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Vancouver is often the launching point for big name musicians starting a major concert tour.
But for Diljit Dosanjh, who begins his Aura World Tour at B.C. Place on Thursday, the city is much more than geographically convenient.
In a social media post promoting the concert, Dosanjh pointed out that B.C. Place is two kilometres away from where the Komagata Maru laid anchor in Vancouver Harbour in 1914.
The 376 migrant passengers, who were primarily Sikh and all from Punjab, were not allowed to disembark. They were held in often squalid conditions aboard the ship for two months before it was eventually forced to turn back.
Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh is set to light up B.C. Place on Thursday, as he kicks off the North American leg of his Aura World Tour. As the CBC’s Shivani Joshi reports, some experts say the local community has helped put a global spotlight on Punjabi music
“Our people weren’t allowed to dock here,” said Dosanjh, according to the English subtitles in the post. “And today 55,000 of us will gather there.”
Dosanjh last played to a sold-out B.C. Place in 2024. A successful actor, he’s also shot movies in the Vancouver region and forged major brand partnerships, much to the delight of B.C.’s large Punjabi community.
“I would say that Diljit’s rise, and the rise of Punjabi music generally, is really a testament to the community here, their labour and their work against the racist and imperialist processes that they’ve been up against culturally since, since the beginning of the start of their migration here,” said Kiran Sunar, assistant professor in Punjabi language, literature and culture at the University of British Columbia.
With 26.6 million followers on Instagram, Dosanjh wields major influence on social media.
According to music journalist Jeevan Sangha, his efforts to put Punjabi music and culture centre stage — along with the glitz and glamour that comes with it — is part of what makes him so popular.
“There’s just such a ripe audience for his work. And we’ve always really embraced him. And I think he knows that this is a place that will celebrate his work and really show up,” she said.
After Vancouver, Dosanjh will play in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg before crossing into the United States. The tour returns to Canada for a stop in Toronto on May 31, before ending with dates in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
