Navjeevan on Neutral Ground

Bobby Tarian (guitar) Steven Atkins (drums) Rayray Treeze (bass)

After Show #3: A New Life at Neutral Ground

I just wrapped my third show — this one at Co*lab, right in my own neighbourhood — and the energy is still sitting in my chest like a warm ember. The room felt like a mosaic of beautiful people in our community: frontline workers, youth I used to work with, artists whose messages resonate with my own, and the friends and family who always show up and make me feel heard simply by being there. I was most excited to be reunited with a woman from the women’s group i worked at 8 years ago, she just happened to walk in!

It was the ninth month of Neutral Ground — and the timing couldn’t be more symbolic. Navjeevan means “new life,” and here I am, performing the stories of my own new life 9 months after starting the concert series It feels intentional even if it wasn’t planned.

Performing in and for the community that shaped me adds another layer of meaning I can’t ignore. The rough, hard streets of Edmonton — the ones I walked, worked in, learned from — are scattered with strong, resilient soldiers. People who have fought for their stories, rebuilt themselves, survived things most will never understand. These are the people who taught me what strength actually feels like. These are the people who showed me what it means to rise.

To stand on a stage in front of them, sharing songs of hope, healing, and transformation… that’s something I don’t take lightly.

I was sick that day. I missed some notes. I was actually pretty irritable and grumpy. My voice cracked. But I didn’t care. I sang with confidence because the community in front of me wasn’t judging me — they were witnessing me. They know imperfection. They know what it means to show up tired but still show up. They know resilience in its rawest form. And I felt held in that.

Neutral Ground is a cozy, uplifting, unpolished, unfiltered space — a space where people hold each other with realness instead of expectations. Singing parts of Navjeevan there felt like letting a seed finally break open, not in silence, but in a circle of people who understand rebirth more than anyone.

And honestly, in all the emotion and adrenaline of the night, I completely forgot to talk about my Kickstarter. But the truth is, the costs behind these shows are adding up, and I’m really hoping to reach my goal by my last show on December 14. This album is something I’ve poured my whole being into, and every bit of support helps me bring it into the world the way it deserves. If you want to support the journey and grab tickets for my Sunday, December 14th Show, you can get them directly through the Kickstarter.

I’m grateful — deeply — that I get to share my Navjeevan songs with the community that raised me, challenged me, and taught me resilience. Grateful that I can tell my story in a room full of people who already understand the chapters I’m healing from. Grateful that new life can be born in a place as tough and tender as Edmonton’s inner city.

This music is my new life — and I’m grateful I get to share it with the people who helped me grow into it.