Swaying with the Verses

September was fun, gigs, radio and planning for the rest of the year and beyond has been quite energizing! October is going to packed with gigs, so let’s explore the listings!

Quick Nav: Jump to sections with the quick nav links!
Listings / What I did / Radio Shows / My Gigs/ Music Recommendations

Raga Music Listings— October 2025

There are so many things going on in October, so please don’t miss out, scan the dates and find something to go and see, I think I’ve got a pretty comprehensive list of gigs all over the UK, so no excuses! We have two festivals, the Darbar festival celebrates it’s 20th year with a lovely mix of programming at the Barbican; and in the north, Milap’s Indika Festival returns for a wide range of events. Make sure to check the websites for both festivals for details on dance concerts, workshops, yoga, masterclasses and the other events occuring during the festival run.

Ustad Noor Baksh has a tour around the UK, so don’t miss him and the chance to lose yourself in the dance! Jawari are also doing a 5 date UK tour, if you haven’t experienced them live, will be a treat! And then there are lots of other interesting gigs all over the UK too, so go see them and let me know which ones you enjoyed! :)

3 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Ustad Noor Bakhsh / Jaubi / Amrit Kaur
Barbican, London
Book Now: £35-£12

3 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwals
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Book Now: £tbc

4 Oct 2025 / 19:00
Indian Classical Music Concert
Suhas Mitra – Sarod
Vijay Kangutkar – Tabla
Dev Jassal – Tabla
The Scottish Mask & Puppet Centre, Glasgow
Book Now: £16-£10

4 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Ustad Noor Bakhsh
Beacon Valley, Birmingham
Book Now: £22

4 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Shaam-E-Gazal
Priya – Vocal
Satish Verma – Vocal
Kamalbir Singh – Violin
Upneet Singh – Tabla
Seven Arts, Leeds
Book Now: £15-£5

4 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwals
Bristol Beacon, Bristol
Book Now: £61-£28

4 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Mysticism of Ragas
Jason Kalidas – Bansuri
Denis Kucherov – Tabla
Colet House, London
Book Now: £21-£15

5 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Classic Café
Gayatri Ajay – Veena
Janakan Sri Rangan – Mridangam
Middlesbrough Town Hall, Middlesbrough
Book Now: £6

7 Oct 2025 / 15:00
Ustad Noor Bakhsh
The Brunswick, Brighton
Book Now: £15-£10

10 Oct 2025 / 15:00
Riverside Ragas: Ghazal Lounge
Dev Joshi – Vocals & harmonium
Sahib G – Guitar
Karthik Udhas - Keyboards)
Shri Gadhvi – Tabla
Vijay Venkat – Violin
The Glasshouse, Gateshead
Book Now: £22.50-£10

10 Oct 2025 / 18:00
London Sath Sangham with support of Mitra Seva Presents Sant Pravaham
Savita Sreeram – Carnatic Vocals
Gomathisankar S – Harmonium
Venkatasubramanian S – Mridangam
The Bhavan, London
Book Now: £20-£12

10 Oct 2025 / 18:15
Saudha Ghazal Thumri & Kheyal Festival
Chandra Chakraborty – Hindustani Vocals
Aniruddha Mukherjee – Tabla
Keats House, London
Book Now: £Free.99

10 Oct 2025 / 20:00
GROOVE ANTHROPOLOGY: SOUND ANTHROPOLOGY // BROR HAVNES (FLAMMER DANCE BAND) // SOMATIC (GLOBAL GROOVES, SPIRITUAL JAZZ, AFRO-FUNK)
Grow Hackney, London
Book Now: £7-£5

10 Oct 2025 / 18:30
Violin Recital
Suresh Kumar Goswami – Hindustani Violin
Nehru Centre, London
Book Now: £Free.99

12 Oct 2025 / 19:00
Sarangi and Tabla Live in Windsor
Harsh Narayan – Sarangi
Sanju Sahai – Tabla
The Old Court Artspace, Oxford
Book Now: £16.96

16 Oct 2025 / 18:00
An Evening of Indian Classical Music
Satwinder Pal Singh – Sarangi
Sodhi – Tabla
Mischa MacPherson – Celtic Vocals
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow
Book Now: £10.50-£5

17 Oct 2025 / 18:30
Diwali with Baluji
Baluji Shrivastav OBE – Sitar
Nehru Centre, London
Book Now: £Free.99

17 Oct 2025 / 18:30
Hindustani Khayal Concert
Baluji Shrivastav OBE – Sitar
Nehru Centre, London
Book Now: £Free.99

17 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Indika: Flute J.A. Jayant and Debasmita Bhattacharya
Flute J.A. Jayant – Bansuri
Debasmita Bhattacharya – Sarod
Kousic Sen – Tabla
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Book Now: £13-£11

