense talent, he is back where he belongs and doing what he does best – producing exquisite music.

John Holowach

John has been playing music since the third grade, starting on the saxophone, moving on to the bass, then the guitar.  He developed an interest in several music forms while doing eclectic radio shows at Bard College, Drew University, and Rutgers University as an undergraduate.  This is his first experience playing Indian light music but he has played bass in several rock bands; currently John plays bass, keyboards, and Melodica for the space-rock trio The Cosmic Brotherhood of Ra. John is living proof that music is a universal language – and that musicians are a crazy bunch, ever ready for an adventure!

Sivakumar Muthuswamy

Siva learnt the mridangam from Shri Sabessa Iyer of Kumbakonam and had his arangetram in 1989. He is accomplished at playing a range of rhythm instruments. An engineer by profession, Siva is a soft-spoken person. There is nothing quiet about his presence on stage, however – as he displays his mastery of the mridangham or as an electronic drums artist and key member of the Jersey Rhythms percussion section, Siva is all set to crank up the decibel level!

Karthik Balasubramanian

Karthik describes himself as “a complete music buff - equally passionate about carnatic, light and hard rock music”. He has learnt mridangam formally under Melakaveri Sri. Krishnamurthy and Palghat Ramanathan and had his arangetram in 1993. Armed with such impressive pedigree and passion, this “groovy” percussionist is the key cheer leader of the band.

Rajesh (Raj) Manian

A Corporate Banker and Risk Manager by profession, Raj plays a range of percussion instruments - the bongo's, triple conga and acoustic and electronic drums – and has been performing on stage since his high school days. During his college years, he worked briefly in the Tamil film industry as a member of music director Chandrabose’s troupe. Raj has also played re-recording bits for movies like Manithan, Maanagara Kaaval, Raj Chinna Roja. In addition to his talents as a percussionist, this CFO & COO of Jersey Rhythms is a formidable organizer, stern manager and plays an ‘instrumental’ role in keeping the band functioning smoothly.

Venky Krishnaswamy

Venky is a self-taught musician with a deep and abiding interest in music of many different styles and also the technical aspects of music. In addition to being an accomplished composer and performer on synthesizer and guitar, Venky is also well versed in production aspects such as sound design and mixing. He has won numerous awards as a guitarist at inter-university music festivals in India. Venky has also performed extensively in the US and has accompanied several well known artistes from the US and India. He is a research scientist by profession.

Venky Sadagopan

Venky is a talented tabla and dhol player who adds a taste of ‘southern spice’ to the Jersey Rhythms sound. As host of a show of the same name on 89.3 Dhoom FM, he is well known to radio audiences in New Jersey. A resident of Somerset, NJ, and (for now) a sales executive, Venky is a film buff and aspires to be a thespian. He is the compere of the show tonight, a busy member of the percussion section and the Director of all marketing and brand building efforts of Jersey Rhythms. The stage is his natural habitat – watch out for this ‘class act’.

Arul Yagappan

Arul claims he is a ‘self taught drummer’. Don’t let that fool you – he is one of the most talented and accomplished performers you will see on stage! Arul is a wizard with his hands and can ‘electrify’ a set of acoustic drums in a hurry. He has performed since his college days and has played with several bands in Chennai. Arul is the inspiration behind Jersey Rhythms, its CEO & chief strategist. As he marches to the beat of his own drum, don’t be surprised if you find yourself following him – straight into a rhythmic trance….