Ricky Romain Plays Sitar at The Millhouse

About this event

One of the South West's finest sitar players, Ricky Romain, comes to the Millhouse for an evening of North Indian classical music - Friday 21st August 7:30 pm. Ricky began his study of the sitar in 1972, becoming a residential pupil of Punita Gupta — a direct disciple of Ravi Shankar — in Southall, London. In 1976, he moved to Devon, collaborating with the Indian Music Department at Dartington College of Art, and has performed throughout the West Country, nationally and in Europe ever since. For twenty years, he was Associate Lecturer in Indian Classical Music at the University of Plymouth. His work crosses boundaries: collaborations with jazz, rock, folk, world and Western classical musicians; school and community arts projects; and a parallel career as a visual artist exhibited widely across the UK and Europe. The free improvisation in his performances typically evolves from a slow, contemplative opening and unfolds into complex rhythmic interplay — haunting, captivating and alive. The sitar's signature sound, rich with overtone and ornamentation, fills a room in a way that few instruments can match: intimate enough to hear every nuance, yet vast enough to hold an audience completely still. The Millhouse's stone walls, steel beams and Victorian character make it a natural home for the sitar — warm, resonant, and free of amplification. Join us.