Meet Raaga, the Sydney Band Fluent in Malayalam, Bollywood and Tamil

Every big Malayali function in Sydney has a soundtrack, and increasingly it is a live one. Raaga Music Band is the group behind a fair bit of it: a Sydney ensemble that will happily take your Onam night from polite clapping to full aunty-on-the-dance-floor in about two songs. I grew up on A.R. Rahman CDs and cannot hold a tune to save my life, so watching a band actually pull this off in a community hall is my idea of a good night out.

Who are Raaga

Raaga bill themselves, accurately, as Sydney's Indian music band. The repertoire runs across Malayalam, Bollywood, Tamil and international hits, which is a polite way of saying they can read a room holding three generations and four language preferences and still get everyone singing. Fronted by Mithun Narayan, the group leans on tight musicianship and high energy, the two things that separate a proper band from a very loud playlist.

Here is a quick taste of what they do.

Where you'll catch them

You are most likely to run into Raaga where Sydney's Indian community gathers: association Onam programs, cultural events, stage shows and private celebrations. They play various venues around Sydney and further afield in Australia, so there is no single home room. That is part of the appeal, the band comes to the event rather than the other way around.

How to book them

If you are putting on a function and want a live band rather than a Bluetooth speaker and a cousin with an aux cable, Raaga take bookings directly.

You can also reach them by email at raagabandsydney@gmail.com or on 0424 332 548, and keep up with them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Putting on the night yourself?

If the event you are booking them for is ticketed, a cultural night, a community fundraiser, a stage show, that part is our department. You can see how Ticketted's flat, all-in pricing works for selling tickets to exactly this kind of event, with the fee shown before checkout and payouts to an Australian bank. Otherwise, have a browse of what else is on in Sydney, or discover more events around the country.

Fair warning: book Raaga for a family do and at least one uncle will request a song from 1994 and get it. That is not a bug, it is the whole point. See you on the dance floor, or, in my case, just near it, holding everyone's chai.