Lone Star Sitar — the world fusion ensemble featuring Vatsal Dave, Art Greenhaw, and Neel — delivers a powerful and energetic cover of The Rolling Stones’ iconic “Paint It Black.”
The original, released in 1966, was one of rock’s earliest experiments with the sitar — Brian Jones’s droning sitar line became one of the most recognizable riffs in rock history. Over fifty years later, Lone Star Sitar reclaims that sitar energy with the full weight of classical Indian technique behind it.
What Makes This Version Different
Where the original used the sitar primarily for texture and atmosphere, this cover puts it at the absolute center of the arrangement. The driving sitar line carries the harmonic weight of both the Eastern classical and Western rock traditions simultaneously.
Art Greenhaw’s guitar work provides the rock foundation, while Vatsal’s sitar adds the distinctive meends (slides), gamaks (oscillations), and intricate right-hand strokes that only a trained classical sitarist can deliver. The result is a piece that feels both intensely familiar and completely fresh.
“When we recorded this, we weren’t trying to cover the Rolling Stones. We were asking: what does this song sound like when it finally comes home to the sitar tradition it borrowed from?”
Lone Star Sitar’s debut album, which also includes Grammy-winning collaborator Art Greenhaw, is available on Spotify and Apple Music.