Last night was a beautiful night for a concert in Prospect Park. It had been awhile since we'd been there -- though that's not saying much, as it's only ever a little over a week -- and I was glad to be going back for Kailash Kher's performance that night.

Just before Kher's band Kaliasa took the stage, the audience got a rare treat of traditional Bhangra dance lessons. Four dancers took the stage for a lively tutorial session where they asked the audience to stand and learn some traditional moves along with them, and the audience quickly and happily complied. People all over the park stood and moved their feet in time, or tried to anyway. Once the brief lesson was over, the four dancers gave a fantastic performance so that we could see what the music and moves together would really look like. Their bright and colorful outfits added to the happy and lively feel of the night and the music, and they left the stage to huge applause.

Kailash Kher was up next. Before last night, I'd never heard of Kher -- but he is evidently a Bollywood superstar. He's the host of Indian Idol and is on countless numbers of Bollywood soundtracks, and has made himself a household name. His band, Kaliasa, took the stage before he did, and the set-up was magnificent. The colors revolving around the stage were understated but strong -- oranges, purples, blues -- and served to highlight the numerous instruments that came together to create the music we heard: guitar, drum kit, sitar, tabla, etc. The band started without Kher on stage, and when he burst into view the crowd went wild. There were clearly very many people there specifically to see him, and the happy energy of the night was palpable. Kher continually proclaimed his love for the audience throughout the show, telling us how happy he was to see us on our feet and dancing, or how he loved that most of us couldn't understand what he was saying; it meant, I think, that he loved how much we cared about the music to listen even if we didn't understand the lyrics. At one point, he proclaimed, "This isn't Prospect Park! This is Prospect Dance Park!" and launched into a high-energy, synth-heavy pop song that got everyone around us moving. All in all, an upbeat, passionate, and worthwhile performance from a man who definitely knows how to entertain a crowd.

Last night Kailash Kher performed at Prospect Park as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival. I had never heard of Kher before this week; as it turns out, he is a Bollywood cult hero whose story includes a father who taught him Sufi folk music, training in Indian classical music, failures in various businesses, a break doing a diamond commercial jungle and a meteoric rise with a #1 hit in India Allah Ke Bande (rough translation-from various internet sources:" the people of Allah will always be happy-whatever happens there will be another day"). Kher has fans in every part of the world, and legions of exuberant people packed the park's chair seating area by the time I arrived.

Before Kher performed, the audience was treated to a brief introductory lesson in Bhangra dancing by Ambika Samarthya, Gobind Singh, Brighid O'Dea, and Alex Sirboiu — professional bhangra dancers based in New York City. The graceful ensemble wore festive Indian garments of flowing multi colored silks and went through a few rudimentary Bhangra moves with the crowd following along; then they launched into their own flamboyant dance number.

Kher’s band took the stage without their front man, it was a large group with a makeup that reflected the group's Indian/Western fusion: a violin player, a western style drummer, a synth player, a guitarist, and a bassist provided a western pop feel, and a tabla and a sitar player added a sub continent flavor to the mix. The unmistakable frequency of a sitar made auditory confirmation of a deliberate start; the violin joined in shortly thereafter; the smooth percussion of the tabla followed and drew surprisingly loud applause. Suddenly, the short, handsome long haired Kher burst onstage and the crowd went nuts. Kher strutted the stage singing in Hindi in his high pitched yet soulful and earthy voice as star struck fans spontaneously (and inadvertently) created a strobe effect with their camera flashes. Kher's voice is considered unusual and raw in India, and along with his humble beginnings have created an intensely devoted fan base. Last night's was a set of feel good pop music with the enthusiastic Kher feeding off of the crowd’s joyous energy and shaking hands with fans over the edge of the stage base while delivering his vocals. “The best thing I love about you is that many of you don’t understand what we are singing. That is the beauty,” said Kher between songs. I can't comment much on Kher's lyrics, but the songs felt passionate and upbeat, and the crowd was loving Kher's music all night long.