Ricky Kej: 2024 will be the year of my most musical releases

For Ricky Kej, 2023 was a year of ticking items off his bucket list. The musician bagged his third Grammy award for Divine Tides, started a state-of-the-art performing arts school in Bengaluru, and had a series of concerts all over the world. However, for Kej, performing at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, “was a dream!” “I also performed in front of Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, and at the Dubai Opera House, too,” he shares, adding, “I also performed for the United Nations for the fourth time, and at the World Health Organisation Headquarters in Geneva. These were all special to me. Performing at concert halls keeps happening, but [playing] at these iconic locations were amazing.”

Looking back at the year gone by, the 42-year-old can’t help but remember fondly about conducting the 100-member British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. “I conducted the orchestra to play the Indian National Anthem. It was the highlight of my year. As an Indian, it felt really good to do it,” he tells us.

While he was inundated with opportunities, Kej tells us that only 10% to 15% of them were planned: “A lot of the opportunities just showed up. For example, the concert at Dubai Opera House was planned, but the concert at Gateway of India just came out of the blue! Even other accolades like winning the most stylish musician at Hindustan Times Most Stylish Awards 2023, was quite unexpected for me. It felt really good,” he quips.

Kej is excited for what’s to come and says, “I’ve got a few tours in Europe, USA and India and I’m working on an orchestral album which will be out by mid-year, along with several collaborations [with other musicians]. 2024 will be the year of my most musical releases. I’ve been working on them for quite some time and they will see the light of day this year.” The Jaa Kaga and Ghule singer will focus on non-musical projects such as advocacy for climate change, refugee displacement and underprivileged children.