18 Oct 2025 / 17:30
Gaelic Ragas
Kumaresh (The Fiddling monk) – Violin
Graham MacKenzie Band
Shahbaz Hussain – Tabla
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow
Book Now: £40-£25

18 Oct 2025 / 18:00
Imran Khan Abbas
Imran Khan Abbas – Vocals
Sukhwinder Pal Singh – Sarangi
Saaqat Ahmed Khan – Harmonium
Aman Pal – Tabla
The Music Room, London
Book Now: £30

18 Oct 2025 / 10:00
Darbar: Indian Music Appreciation Course
Harmeet Virdee – Sitar
Sukhdeep Dhanjal – Tabla
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £49

18 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Roopa Panesar Trio
Leicester Cathedral, Leicester
Book Now: £20-£15

21 Oct 2025 / 20:15
Jawari
Moth Club, London
Book Now: £15

22 Oct 2025 / 18:15
Darbar Double Bill: Debasmita Bhattacharya + Mallick Dharbanga
1st Half
Debasmita Bhattacharya – Sarod
Satyajit Talwalkar – Tabla
2nd Half
Premkumar Mallick – Dhrupad Vocal
Prashant Mallick – Dhrupad Vocal
Satyajit Talwalkar – Tabla
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £50-£20

23 Oct 2025 / 18:15
Darbar Double Bill: Akkarai Sisters + Ruchira Kedar
1st Half
Akkarai Sisters – Carnatic Violin
Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam
Giridhar Udupa – Ghatam
2nd Half
Ruchira Kedar – Khyal Vocal
Yashwant Vaishnav – Tabla
Tanmay Deochake – Harmonium
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £50-£20

23 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Jawari
Folklore Rooms, Brighton
Book Now: £14

24 Oct 2025 / 13:00
Darbar: Tabla duet by Yashwant Vaishnav + Vivek Pandya
Yashwant Vaishnav – Tabla
Vivek Pandya – Tabla
Tanmay Deochake – Harmonium
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £50-£20

24 Oct 2025 / 18:15
Darbar Double Bill: Amaan Hussain + Sriranjani Tapasya
1st Half
Amaan Hussain – Sarangi
Vivek Pandya – Tabla
2nd Half
Sriranjani Tapasya – Carnatic vocal
Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam
Jyotsna Srikanth – Carnatic violin
Giridhar Udupa – Ghatam
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £50-£20

24 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Mishra
Seven Arts, Leeds
Book Now: £15-£5

24 Oct 2025 / 18:30
Hindustani Khayal Concert
Dr Shishir Rao – Khayal vocalist
Himmet Singh Bahra – Tabla
Siddhiie Kapshikarr
Nehru Centre, London
Book Now: £Free.99

25 Oct 2025 / 18:15
Darbar Double Bill: Tributes to Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain
1st Half
Rahul Sharma – Santoor
Satyajit Talwalkar – Tabla
2nd Half
Taal Vadya percussion ensemble by
Yogesh Samsi – Tabla
Patri Satish Kumar – Mrindangam
Ghatam Udupa – Ghatam
Tanmay Deochake – Harmonium nagma
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £100-£20

25 Oct 2025 / 19:00
Aradhana Arts presents “Divine Light”
Sanju Sahai – Tabla
Giuliano Modarelli – Guitar
Preetha Narayanan – Violin
Jaymini Sahai – Kathak
Curve Venue, Slough
Book Now: £16-£14

25 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Indika: The Stringmasters
Anil Srinivasan – Piano
Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh – Veena
Tung Auditorium, Liverpool
Book Now: £19.25-£16.50

26 Oct 2025 / 10:30
Darbar: Genius of TM Krishna
TM Krishna – Carnatic vocal
Akkarai Subhalakshmi – Carnatic violin
Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam
Giridhar Udupa – Ghatam
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £100-£20

26 Oct 2025 / 15:00
Darbar: Solo by Tanmay Deochake
Tanmay Deochake – Harmonium solo
Vivek Pandya – Tabla
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £25

26 Oct 2025 / 17:00
Darbar Double Bill: Rakesh Chaurasia + Shahid Parvez & Shakir Khan
1st Half
Rakesh Chaurasia – bansuri
Yogesh Samsi – tabla
2nd Half
Duet by Shahid Parvez & Shakir Khan – sitar
Satyajit Talwalkar – tabla
Tanmay Deochake – Harmonium nagma
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £100-£20

26 Oct 2025 / 22:00
Jawari
Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield
Book Now: £10-£5

28 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Indika: Ashim Chowdhury & Kousic Sen
Ashim Chowdhury – Sitar
Kousic Sen – Tabla
The Studio, Widnes
Book Now: £19.25-£16.50

