Multi-generational Monsoon Showers releases a five-song album inspired by Indian celebrations and seeks GRAMMY® consideration in several categories
CHICAGO — From the colors of Holi to the lights of Diwali, a Chicago-based band is using music to introduce some of India’s best-known celebrations to audiences beyond the communities that have celebrated them for generations.
Monsoon Showers, a multi-generational band with roots in Indian music and culture, has released FESTIVO, a five-song album inspired by New Year, Pongal, Holi, Onam and Diwali.
Each original song takes a different festival as its starting point, but the album focuses just as much on what the celebrations have in common — family, gratitude, renewal, community and the simple joy of coming together.
The five tracks — “It’s a New Year,” “Inba Inba Pongal,” “Holi Ray,” “Onam Sandosham” and “Diya Diya Diwali” — move across different cultural and musical influences while remaining connected by the album’s central theme of celebration.
Now, the independent Chicago project is seeking recognition on a larger stage.
FESTIVO and Monsoon Showers have been submitted for GRAMMY® consideration in four categories:
- Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
- Best Children’s Music Album
- Best New Artist
- Album of the Year
Two of the album’s songs are also being submitted separately.
“Onam Sandosham,” inspired by Kerala’s Onam festival, is submitted for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
“Diya Diya Diwali,” celebrating the festival of lights, is submitted for Best Asian Pop Performance, placing the song within a growing conversation about the visibility of Asian music and artists on the global stage.
For the members of Monsoon Showers, however, the larger goal is cultural rather than competitive.
“The dream goes beyond an award,” the band says. “We hope FESTIVO can bring greater awareness of global cultures, celebrations and music to the GRAMMY® stage — and show how music can turn traditions from different parts of the world into something everyone can celebrate together.”
That idea shaped the album from the beginning.
Pongal becomes a story of gratitude for nature and the harvest. Holi represents spring, renewal and putting differences aside. Onam celebrates community and homecoming. Diwali brings a message of light and hope. New Year looks toward fresh beginnings.
Together, they offer listeners a musical introduction to traditions that may be distinctly Indian in origin but carry themes recognizable almost anywhere.
The project also arrives at a time when the music industry is paying greater attention to artists and sounds that cross traditional geographic and genre boundaries. For independent musicians creating culturally rooted music in the United States, that shift can provide new opportunities to participate in a broader global conversation.
The ultimate vision is straightforward: take the sounds and spirit of India’s celebrations beyond their traditional boundaries and invite a wider world to the party.
