Jahanshah Javid

It wasn't easy to organize our next iranian.com music festival. Originally I had my eyes set on The Doors drummer John Densmore who plays Persian fusion with Reza Derakhshani. It would have been fantastic to see an American rock icon on stage performing Persian music with an American flavor. We were very close in finalizing the deal, but unfortunately it did not work out.

Then I got lucky.

I had always had The Three Iranian Sopranos in the back of my mind. I had seen their videos on YouTube in recent months and thought it would be wonderful to introduce them to Iranian audiences in the U.S. They are so elegant, talented and beautiful. And one can't help the incredible sense of freedom they bring knowing that they cannot perform in their homeland.

Their pianist/manager Hooman Khalatbari gave the good news that the ladies were free on September 26 and agreed to come and perform for iranian.com in San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts (tickets will go on sale next week). This will be their first ever performance in the U.S. and no doubt will boost their popularity.  They are doing for Iranians what Pavarotti and his Three Tenors did for Westerners: popularizing opera and classical music.

Iranians have had a presence in the world of classical music. There have been those who have become conductors, pianists, violinists and... in symphony orchestras in western countries. But Iranian tenors and sopranos are relatively new to the scene. And The Three Sopranos are making a great example for others to emerge.

Our opening act for September 26 will be Fared Shafinury and his band Tehranosaurus. I became an instant fan of his when I saw the video for "Arianaz". It's a mesmerizing song; so sweet and tender.

Raised in Texas, Fared brings a musical style that's not entirely Iranian. There's a bit of jazz, some blues and rock, too. The combination of all these styles and influences have  transformed Iranian classical music into a unique sound that feels right to our own diverse tastes and styles as Iranians in the diaspora.

Fared's performance will be just in time for the release of his full-length CD. You will hear a lot about him in years to come. Just remember where you heard him first :)

Hope to see you on the night of the concert to enjoy some unforgettable performances.

The Three Iranian Sopranos:



Fared's "Arianaz"