Teams from different universities across the country will be showing off their vocal skills and raising money this Saturday at Sangeet Saagar, a South Asian a cappella competition  NC State will be hosting for the first time.

The event will go beyond teams singing music, as acts will be fusing musical pieces together with top-40 hits or popular beats. Audiences can expect a variety of musical styles and acts, such as contemporary American, Bollywood and classical music mixes. 

NC State’s chapter of the Delta Sigma Iota fraternity Inc. is organizing the event. 

“Our competition is huge because it’s the first of its kind on the whole east coast,” said Sidhartha Jandhyala, the president of Delta Sigma Iota Inc. and a senior studying biomedical engineering. “Having the first ever South Asian a capella contest at NC State, that’s huge for our college.” 

This is the first time the entire event is taking place at NC State, but the fraternity hopes to begin holding it annually, according to Akshay Iyer, the event’s lead organizer and a senior studying electrical engineering. 

Six teams will be competing, and two acts will perform for an exhibition. These teams will be performing one mashup piece, one ballad and one song of their choice.

“Definitely expect a lot of fusion,” said Charan Mohan, the fraternity’s director of public relations and a senior studying biochemistry. 

The six teams competing are Dhadkan from Ohio State University, Dhamakapella from Case Western Reserve University, Ektaal from the University of Virginia, Fanaa from Pennsylvania State University, Ohms from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Raag from Rutgers University.

Other than the six competing teams, there will also be two exhibition acts. One of the Exhibition acts is the NC State male a capella group Grains of Time.

“We are excited to see the caliber of teams coming out,” Mohan said. 

Many of the teams competing are seasoned veterans, some of which are on their way to releasing individual albums.

The proceeds for this event are going to two different charities, including Drive Education, a non-profit that works to help local schools provide better quality education to students and Ekal Vidyalaya, a non-profit working to educate more children in rural India.

“[The event] touches on the three pillars of Delta Sigma Iota: service, unity and education,” Iyer said.

Delta Sigma Iota Inc. plans to make this an annual event after it generates credibility from this competition. Iyer said the fraternity hopes for more teams to apply and for it to be known as a prestigious event. This is the first step in reaching that goal. 

“It is important to make a good impression,” Iyer said.

Jandhyala said this event can bring a diversifying element to the NC State community, as it allows for people to learn more about another culture.

“Whenever I go to major meetings, people always say that ‘NC State needs more diversity,’ and ‘NC State is not diverse enough,’” Jandhyala said. 

The event has already sold more than 200 tickets, and tickets will also be available at the door. Iyer said. 

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are being sold online at SangeetSaagardsi.com. Tickets can also be purchased between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. throughout the rest of this week in the Brickyard.