Amir London

www.amirlondonmusic.com: Amir London has been going to the Persian New Year's festival at Vasona Lake County Park with his family since he was 6. On Saturday, the 27-year-old San Jose singer stood on a stage above a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic fans and shouted: "Vasona! Make some noise!"

They did.

For a singer whose music fuses Iran's pounding beats with American rock and hip hop, with lyrics in English and Farsi, playing the NoRouz Festival was a lifetime milestone. The largest annual gathering of Northern California's Iranian-American community — a growing group whose numbers in the Bay Area are often bigger than its visibility — the festival was expected to draw about 8,000 people Saturday, and as many as 14,000 today.

For local Iranian-Americans, the annual gathering in the sprawling Los Gatos park "is like a big town hall meeting — you just walk around and say hello to everyone you know," London said between hugs after his performance, many of them from admiring female fans.

Like London's music, the crowded festival was a sunny fusion of East and West. Matching the multiple religions of Iran, while many people are Muslim, the festival also featured booths for Christian and Zoroastrian groups.”