Open Hand Jazz Festival 2018 - Tri-City’s First International Jazz Festival from December 1 - 2, 2018

Panchkula, November 21, 2018: Starting this winter, the Chandigarh TriCity will welcome music fans to a yearly celebration of Jazz, where music fans of all types will rub shoulders with aficionados of the genre in its purest form. In its inaugural edition, the ‘Open Hand Jazz Festival’ (OHJF), features six bands from across India and the USA for 2 days of enthralling music at Upstairs Club, WelcomHotel Bella Vista , Panchkula. The emergence of the ‘Open Hand Jazz Festival’ begins with Prithvideep Singh and Nipun Cheema, who conceptualized this festival with the help of an interdisciplinary team with varied and elaborate international experiences, to promote Jazz in Chandigarh. The festival was exclusively unveiled at a select media gathering by Prithvideep Singh, Project Director and Nipun Cheema, Creative Director. "At its core, the festival aims to generate curiosity and increase the awareness of a genre that besides a few big names has paradoxically low audience numbers compared to the vast talent that it contains." Said Prithvideep Singh. On December 1, 7 PM onwards Kitchensink from New Delhi, Song of the Ghetto from Chandigarh and Poco Loco from Kolkata will perform in the OHJF 2018. On December 2 , 7 pm onwards Bluegrass Journeymen from Denver, USA, MND FLO from Boston, USA and Vasundhara Vee from Mumbai will perform in the fest. "With the active support of international communities, musicians, partners and authorities, the OHJF team aims to engineer a transition that not only promotes jazz but creates a richer and larger cultural appetite for the creative arts." said Nipun Cheema. The name ‘Open Hand’ plays off the iconic local Chandigarh landmark but also symbolises an openness to new cultures and art forms. In that spirit, the ‘Open Hand Jazz Festival’ has a carefully curated lineup that includes jazz in different avatars including blues, funk, soul and Latin alongside traditional jazz forms. The team behind OHJF 2018 engages a diverse group of volunteers, partners, sponsors and contributors, working side by side as one big festival family. This passionate community collectively plans and coordinates with the bands, sound, production and social media teams to create magic. So far, the music community from across the world has noticed and has shown an immense response and excitement. Looking to the future and the growing popularity of destination music festivals, it wouldn’t be a surprise for OHJF to transition from Chandigarh to a nationwide phenomenon and ultimately organically evolve into one of the major international jazz festivals. Artists and visitors can look forward to Chandigarh as a friendly and creative city. A modern and open-minded metropolis that can be experienced at its very best during the OHJF.