This is a long overdue post, but I wanted to do this review because this concert meant a lot to me. Given that it’s Tamil Heritage Month, I feel that this is a great time to talk about this artist and my thoughts when I saw her live in Toronto last March. Read below for more details about Priya Ragu, what you can potentially expect from her at future shows, and more. Before you read below, make sure to follow on social media (TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook) for more music and concert content! For a teaser of what you can expect below, check out the video below!
About
Priya Ragu is a Swiss-Tamil singer-songwriter and her music is a beautiful blend of R&B, soul, dance, and hip-hop while incorporating Tamil culture and lyrics. Her parents are from Sri Lanka as well and her main producer is her older brother, Japhna Gold. It’s interesting because when I heard that it instantly reminded me of Billie Eilish & Finneas as a unique sibling duo that makes great music. You can hear the mix of her culture and environment in her music as her Switzerland upbringing exposes her to Western Music while she blends in her traditional Tamil instruments and Hindu hymns flawlessly. She has reached a global audience and fun fact, when I was shopping at Foot Locker in Singapore they were playing her song!
I first heard of her when walking at a record store and saw the cover of her debut mixtape, “damnshestamil”. The album cover I believe is to recreate her puberty ceremony picture (a big thing for Tamil girls) and I immediately went home and listened to her music and came back the next day to pick up the vinyl and add it to my collection (which I featured in the Vinyl Sunday Series). Her music addresses various topics and her vocal arrangements that she delivers really make you feel the lyrics on a deeper level. I love her music and feel like it’s a great representation since my parents are from Jaffna as well and being a Tamil kid who grew up in the Western Hemisphere in love with different kinds of music while being expressive of myself and what I like. Therefore, when I saw she was coming to Toronto I bought my tickets immediately!
Tickets and Venue
The tickets were extremely cheap at only $20 CAD and I got it as soon as they came out in October of the prior year. The concert was held on March 29, 2024, at Velvet Underground, 508 Queen Street West, Toronto. This is a pretty small venue and I have seen rock bands The Score and The Home Team here before but I will say, I have never been to a concert this packed before which is great and I hope next time she can sell out a bigger venue in Toronto. The venue is accessible via public transit and has street parking as well as paid parking nearby (Green P and I believe a parking lot near a church).
Overall Performance & Recommendations
I am so glad I got to see her live because she was incredible throughout. She had one opener and I believe doors opened at 8 p.m. but I remember being in line outside waiting to get in around 8:30 p.m. (I believe I got inside at 9) Priya eventually went on about 9:30 p.m. and finished her set at 10:30 p.m. Although it might not seem like a long time she put on a great performance and was performing songs from both “damnshestamil” and “santhosam” non-stop which was impressive. She was also interacting with fans from shouting out family members in the crowd to talking to the audience to even bringing a fan to dance with her on stage. Her voice was incredible and sounded like how it does when I listen to her music and my all-time favorite song from her is “Hit The Bucket” which I am so glad to see live and it exceeded my expectations.
My only recommendation for next time is to have a merch booth because I would have loved to get a memento from attending a Priya Ragu concert. I do hope she is able to come back, and it would be at a larger venue and maybe something that is not only GA because I think her music is suitable and can be appreciated by people of all ages, especially within the Tamil community. Overall, it was still a great concert and hopefully she can do a longer set and bigger venue next time she comes because she really is that talented and I hope more people can hear her. I am a fan of her talent but also the fact she makes me proud to be Tamil with the way she is authentically herself and expresses her beliefs and uniqueness through creativity such as her music. Let me know if you went to this concert or plan to see her live in the future in the comments below or on social media by following on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, especially for more music and concert content!