fellowship 2023: meet your winners!
3 min
That’s a wrap! We’ve officially closed the curtains on the first part of our 2nd-annual RRA Fellowship program. This year blew me out of the water: $5,000 raised, 74 applicants, 10 project partners, 12 community partners, 1 live event in NYC, and 3 AMAZING winners. To everyone who donated, applied, or helped organize, I want to extend a HUGE ‘thank you’.
Learn more about the sponsors, project partners and community partners here.
To be notified when apps open for fellowship 2024, sign up for our email list here.
If you’d like to get involved as either a 2024 sponsor, project partner, or community partner, please send me a note.
judging session with Ari Afsar
In August my team and I blinded the submissions, reviewed, and selected 10 applicants to advance to a song demo listening session with Arianna Afsar. Those few hours we spent together were INCREDIBLE— Ari is so down to earth and passionate about all things music and supporting the community. Here’s a snippet from the end of our call [condensed for clarity and conciseness]—
I think there’s a scarcity mentality within our community. This opportunity is a reminder that there is enough space, and that we’re gonna be making that space by opening doors and helping each other. The only way we’re gonna be able to maintain that is to build community, support each other, work together and collaborate, instead of feeling like there has to be just one. So I’m really excited to be a part of this amazing Fellowship that’s paving the way towards breaking down that scarcity mentality.
~Arianna Afsar
—without further ado, meet your 2023 winners:
Raghav Rastogi
3rd place
Raghav (Raj) is an Indian-American artist based out of New York and St. Louis. Before becoming an independent artist, Raghav was part of Native Lyving, a band focused on combining rap and rock. He aims to connect listeners through storytelling and emotional vulnerability.
Shreya Acharya
2nd Place
Shreya is a singer-songwriter based in Northern CA. Her sound blends lush vocal arrangements and honest storytelling with influences of R&B. Inspired by the pop divas of the 2000s and soul icons of the 60s, her vocals are at the front and center of her music.
Daivik Dinesh
1st Place
Daivik is a CA based singer-songwriter who aims to use his unique brand of pop songwriting to connect with his audience. His strong soulful vocals blend with his innovative music production to evoke a multitude of emotions in his listeners. His music can be defined as an amalgamation of the genres he grew up listening to: pop-R&B, funk, hip-hop & rock.
Adarsh Rajaraman
Honorable Mention
Adarsh Rajaraman, aka Lil Babbu, is a rising Tamil-American musician known for his genre-bending talent. As a singer-producer, he's released three diverse tracks in the past two years—a pop bop, a darker trap anthem, and a vibrant kuthu song, effortlessly blending his Tamil heritage with jazz and Western influences.
see you in 2024 ✌🏽
The winners have already began on completing their records and are planning to bring their music to all streaming platforms in early 2024! Stay tuned with ravi ray audio to be notified when their songs release and when apps open next year. Until next time~
Stay well, shine bright.
~Ravi
This blog article was written with support from Rupsha Chakraborty and Meera Tikku.
