Melong is a Tibetan rock band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Melong’s music is a combination of different genres influenced by rock, reggae and blues. The band excels at incorporating traditional Tibetan instruments like Dranyen and Piwang into the songs which makes their sound unique and interesting. All the band members except for drummer George Dorjee are Tibetan. Lead singer Tenzin Ngawang trained and performed at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, India. Guitarist Tenzing Jigme studied Music at the University of Colorado in Denver, and played bass in a funk band for five years. Bass guitarist Jampa Choephell has been involved in the Tibetan music scene in Dharamsala for many years. Drummer George Dorjee and part-time keyboards player Tashi Phuntsok round off this quintet. Together, the band’s diverse backgrounds bring a new element to their sound which they hope will serve as an alternative platform for the unheard voices of Tibetans in Tibet. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.