Changes range from a revamped audition process to new ways of producing musical content, but the groups are powering ahead.

Purple lights cast an eerie glow on the stage in Emerson Auditorium. Low, soft covers of songs I was pretty sure I knew played on the speakers. Attendees filed in slowly, filling the first half of the auditorium easily but leaving the back half sparsely populated. The show was about to start: Stranger Sings, The Sensasians and Sur Taal Laya’s (STL) 80s-themed fall concert.

Washington University’s premiere Bollywood fusion a cappella group Sur Taal Laya performs at its spring concert, ‘STLumdog Millionaire.’ STL fuses Bollywood hits with hip-hop, R&B and pop.

Sur Taal Laya’s signature style of arranging is to create mashups of Bollywood songs and popular English songs. This fusion creates beautiful sonic experiences that blend South Asian and American cultures.