Khumariyaan
Sat, 02 Aug 2025 (EDT)
08:00PM - 10:00PM
Jalopy Theatre
315 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, New York 11231
Doors 8pm, Show 8:30pm
$20 adv / $25 DOS
Khumariyaan is celebrated for blending traditional folk music with modern styles. The band's name, translates as "the state of musical intoxication," capturing the essence of this hyper-folk jam band. Formed in 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan as an instrumental quartet, Khumariyaan emerged during a tumultuous period marked by Talibanization, sectarian violence, military operations, and neo- imperialist expansions. In such a climate, art, including music, served as a form of resistance. In the intervening decade, Khumariyaan has expanded its repertory of culturally rooted music, and, in 2024, welcomed a vocalist (and third guitarist) into the mix. Hospitality is central to Pushtoon culture; Khumariyaan welcomes all under its expansive, potent, and intoxicating musical tent.
With its propulsive, furious sound, Khumariyaan, "The Intoxicators," has reawakened the live music scene in Peshawar, the ancient crossroads through the Khyber Pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lute-like Pashto rubab is the meeting point for this transfixing, hyper-folk quintet that intertwines the djembe-like zerbaghali (clay or wooden goblet drum), sehtar (long-necked lute), and searching vocals underpinned with driving acoustic guitars. Khumariyaan’s rolling pulse and richly layered sound builds to frenzied intensity. It’s an addictive and accessible pleasure that has ushered in a new era for an eclipsed music.
“We are group of individuals that have come together as one soul to experience and share the trance that is live acoustic music. To us, music is the best sublimated form of art. In our journey, we hope to entice musical ‘goose bumps’, and become a moving philosophical experience.” – rubab player and band leader Farhan Bogra.
Khumariyaan began its journey in 2009 and made its US debut tour in 2014 as part of Center Stage. In the intervening decade they’ve shared their work in Europe, the Middle East, and in East Africa, spreading art like water on the fires of fundamentalism in all its forms.
Farhan Bogra, founder, plays various ethnic lutes including the rubab and sehtar. Sparlay Rawail plays Dhol and lead guitar. He has a background in studio art and architecture from the National Council of the Arts. Shiraz Khan specializes in percussion and plays the indigenous percussion instrument Zerbaghali. Aamer Shafiq plays rhythm guitar and leads the Attan dance with the band. Obaid Khan is lead vocalist and guitarist. He holds a master's degree in Anthropology.
Farhan Bogra – rabab and sehtar, band leader
Sparlay Rawail – lead guitar and dhol
Aamer Shafiq – rhythm guitar
Shiraz Khan – percussion
Obaid Khan - vocals
“Khumariyaan’s extended tunes spill across the border between Pashtoon folk and jam-band rock. It’s
a cool vibe with the extra merit of puncturing stereotypes.” – Boston Globe
Khumariyaan is on tour in the USA as part of Center Stage, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. Government. It is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc. www.centerstageUS.org.
$20 adv / $25 DOS
Khumariyaan is celebrated for blending traditional folk music with modern styles. The band's name, translates as "the state of musical intoxication," capturing the essence of this hyper-folk jam band. Formed in 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan as an instrumental quartet, Khumariyaan emerged during a tumultuous period marked by Talibanization, sectarian violence, military operations, and neo- imperialist expansions. In such a climate, art, including music, served as a form of resistance. In the intervening decade, Khumariyaan has expanded its repertory of culturally rooted music, and, in 2024, welcomed a vocalist (and third guitarist) into the mix. Hospitality is central to Pushtoon culture; Khumariyaan welcomes all under its expansive, potent, and intoxicating musical tent.
With its propulsive, furious sound, Khumariyaan, "The Intoxicators," has reawakened the live music scene in Peshawar, the ancient crossroads through the Khyber Pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lute-like Pashto rubab is the meeting point for this transfixing, hyper-folk quintet that intertwines the djembe-like zerbaghali (clay or wooden goblet drum), sehtar (long-necked lute), and searching vocals underpinned with driving acoustic guitars. Khumariyaan’s rolling pulse and richly layered sound builds to frenzied intensity. It’s an addictive and accessible pleasure that has ushered in a new era for an eclipsed music.
“We are group of individuals that have come together as one soul to experience and share the trance that is live acoustic music. To us, music is the best sublimated form of art. In our journey, we hope to entice musical ‘goose bumps’, and become a moving philosophical experience.” – rubab player and band leader Farhan Bogra.
Khumariyaan began its journey in 2009 and made its US debut tour in 2014 as part of Center Stage. In the intervening decade they’ve shared their work in Europe, the Middle East, and in East Africa, spreading art like water on the fires of fundamentalism in all its forms.
Farhan Bogra, founder, plays various ethnic lutes including the rubab and sehtar. Sparlay Rawail plays Dhol and lead guitar. He has a background in studio art and architecture from the National Council of the Arts. Shiraz Khan specializes in percussion and plays the indigenous percussion instrument Zerbaghali. Aamer Shafiq plays rhythm guitar and leads the Attan dance with the band. Obaid Khan is lead vocalist and guitarist. He holds a master's degree in Anthropology.
Farhan Bogra – rabab and sehtar, band leader
Sparlay Rawail – lead guitar and dhol
Aamer Shafiq – rhythm guitar
Shiraz Khan – percussion
Obaid Khan - vocals
“Khumariyaan’s extended tunes spill across the border between Pashtoon folk and jam-band rock. It’s
a cool vibe with the extra merit of puncturing stereotypes.” – Boston Globe
Khumariyaan is on tour in the USA as part of Center Stage, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. Government. It is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc. www.centerstageUS.org.