Bhaktapur born singer-songwriter Kuma Sagar along with his ensemble the Khwopa Band is currently on their US tour and has successfully completed the first performance of the tour at Berkeley on Sep 12 .
This tour taps onto the growing trends of diaspora concert throughout the globe by Nepali artists around specific ethnic and regional communities. Kuma Sagar backed with The Khwopa band, give a different experience of music unlike any other contemporary music artists, blending traditional elements with modern arrangements focused highly on preserving the traditional Newa culture.
Upcoming concerts include September 19 concert in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Zembo Shrine, and an October 2 New York date at Amazura Concert Hall in Queens.
"Khwopa to Queens" is the tagline organizers are using to promote the band's sole New York performance, emphasizing the direct cultural line drawn between Bhaktapur and the diaspora audience it's traveling to reach.
For Bhaktapur's Newa community specifically, having an artist explicitly rooted in and named after their hometown Khwopa: Bhaktapur's traditional Newa name) touring major US cities offers a rare direct cultural export reinforcing identity and connection for a diaspora often several generations removed from daily life in the Kathmandu Valley.
