For Raveena, music is meant to be a “complete expression of the self.” It’s a truth she’s leaned on through a whirlwind couple of years, which saw a potent flurry of output and a pointed ascent into the conversation with her critically-acclaimed 2019 debut full-length, "Lucid," and 2020 follow-up, "Moonstone" EP.

Inspired by artists like Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Minnie Riperton and Indian singer Asha Puthli, Raveena is a highly creative, dynamic and spiritual artist who aims to build fully-realized worlds within each of her projects: conceptual experimentations in sound, threaded together by stories of healing and self-realization meant to experience from start to finish.

Her latest offering, "Asha's Awakening," takes listeners on an epic deep dive into Indian culture—an endeavor that has been in the works for three years. An homage to her heritage as a first-generation descendant of genocide survivors and Reiki healers, the album incorporates influences from Bollywood and celebrated Indian artists like R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle, as well as Western music—specifically R&B, rock and soul—and melds the genres prevalent throughout Raveena’s catalog into one cohesive body of work. The album also marries eras in time, fusing together a contemporary take on sounds influenced by Alice Coltrane and Asha Puthli from the 60s and 70s with those of Timbaland, Missy Elliott, M.I.A. and Jai Paul from the early 2000s. It is a labor of love that represents her evolution as an artist. Raveena remarks, “I think it's really fun putting people in uncomfortable positions to receive new sides of you. The human experience is so vast.”

About NextNOW Fest

Started in 2014, The Clarice’s annual NextNOW Fest is an inspiring arts experience that celebrates imagination, creativity and community. By amplifying the voices of intriguing, inventive artists from around campus and our community, NextNOW Fest creates a forward-looking microcosm where art transforms our future and connects us all.

NextNOW Fest is a signature event in University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative, which leverages the combined power of the arts, technology and social justice to address the grand challenges of our time.

Funding

NextNOW Fest is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Additional support is provided by Terps After Dark and the University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative. NextNOW Fest's Silent Disc-Glo event is supported by UMD's Student Entertainment Events; and the Vital Signs Mini-Grants Showcase is supported by the Venable Foundation and Pepsi.