This year’s St. Patrick’s Day party happening at the Coast High Country Inn Convention Centre is presented by Northern Vision Development and the Yukon East Coast Cultural Association with a hint of Bollywood. The main act, Delhi 2 Dublin, is a multi-talented group from Vancouver that have made a name for themselves on the world music scene. They’re inspired by a unique mix of genres including bhangra, electronic, dub-reggae, Punjabi-pop and Celtic.

“It’ll be a raging dance party,” said Tarun Nayar, who plays the tabla (a type of drum from India) and does electronics for Delhi 2 Dublin. “Come prepared to dance and you’ll be good to go.”

“It’s high energy dance. We have a new single called ‘Loud.’ We’ll play some classics and there’s a new song called ‘Apples.’ We’ll have some fun testing out some new material, too.”

Nayar describes their style of music as subcontinental pop, with a diverse range of inspirations. “We’re heavily influenced by westcoast bass music and everything from folk-Punjabi to rave and underground electronic sounds,” he said.

The group is doing a series of gigs in India before heading all the way northwest for their Yukon debut. They’ve performed at the Atlin festival, but that’s as close as they’ve made it so far.

“We always jumped at the chance to play up north. Like most Canadians we’re very curious about the North, but rarely get the chance to visit. I’m also looking forward to seeing a few personal friends who have moved up over the years and ended up staying,” Nayar said.

Promoter David Branigan with Northern Vision Development discovered Delhi 2 Dublin while the group was on tour. “D2D play funky music merging elements of bhangra with elements of traditional Celtic music. It is absolutely music to groove to. Their live shows are energetic and hypnotic,” said Branigan. “They played the festival stage at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler a few times and were quite popular.”

The South-Asian Irish connection takes on personal meaning for Branigan, too. “I am Irish and married a Pakistani woman. We have our own version of Delhi to Dublin, our daughter who we refer to as the Iristani Princess… Two ancient cultures. The flags are (India and Ireland) almost identical, the colours, some of the mythology.”

The party is all about dancing and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Opening for the Delhi 2 Dublin are the Yukon Celtic band The Leesiders.

“There will be some seating, but more stand up space and room to dance,” said Branigan. “Can’t have a St. Paddy’s party without a bar. We will offer five bars including the popular Pod set-up from our Trews show.”

For more information go to the Yukon Hotels Facebook page and click on “Events,” or call the High Country Inn to purchase/reserve tickets.

Come prepared to dance

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