Young musicians often fantasize about performing to a huge crowd at a giant music festival. In reality, they’re lucky if they can get the corner bar to give them a gig. Independent artists simply aren’t invited to play on a stage alongside established hitmakers. Yet that’s exactly what has happened to vocalist, songwriter and producer Rijah Banerjee, who performs as Rijah (pronounced REE-jah). Today, the twenty-year-old Jersey City native will sing on a bill that also includes the Foo Fighters, Noah Kahan, and Fleet Foxes at the Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, CT. How did this occur?The short answer is that she’s had some help from her school. But hers is no ordinary school, and Rijah is no ordinary student. She’s the daughter of the founder and director of Surati for Performing Arts, the beloved Jersey City theater company that specializes in traditional Indian dance. More importantly, she’s developed a polished sound at a young age: a fusion of folk, pop-jazz, and sophisticated R&B. Her lyrics, too, are thoughtful, and foreground her curiosity and sense of perspective. As a teen, Rijah taught herself how to make records, and her two EPs — The Only One I Know (2022) and Motion Pictures (2024) — demonstrate a knack for home recording. Berklee College of Music enrolled her in their Popular Music Institute, and, through their program, shared her music with the Festival. Southside loved what they heard and booked her to perform.Rijah is no stranger to the stagelights. She’s sung at Jersey City’s Fourth of July party and at local performance spaces like SMUSH Gallery. But she’s never played a show like the one she’ll play on Saturday afternoon. Few musicians have — even musicians with years of experience. But this young artist is approaching the show with confidence. She’s not altering her approach for the occasion. Instead, she’s giving the crowd the Rijah experience. Hey, it’s worked for her so far.We caught up with Rijah to talk about her artistic trajectory, the value of musical education, and her feelings about her time in Jersey City.Tris McCall/Jersey City Times: You live in Boston and go to Berklee, but you’ve got images of Jersey City on your EP covers. Do you still think of yourself as a Jersey City artist?Rijah Banerjee: I do. Both of my covers were shot in Liberty State Park. My parents live here. I grew up right on the Hudson, and I had an opportunity to see and be inspired by so many great artists that I’ve seen in Jersey City. I always go to the Jersey City Jazz Festival. No matter where I go, I love coming back home. TMC/JCT: Did you go to Berklee straight out of high school?RB: I did. I went to High Tech High School for music and technology, and I did it knowing that I wanted to do music as a career. When COVID happened, I was a sophomore. It’s kind of sad that I didn’t fully experience what the program would have been like had I access to all of that equipment the whole time. I feel like I lost half of the experience. But during that time that I wasn’t in school, I got into production. That’s when I taught myself how to record by watching videos on YouTube. I was already writing songs, so that was always there, but music production has become a huge part of my artistry. Both of my projects are self-produced.The biggest thing I got out of going to High Tech was the incredible people I met — teachers and other musicians. TMC/JCT: Did you come from a musical family? RB: Yes, mine is a super-musical family. My grandpa and uncle are both musicians in India. My dad is a huge music lover, and a guitar player and singer, and he always had music playing at home. My mom is a dancer and runs a performing arts company.TMC/JCT: So they did not discourage your musical ambitions.RB: They practically threw me onstage when I was little. I absolutely love it and I always have, but they knew before I did. My mom has been teaching me dance since I was three years old.Since I was a kid, I’ve been writing songs, singing, and dancing. I started playing guitar in high school, and that’s when I became way more serious about it. I got involved in shows at school, and during the COVID lockdown I was doing virtual shows. TMC/JCT: Have you been to India?RB: Yes, many times. My family is from Kolkata. It’s amazing. I love it over there.TMC/JCT: Did your upbringing and your heritage influence the music that you make now?RB: I speak Bengali. My mom would tell me that at home, I had to speak Bengali. I’m glad she did that — that’s how I communicate with my grandmother.I think the way that it’s influenced me the most is as a vocalist. I did Indian classical singing as a kid, and that’s probably reflected in my intonation. I find Indian classical music similar to jazz in its improvisational elements. It’s hard to really identify the specificities that create my music because I’ve drawn from so many different places and traditions, but I know that my love and appreciation for Indian music and Indian culture have shaped what I do. TMC/JCT:  How hard is it to get into Berklee?RB: You have to put together a portfolio and do an audition.  It’s competitive, but it’s not the most competitive, because other schools might have a music program, but this entire school is a music program.There are tons of different majors: songwriting, performance, management, lots of option. My major is independent recording and production, which suits me, because as a producer, I have a home setup. Everything I’ve recorded so far has been done in my bedroom. The Only One I Know was recorded in my childhood room in Jersey City. The new EP was recorded in my apartment in Boston, and I had other musicians play on the songs besides me, but all of the drum production I did on my computer.TMC/JCT:  Were those other musicians Berklee students, too? Does your band consist of classmates?RB: Within two days of coming to school, I’d formed a band with other people I met there. I don’t think that’s uncommon for people at Berklee. You get thrown into this environment with so many musicians, and so many people who are enthusiastic and curious and just want to play. It was so cool to show them my songs, and find bandmates who are excited about it and ready to bring my productions to the stage. TMC/JCT:  It must be intimidating, though.RB: Having a ton of talent around you can be really scary. But what you learn is that somebody else’s talent doesn’t take anything away from your art. Every artist is different and unique, and what’s important is finding your voice. I think it’s been more inspiring than intimidating to be constantly meeting incredible musicians. That’s why I chose to come to music college — I wanted to meet people and learn their music. Because you don’t have to go to music school if you want to be a musician. You can pave the road for yourself if you want to. But I wanted to meet people and give myself these years to grow and explore.This semester, I am studying abroad in Spain because I wanted to have the experience of living in another country and immersing myself in a different culture. I’ve been so busy in Spain that I almost thought I couldn’t play the festival! But Berklee flew me and my guitarist back here so I could appear at Soundside.TMC/JCT:  How were you chosen to be the Berklee artist to perform at Soundside?RB:  A lot of students have the ability to apply for the Berklee Popular Music Initiative program. There are a number of different festivals that BPMI works with. If there’s a festival that they think you’ll be right for, they’ll pitch you. I was lucky enough to be pitched to a festival that loved my music.The BPMI team does a great job of matching artists with opportunities. They’re very passionate about it.I’ve never played at this kind of festival. It’s been an incredible experience just working on the arrangements and adding the ear candy.TMC/JCT:  Artists from the UK who’ve been to the BRIT School are very proud of the affiliation and they’ll tell you upfront that they went there. By comparison, United States artists are sometimes disinclined to talk about their musical education. Why do you think that is?RB: Hmm. I think in music school, you do a lot of of things that you might not think you’re going to do. You have to take classes in music theory. You have to learn the more technical aspects of songwriting. And all of that is interesting, but the reason you choose to be a musician is not these things. It’s because you want to express yourself. A lot of musicians don’t want to focus on the theoretical aspects of anything or look at music from an academic perspective. For me, going to music school is about the people I’ve met and the incredible professors and the artistic connections I’ve made. That’s the best thing I’ve gotten out of it so far.The post With Roots in Kolkata, Jersey City Native Rijah Performs Beside the Foo Fighters Today appeared first on Jersey City Times.