Rio Jhalli’s life ambition is to play Tabla around the world. His grand-parents migrated from Punjab to Birmingham in the 1960’s, part of the migration from commonwealth countries to work in the textile and foundries of the Midlands. There was soon a rich Indian culture of Punjabi’s around Handsworth and Smethwick (suburbs of Birmingham). These Punjabi’s bought with them their folk music (bhangra), food and tradition which slowly evolved over the decades. This was the norm by the time he was born, a hybrid of rich Indian traditions, hip-hop and the latest Nike trainers.
His Grandfather made a name for himself in local bhangra bands at weddings. His Father too was a renowned dholak player (a cylinder-shaped folk drum of Punjab)
At a young age Rio enjoyed the sound of every beat of dholak he heard. His dad was his inspiration. Such that he followed his Dad’s advice to play the Tabla, as then the dholak would come to him naturally.
However, he fell so in love with the Tabla that he has committed to practice every single day until he achieves his dream.