29 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Indika: «Together» by A Carnatic Quartet
Shreya Devnath – Violin
Mylai M Karthikeyan – Nadhaswaram
Praveen Sparsh – Mridangam
Adyar G Silambarasan – Thavil
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Book Now: £14.30-£12.10

30 Oct 2025 / 17:00
Darbar Double Bill: Tabla solo by Gurdain Rayatt + Murad Ali Khan
1st Half
Gurdain Ryatt – Tabla
Milind Kulkarni – Harmonium
2nd Half
Murad Ali Khan – Sarang
Ojas Adhiya – Tabla
The Barbican, London
Book Now: £50

31 Oct 2025 / 19:30
Indika: «Resonance – Strings Across Borders»
Dr Ranajit Sengupta – Sarod
Ashim Chowdhury – Sitar
André Krengel – Guitar
Kousic Sen – Tabla
Tung Auditorium, Liverpool
Book Now: £19.25-£16.50

31 Oct 2025 / 22:00
Jawari @ Brown Excellence
The Trinity Centre, Bristol
Book Now: £23-£12.50

*note… I don’t make any money or anything from these listings, I don’t even get guestlist (although I wouldn’t say no to guestlist… gigging is expensive!), I’m just doing it, because people need to know where to see live music.

What did I see/hear/do in September?

There was happening in September… here are some highlights:

I went to see ‘We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon’ at the Southbank Centre, a co-production between Rambert and (LA)HORDE, they took over the entire Southbank Centre, with performances in each hall, outside on the riverside terrace and different floors in the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Combing elements of dance, video, a full-sized remote control car with hydraulics to help it bounce, this was an amazing experience!

I did a set for the Felt Sound System on their amazing set up in the middle of a park in Tottenham; I played a raga music set, with a couple of cheeky tracks thrown in at the end, but it was amazing to be sharing this music in a non-typical environment for this music style. The people loved it and it sounded immense on a phat sound system.

I went to the Invocation Players with Tommy Khosla and Vishnu Viyjan perform the Ananda Shankar album in the round at the Mildmay Club. The place was full, with a really engaged and attentive audience; the performance was was full of energy and a fitting tribute to the Ananda Shankar experience!

I djed with Dom Ore and Roberta Cutolo at Grow Hackney, and had a great time, I played an all South Asian set with a lot of music I’ve been showcasing on my Voices show, but also a few other classics, the dancefloor was full and everyone was raving!

I’ve been to a few of Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy’s Loft parties and enjoyed them throughly, this month I got to help with the setup and see how much organisation, effort and love goes into each party. I got to use the balloon inflating machine which was fun! And then the party itself was so much fun! Make sure you attend one if you get the chance!

I think my email might be too big now… so that’s enough highlights for September, but the Tom Skinner album launch was amazing. A played an all vinyl set for Crisis Peckham’s charity record fair and someone told me it was too loud, but he was standing next to the speaker… I played a quick video dj set at the Tate with Thristian, and then this other man told me that the music was too loud, because he could hear it in his apartment and on the same bill Sijya did a live pa in the Turbine Hall and sounded great… she’s going to be my guest on this months Voices show hopefully! The Yoga and sound bath session I did with Isaac B and Veronica Youdell was a really nice experience, and hopefully we’ll be doing more!

Radio Shows — September

I celebrated 2 years on NTS in September, no guests, just lovely selections an hour each of raga music from the south and north traditions! I’m hoping for more live sessions and interestingly themed shows in the next year!

The World is Sound on Voices Radio was a really nice session, with lots of new music and a few tracks that I’d missed from the South Asian Disaspora!

I’ve started a new residency on Sister Midnight FM, a wonderful station in South London, to play the o

October Radio Dates

041015 / 17:00 — Mode Radio
111025 / 08:00 — NTS
151025 / 12:00 — Sister Midnight
211025 / 11:00 — Voices Radio
261025 / 13:00 — G Shock Radio
211025 / 11:00 — Voices Radio : Awaaz Diwali Takeover

My Gigs

One gig this one, but it’s a really exciting one… Brown Excellence are running the Brown Excellence Festival at the Trinity Centre in Bristol, the lineup is loaded with some amazing acts, so if you’re around Bristol, definitely come through!

Music Recommendations

Some really nice releases this month, the first three, releases from Rafiq Bhatia, Tom Skinner and Sijya sit in an ambient, exploratary space you can put them on and float away with your thoughts for an hour or so with each of them and then there’s Punjabi Disco from Mohinder Kaur Bhamra & Kuljit Bhamra!

I will get earlier with this and I haven’t forgotten about the June and July reviews either. Share gig listings with people and lets get more people going out! :)

Sway of the Verses