Tens of thousands attend Santhosh Narayanan’s Yaazh Gaanam in Jaffna

Yaazh Gaanam 2023, a first of its kind multi-artist Tamil music festival, took place last night in Jaffna.

The Santhosh Narayanan concert, headlined by the popular South Indian music composer and his troupe of musicians, also provided a much needed platform for local and diaspora Tamil independent artists to perform in Jaffna.

Many of the billed diaspora talent have ancestral connections to Jaffna and the island, including UK’s Sahi Siva, Tha Mystro and Ratty Adhiththan from France, Canada’s Navz47 and Shan Vincent De Paul, aswell as Santhosh Narayanan’s step daughter and Enjoy Enjaamai famed Dhee.

The historic concert also provided a stage for local Tamil artists including Thison, Vaaheesan Rasiya and Poovan Matheesan.

From India, Santhosh Narayanan invited music producer Ofro, rapper Asal Kolar, playback singer Haricharan, folk musician Anthony Daasan, actor Siddharth and many more.

The open-air concert at Jaffna’s Muttraveli Grounds was financed by British Tamil tycoon and Lycatel founder Subaskaran Alliarajah. It’s estimated that 40,000 people attended the event at any one time, whilst many others have put the figure at 80,000.