Raveena Aurora

Some Lesser Known Facts About Raveena Aurora

• An American singer and songwriter by profession, Raveena Aurora holds expertise in jazz, R&B, and soul music. She is known for being the first Indian-origin woman to perform at Coachella, an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

• Earlier, her family was based in Punjab, India. In 1984, during the Sikh Massacre, one of her maternal uncles lost his life. Their family business was also burnt during the riots. Thereafter, her parents immigrated to Queens, New York.

• She grew up in a traditional Sikh family in Queens, New York, and Stamford, Connecticut.

  

• Raveena developed a great interest in music at a young age. While in high school (class 6), Raveena began singing; her first performance was based on the song Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas.

  

• Obsessed with music, Aurora went on to learn R&B, jazz, soul, and folk music.

• Raveena actively took part in musical theatre in her middle school days.

• While in high school, she began writing original music.

• In 2015, she started her career in music by working with the record producer Everett Orr.

• Aurora’s first EP ‘Shanti’ was a blend of R&B, soul, and jazz music and was based on the themes of self-love and healing. It was widely appreciated by the audience.

• She has also directed a few of her music videos.

• Released on May 31, 2019, her debut music album “Lucid” was distributed through Empire Distribution. The album was loved by the critics and the audience alike. it gained several positive reviews. NPR’s Sidney Madden described the album as
  

  Comforting but nuanced, balancing cultures old and new by mashing up contemporary R&B with traditions from the South Asian diaspora.”

  Vrinda Jagota from Pitchfork, praised the track ‘Petal’ from the album. She wrote,

  Over the course of 12 songs, her sound becomes bolder and clearer, finding strength in everything from sun showers to her mother’s resilience to her own femininity and womanhood.”

• In 2019, her album Lucid was awarded ‘Best Albums of 2019’ by NPR. Noisey named the single ‘Stronger’ from the album as one of the “100 Best Songs of 2019.

• Aurora released her album ‘Asha’s Awakening’ on 11 February 2022. The album featured her carrying the avatar of a space princess from the planet ‘Sanataan.’ Aurora was bejeweled in ornate nose pins and was portrayed as wearing traditional Indian jewelry. The avatar was her interpretation of a space Punjabi princess.

  

• In 2018, Raveena, along with the outspoken female musicians like Lizzo, Awkwafina, and Hayley Kiyoko, performed as a part of the ModCloth’s Say It Louder campaign. The campaign was aimed to celebrate the individuality and strong female icons in music.

  

• In November 2018, Raveena performed at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.

• In March 2019, she made a performance at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, along with H.E.R. and Toto.

• In 2022, she became the first woman of Indian origin to perform at Coachella. During the festival, she performed a surprise cover of “Dum Maro Dum” from the Bollywood film Hare Krishna Hare Ram (1971).
  

  

  Following the event, Raveena took to her Instagram account to thank her team for its support. She wrote,

  So wild to me that I’m one of the first Indian women to play Coachella. Thank you to my beautiful band (love you ty, cale, and Aaron) & team who made this happen! May there be thousands more!!!…”

• Her favorite pastime includes painting and playing the guitar.

• Raveena has been featured in many editions of the Vogue India magazine.

  

• Aurora is often spotted drinking alcohol at various events and parties.
  

• Her sexual orientation is pansexual.

• In one of her media interactions, Raveena revealed that she was a survivor of sexual abuse.

• During an interview, She revealed that her father used to practice reiki (a form of energy healing) on her whenever she suffered from a stomach ache.

• Sharing her childhood memories in an interview, Raveena said,
  

  I don’t come from a family of musicians, but I come from a family of talented bathroom singers. My favorite memories from my childhood involve that warm feeling when my friend’s parents were over, and they sat in the living room taking turns singing old Indian songs. I was always creative. Singing and writing were my escape, and the way I found a sense of safety and meaning in the world, especially when I was experiencing sad or hard moments. It’s not always easy being the first-born in America, or a first-generation child of parents who had survived and come up from a lot, compared to my classmates whose parents have been here for generations and are more settled. There can be a lot of pressure and confusion from that environment that you have to navigate on your own.”

• Raveena’s mother often collaborates with her to create colorful garments for her videos and onstage performances. Talking about it in an interview, Raveena said,
  

  It’s a big part of our relationship, working together on clothes for my music now. She had such a big influence on my style growing up, and now I can come to her with anything, with really modern or new designers, or with this crazy ’70s Cher mood board that I just made, and we see how we can translate it all into a way that feels relevant to what I do. She has a really elegant concept with everything that she makes.”

• In an interview, Raveena shared that she had been writing poetry since a very young age.

• As a child, Raveena grew up listening to the songs of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Talking about it in an interview, Aurora said,
  

  Once I heard their voices, I was hooked. There was no turning back. I really fell in love with the voice and how to use it and study it and be as expressive with it as possible.”