Raveena – Westlake Park, Seattle – July 11, 2025
Downtown Summer Sounds, the organization behind these concerts gets major rotten tomatoes for adding an unannounced warmup act for the featured Raveena. It was some DJ whose talent was pressing buttons on his pre-recorded device, what a laugh. But the worst part was the punishingly loud over-the-top bass, rendering my experience – considering the need to get a close enough position for a decent sketch – majorly unpleasant. And who needed this pandering mediocrity? This was a Raveena crowd, put unnecessarily on hold. OK, on to Raveena, barefoot and in motion, who combines influences from her Punjabi heritage with smoove R&B. Her ensemble includes two dancers who accompany her entrance with swirling colorful flimsy fabrics. Raveena, who occasionally grabs guitar, has a lone musical accompanist who rotates between keys and guitar (or is it bass). So there seems to be some recorded soundtrack component for the performance. And it’s not like the bass got turned down significantly. I quickly got the idea, so after the sketch rudiments were on paper I jostled my way out of the crowd to camp in position for the autograph.