What to see at Darbar Festival 2026
Celebrating its 21st edition in 2026 is Darbar Festival: the leading festival of Indian classical music in the UK. The five-day celebration of Hindustani and Carnatic music is themed The Shock of the New, and will feature many artists never heard before in the UK, genre-crossing collaborations, and London's first-ever late-night Indian classical music concert: a midnight performance from violinist Kala Ramnath and veena player Jayanthi Kumaresh. Held on October 31st, this is a FLO London top pick for an alternative Halloween night out in the city.
Darbar Festival, Barbican, 2025. Image credit Gurwinder Soor. Courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
Taking place at the Barbican Centre, the programme presents musical performances from both legendary masters and emerging talents. Rising stars that will perform at the Milton Court venue include the celebrated British sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun, sarod player Debanjan Bhattacharjee and Carnatic vocalist Spoorthi Rao. Much more than a music festival, there are also talks, screenings, yoga and meditation workshops, and a pop-up market for visitors to experience. This breadth of events is central to Darbar's commitment to dialogue and community engagement, encouraging conversations around the theological, philosophical, and cultural dimensions of the genre beyond the performances themselves.
Darbar Festival, Barbican, 2025. Image credit Gurwinder Soor. Courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
Darbar Festival also prioritises accessibility for new audiences, making it the perfect introduction to the varied Indian classical music scene for those who may be unfamiliar with it. As Sandeep Virdee, artistic director of Darbar, explained: "Darbar Festival exists to bring the depth, discipline and sheer emotional power of Indian classical music to the widest possible audience… It's a programme that reflects both the tradition's rich heritage and its constantly evolving present, with performances that will resonate with lifelong connoisseurs and first-time listeners alike."
These five events are FLO London's top recommendations from this year's lineup.
Indian Classical Music Appreciation Course
Image credit Gurwinder Soor. Courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
This day-long interactive workshop is perfect for those looking for a beginner-friendly introduction to the world's oldest evolved musical tradition, or for those who simply want to deepen their understanding of the history, traditions and musical rhythms inherent to the genre. Beginning with the foundational melodic framework of the 'raga', demonstrated through a live exploration with the sitar, the course then dives into rhythm in Indian classical music, how the structure of a concert unfolds, and, of course, the role of the musicians and their instruments.
Date: Saturday 24th October 2026. Time: 10am - 3pm. Location: Frobisher, Auditorium 1, Barbican Centre. Price: Standard tickets £49 + £2.50 booking fee. Book now
Ustad Irshad Khan + Pandit Prasad Khaparde
Ustad Irshad Khan + Pandit Prasad Khaparde. Image courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
This special double bill sees two Hindustani master musicians come together. In the first half of the concert, Ustad Irshad Khan, a sitarist from the Imdadkhani gharana (a tradition in which the sitar approximates the human voice), will treat audiences to his meditative ragas, accompanied by Sanju Sahai on the tabla. In the second half, Pandit Prasad Khaparde, who is a senior disciple of the late Ustad Rashid Khan, will perform his celebrated khayal vocals rooted in the Rampur Sahaswan gharana.
Date: Saturday 31st October 2026. Time: 5pm. Location: Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre. Price:Standard tickets £25 + £4 booking fee. Book now
Midnight Ragas with Kala Ramnath & Jayanthi Kumaresh
Kala Ramnath and Jayanthi Kumaresh. Image courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
Commencing at midnight, this nighttime concert sees two of India's most impressive soloists come together in a 'jugalbandi'. Literally meaning 'tied together', this is a form of duet in which two soloists improvise and respond to one another live. Kala Ramnath is a Hindustani violinist known for her yearning, expressive ragas, and she will take the stage alongside Jayanthi Kumaresh who plays the Saraswati veena, rooted in the Carnatic tradition. From the timing, to the setting, to each soloist's style, this is set to be a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Date: Saturday 31st October 2026. Time: 11.55pm. Location: Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre. Price:Standard tickets £25 + £4 booking fee. Book now
India's Vanishing Voice
Kala Ramnath and Jayanthi Kumaresh. Image courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
The Dagar family are revered for their preservation of India's oldest classical vocal tradition: dhrupad. Incredibly, dhrupad has been passed down through this unbroken family lineage for twenty generations. In India's Vanishing Voice, a new documentary by Sky Arts, the significance of this tradition is explored from both a historical and a contemporary lens. After the screening, dhrupad vocalist Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar will speak with director Harriet Evans-Lombe and producer Benedetta Pinelli in a panel discussion. This is a rare chance to hear directly from a keeper of one of the oldest vocal traditions in the world. The day before, Dagar will be performing on stage in a midday concert at Milton Court in the neighbouring Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Date: Sunday 1st November 2026. Location: Frobisher Auditorium 1, Barbican Centre. Time: 10.30am-1pm. Price: Standard tickets £20 + £4 booking fee. Book now
Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash
Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash. Image courtesy of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust.
Closing out the festival are the legendary sarod players and musical sibling duo Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash of the Senia Bangash lineage. They have performed worldwide, including at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. This special concert celebrates the two musicians' contrasting styles, bringing together Amaan's fast-paced percussive intensity and Ayaan's more lyrical approach in what promises to be an exciting cross-tradition finale to the festival. The brothers are joined by Gurdain Rayatt on tabla and Sai Giridhar on mridangam, representing North and South Indian percussion traditions respectively.
Date: Sunday 1st November 2026. Time: 6pm. Location: The Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre. Price:Standard tickets £25 + £4 booking fee. Book now
Darbar Festival runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, for nine days of Indian classical music and cultural events. Discover more at darbar.org
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