Zeshan Bagewadi, one of the Rolling Stone’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know, will be performing Fri., June 22, 8 p.m., at the Beverly Arts Center (BAC), 2407 W. 111th St. Zeshan B and the Transistors will play a concert that mixes Memphis R&B, Chicago Blues and the sounds of Bagewadi’s roots in India and Pakistan.
Zeshan B and the Transistors is composed of some of Chicago’s brightest musical talent. Now on tour, they performed at the Lincoln Center in New York last month and will be at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee in June before heading to Chicago for their concert at the BAC.
Born in Chicago, Zeshan B’s distinctive musical style was formed by the influences of the local music scene as well as the music played in his home. Bagewadi’s parents are from India, and exposed their son to traditional Indo-Pakistani music in addition to an extensive collection of music from the 1960s and 1970s, including blues, soul and R&B.
Music lovers and the media took notice when Zeshan B released “Vetted” in 2017. The album charted at 8 on Billboard’s Top Ten Albums (World Music), and received excellent reviews from Rolling Stone, NPR, ABC, and the Times of India. Zeshan B’s hit single, a cover of George Perkins’ 1970 civil rights-inspired “Cryin’ in the Streets” that resonates with today’s social justice and political issues, earned high praise from American Songwriter (which called it “an anthem for modern protesters”), New York Times, Chicago Tribune and other media.
Tickets for Zeshan B and the Transistors are $27 ($24 for Beverly Arts Center members) and available at www.beverlyartcenter.org, the BAC, 111th and Western, Chicago, or by phone 773-445-3838.
