NEW DELHI:

The Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF), one of the top five indigenous music carnivals in the world, has a starry patron — Mick Jagger, lead vocalist of the Rolling Stones.

Jagger has agreed to become the patron and a mascot of the musical extravaganza, festival director Divya Bhatia said on September 17. The festival will be from Oct 10-14 at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, a communique said.

Soon after confirming his status as a patron for RIFF, the communique quoting the pop-rock sensation, said, “Last year’s RIFF was heady. I really liked the way established names shared the stage with folk artistes from India. The country offers such a wide variety of music and it is always interesting to hear the pure as well as the fusion forms. If you are combining different styles, there are bound to be influences but the roots remain intact. Jodhpur RIFF has got the balance just right.” — HNS