One of the biggest names in Punjabi music is bringing his highly anticipated show to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.
Diljit Dosanjh made history last month kicking off his “Dil-Luminati” tour at BC Place in Vancouver in front of more than 50,000 fans, making it the largest Punjabi concert outside of India.
Robin Gaba is one of many Calgary fans who travelled to Vancouver to be there.
“The concert was amazing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Gaba. “He literally had the whole stadium dancing.”
Gaba is such a big fan, she’s also attending the Calgary show, which is the fourth stop on the tour.
“I’ve been listening to him since he first came out and I love that he actually brings all the generations together,” said Gaba.
This is the second time in two years Dosanjh is performing at the Saddledome. Since then, his star power has only grown.
Dosanjh was the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella. in 2023. In March, he was invited on stage at Ed Sheeran’s Mumbai concert.
“People are super excited,” said Amanjot Singh Pannu, host at Calgary’s South Asian radio station RED FM 106.7.
“The community is growing, so obviously the artists they will be encouraged to come over here.”
Pannu said this is also a moment of pride for the South Asian community to see Dosanjh perform on some of the biggest stages in North America.
“Actually, that brings recognition,’ he said. “Earlier I don’t remember if any turban-wearing artist has been seen on any stage of such a level.”
Dosanjh has been making music for nearly 20 years but he is also a movie star, with roles in Bollywood films Crew and Amar Singh Chamkila, both released within the last two months, and Punjabi film Jatt & Juliet 3, which is coming out in June.
Calgary-based artist Raghav, whose had global hits of his own, calls Dosanjh a superstar.
“If this was 1989, Michael Jackson would have been playing BC Place and he would have been coming to the Saddledome next. So that’s the way to look at it.”
Raghav said in his experience, it wasn’t until 2004 the mainstream music industry started to take notice of South Asian artists and the popularity of Indian music outside of India.
“I benefited from going to the U.K. because in the U.K. there was definitely more of an appetite for that sort of thing,” Raghav said.
“Now we’re at a different level where you simply can’t deny it, there’s less gate-keepers in our world when it comes to music.
“What we’re seeing now is numbers in record sales or concerts based on meritocracy. It’s always been there but the artists of this generation including myself still get to benefit from those walls coming down.”
Raghav said Dosanjh performing on stages like the Saddledome speak to how things have changed.
“Let’s take away the fact that he’s an Indian, or a Punjabi. This is a great musical story for any artist that they’re an international star.”
Tickets for Wednesday’s show in Calgary are sold out.
The tour heads to the U.S. next, before the final stop in Toronto at Rogers Centre on July 13.