BlacKMahal To Light Up The Stage As Featured Music Artist At Oakland’s Crucible Fire Arts Festival Thursday July 16th

America’s only Punjabi Funk-Hop collective welcomes new musicians Mandeep Sethi and Turntablist Jay Slim

(OAKLAND, CA) - BlacKMahal, California’s latest contribution to avant-garde hip-hop and live performance, will be a featured performer at the famed Crucible Fire Arts Festival this summer in Oakland, California. The band, which features the ’Godfather of the Dhol’ drum Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti and six other live performers, will perform original material that will be available soon on their debut EP album.

The band will be making their 2009 Bay Area debut at one of the most anticipated festivals in California, The Crucible’s 9th Annual Fire Arts Festival. BlacKMahal will introduce two new band members, rapper Mandeep Sethi and turntablist DJ Jay Slim, known for his performance in the film Scratch.

The Crucible is a non-profit educational facility that focuses on visual and performance art involving the use of fire and light. Based in Oakland, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials, and innovative design through a variety of art classes, including blacksmithing, ceramics, metal working, welding, jewelry, glass art and more. The Crucible continues to thrive “through the generosity of our members, private donors and organizations, and the immense dedication of our volunteers and supporters.”

Every July, The Crucible hosts the Fire Arts Festival as its main fundraising event. The festival celebrates creativity with a spectacular open-air exhibition of interactive fire art, performance, and the largest collection of outdoor fire sculpture on the West Coast. The Fire Arts Festival will also showcase fire performers, musical artists, and dancers each evening in a must-see event.

After a few years of diligently working on their album, BlacKMahal is back to take its live show on the road with several dates secured across North America. The band’s pre-release singles have been making their way across dance floors worldwide through a select group of DJs, including features on Boston, San Francisco and London stations including the BBC-Radio 1.

Many other artists will also be performing at the Festival, including Titanium Sporkestra, Fire Arts Collective, Aziz Abbatiello, Vulcan Crew, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Capacitor, El Circo, Flamenco Fury, Bumpitythump, Cooper Lantern Fire Theater, Axis Dance Company, FLO-ology, Lucero, Loco Bloco, the Embodiment Project, Nocturnal Sunshine, Simon Chaban, Loyd Family Players, and Amanda Palmer.

Tickets are $35-$40 for Thursday.

Box Office Hours (pre-event)

The Crucible 1260 7th Street; Oakland, CA 94607
Monday - Thursday 1pm - 4pm
(510) 444-0919 X122

For more information on the Crucible Fire Arts Festival and to purchase tickets on line visit: http://thecrucible.org/events/fire-arts-festival.

Full video of Fire Arts Festival Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyxZJPsuS9k&feature=player_embedded

Contact Information

Clayton Blaha

BlacKMahal PR

VSC Consulting

Contact via E-mail