Qais Essar & Sonny Singh at Joe's Pub

Qais Essar & Sonny Singh at Joe's Pub
July 2. 9:30PM. $30.

Qais Essar plays the rabab, a vaguely guitar-like instrument from Afghanistan that goes back for more than 2000 years. But he plays it in often surprising contexts, and the latest is a duo project with Sonny Singh, whom we’ve heard playing trumpet and singing with New York’s Punjabi dance band called Red Baraat. Together the two musicians draw on centuries-old texts, often from the Sufi and Sikh traditions, to make music that embraces unity at a time of great division. They even do a take on a famous Sufi song called “Lal Meri Pat", also known as “Mast Qalandar.” Qais Essar & Sonny Singh play on July 2 at Joe’s Pub.