Vatan
Vatan, or “homeland” in Persian, is a group of Middle Eastern- American musicians who blend the line between Persian folk music and country, funk and rock from U.S. mainstream music. Vatan’s core members, Mona Kayhan, Piruz Partow and Sara Tehrani were raised and born in the U.S. Piruz’s Persian tar playing is known to seamlessly transition between brooding Persian dhastaghs to country pickin’. Mona and Sara’s folky, jazz vocals bring a fresh edge to Persian classic love songs such as “Baroun, Baroun” and “Niloufar.”They return “home” with originals like “Woke Up” with the tar continuing to pull them towards their Persian roots.