48 Hills writers and editors are choosing their Best of the Bay Editors’ Picks for our 50th anniversary Best of the Bay edition. See more great profiles here, and stay tuned for our Best of the Bay 2024 Readers’ Poll results coming later in September!
The Best of the Bay-winning Non Stop Bhangra crew have filled local venues with smiling crowds for 20 years, combining fantastic bhangra music, live drumming and vocals, dance lessons, art, and Punjabi Indian culture for one-of-a-kind party experiences. Founders Vicki Virk of the Dholrhythms Dance Company, Suman Raj, and DJ Jimmy Love have established their vision of bringing joy to thousands in venues both huge and tiny.
So when the night market craze gripped the city, influenced by Asian culture, it was a natural step for them to expand the parties into full-on downtown street fairs with food, vendors, and even more musical flair. Pairing up up with the new Into the Streets nonprofit urban revitalization organizations, headed by local party production powerhouse Katy Birnbaum, allowed Non Stop Bhangra to go street-festival sized, able to accommodate thousands of revelers.
One catch: Downtown—particularly right outside the the Embarcadero Center, where their market was to be located—was dead as a doornail in the evenings, even before the pandemic shut everything down.
Never doubt the beat of the dhol drum: The Bhangra & Beats Night Market was an immediate success, drawing people from all over the Bay Area to revel in a cultural experience like no other. In what can only be described as a downtown Indian rave with excellent food and art, the regular summer night markets have transformed their little corner of downtown into hands-in-the-air affairs that bring true joy to a desolate area.
One of my favorite parts of the market is that it hosts a second dance stage that represents other musical cultures for a truly expansive experience—the next one on September 13, for examples, celebrates Latin Heritage Month with DJs King Most and J. Espinosa, alongside mainstage Non Stop Bhangra faves Rav-E Sandhu, Nix Bhachu, and GT, plus live drummers Ashi Dholi and Gulshan Singh, rapper Deuce Eclipse, the Dholrhythms Dance Company, and many more.
Surprise, surprise: Turns out that making it easier for our incredible musical and nightlife scene to expand into public spaces may just pull us out of this slump after all!
The next Bhangra & Beats Night Markets are September 13 and November 15. More info here.
