Sri Lankan singer Yohani is set to perform at the 13th edition of the Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh, India, joining a line-up of 41 acts from more than 10 countries.
She will present her original music, predominantly in Sinhala, to an international audience at one of India’s established independent music festivals, the Colombo Gazette reported.
The paper interviewed Dilanjan Seneviratne, Founder and CEO of Colombo-based entertainment company Outright Play, which has managed Yohani’s career since her viral breakthrough in 2021.
‘From miracle to normal’
Seneviratne framed the booking as evidence of a shift in how Sri Lankan artists are received abroad.
“Ziro is in its 13th edition, with 41 acts and artists from more than 10 countries, and she’s walking on stage with her own songs, mostly in Sinhala,” he said. “That hasn’t happened before, not at this level. But honestly, the part that moves me isn’t the stage. It’s that nobody’s surprised she’s there.”
“Five years ago, this would have been a miracle story. Now it’s a booking. That shift, from miracle to normal, is the whole point of what we do.”
The strategy after the viral hit
Seneviratne said the company deliberately went quiet after Yohani’s viral success rather than chasing it — releasing the albums “Kella”, “Aadarei” and “Sadde”, touring, and building relationships in India rather than extracting attention from it.
“India doesn’t owe any outside artist a second look… You earn the second look with new work,” he said.
On performing in Sinhala, he said the decision was made early: “the thing that made her interesting was that she sounds like where she’s from. If you sand that off to fit in, you fit in, and then you disappear.”
He also pointed to ownership of the catalogue as central to the model, saying Yohani’s masters and publishing were structured globally with Reservoir Media so that “when the world calls, the artist answers as an owner, not a tenant.”
Outright Play runs management, label, publishing, studio, media and live production under one roof — built, Seneviratne said, “because none of it existed here and we got tired of waiting.”
About the festival
Ziro has run since 2012 in a valley in Arunachal Pradesh, on the lands of the Apatani community. Seneviratne said this edition drew coverage from The Indian Express, NDTV, Outlook Traveller and Rolling Stone India before a note had been played, with artists appearing from Algeria, Ireland, Palestine and Korea among others.
The Colombo Gazette’s report does not give the date or time of Yohani’s own set.
