Issue No. 020 — July 16, 2026

Editor's Picks

The best South Asian cultural events happening right now in NYC

Twenty issues. This Saturday in Queens. And a week that starts tonight.

Twenty issues in. We started as a hunch about a room — not the room that's already loud, but the one already listening.

This Saturday, July 18: DJ Rekha's Basement Bhangra Beyond at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Free. Outdoor. 5pm. The party that started in a basement in SoHo in 1997 comes to Queens. Same night: Barzakh Mehfil at Saint John's in the Village at 7pm, and Sharam Nahi! comedy at Cheeni in Bed-Stuy at 8pm. Three boroughs, one Saturday. Plan accordingly.

Wednesday, July 23: Kahat Kabir at Barzakh Café — Brooklyn Raga Massive on 15th-century mystic poetry. The night before the July 24 double: Fatimah Asghar reads Daughter of the Mountains at Judson Memorial Church (RSVP at mcnallyjackson.com), and Ronobir Lahiri at Sultan Room Rooftop.

Friday, July 31: Sammy Virji brings his North America tour to Brooklyn Army Terminal. DJ Mag's Best Producer 2025. British-Indian. Open-air, 18+.

Our first Stories & Features essay, "Alone in NYC," is at bollywood.nyc/features. The contributor callout for Being Okay in NYC is in the Words section below.

Editor's Pick • Free

DJ Rekha's Basement Bhangra Beyond — Flushing Meadows


Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens

In 1997, DJ Rekha started Basement Bhangra at SOB's in SoHo. She was told not to play too much Punjabi music. She ignored that. The party ran for 20 years. M.I.A.'s first US performance was there. The New York Times named her Bhangra's Ambassador.

Saturday July 18, Basement Bhangra Beyond comes to Flushing Meadows for free, with Jaz Dhami, Mitika Kanwar, and Babbulicious. Bring someone who hasn't heard of her.
Comedy

Sharam Nahi! Comedy and South Asian Bites — Cheeni


Cheeni, 485 Tompkins Ave, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn • $15

Sharam Nahi means No Shame. Hosted by Kesav Wable, with a dessert takeover by Black Zaffron and South Asian snacks from Cheeni.

Same evening as DJ Rekha at Flushing Meadows and Barzakh Mehfil at Saint John's in the Village. Three boroughs, one Saturday. Plan accordingly.

Music • Mystic Poetry

Kahat Kabir: BRM Concert and Jam — Barzakh Café


Barzakh Café, 147 Utica Ave, Brooklyn

Brooklyn Raga Massive and Barzakh Café co-present an evening of Kabir's poetry in music. "Kahat Kabir" means "Kabir speaks." Kabir was a 15th-century mystic from Varanasi who rejected caste from both Hindu and Islamic traditions. His dohas are still sung 600 years later.

The night before Ronobir Lahiri at Sultan Room and Fatimah Asghar at Judson Memorial Church.

Coming Soon — Worth a Look

Thu, Jul 24 — Same Night

Ronobir Lahiri: Live in Brooklyn — Sultan Room Rooftop, Bushwick

Sitarist described as the "Jimi Hendrix of the Sitar." Invented the Dautar (guitar + sitar + cello hybrid). Collaborations with Katy Perry, Ziggy Marley, Lil Nas X. Sultan Room Rooftop, 234 Starr St, Bushwick. 21+. Same night as Fatimah Asghar at Judson Memorial Church.

Tickets — DICE
Fri, Jul 31 • 4 PM — UKG • 18+

Sammy Virji: North America Tour 2026 — Brooklyn Army Terminal

DJ Mag Best Producer 2025. British-Indian. Open-air show at Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th St, Sunset Park. Friday July 31, 4pm. 18+. Rain or shine. Tickets from $95. Continues Saturday August 1.

Tickets — DICE
Sat, Aug 1

2026 Bengali Film Festival — SVA Theatre, Manhattan

The 4th annual Bengali Film Festival, presented by Bengalis of New York, comes to SVA Theatre, 333 W 23rd St in Chelsea. Bengali cinema, filmmaker Q&As, and the Bengali Met Gala red carpet element that has become a signature. Same night as Sammy Virji's second night at Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Get Tickets — Posh
Sun, Aug 2 — Selling Fast

Vishal-Shekhar: Superhit Tour — Tilles Center

Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani — composers and performers behind some of the biggest Bollywood hits of the past two decades — play Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post in Greenvale, Long Island. Sunday August 2, 6pm. Tickets from $49. Selling fast.

Get Tickets — Sulekha
Aug 7 + Aug 8

Hans Raj Hans: Live Sufi Night — HK Hall

Punjabi Sufi and folk artist, former Indian MP. Live Sufi concert followed by Bollywood afterparty. HK Hall, 605 W 48th St. Two nights, 8pm–4am. 21+.

Get Tickets
ICYMI — The Months Ahead

On the Radar

Fatimah Asghar and Chani Nicholas at Judson Memorial Church, July 24, 7pm — RSVP at mcnallyjackson.com. India Day Parade, Madison Avenue, August 16 — free. Sonu Nigam at Nassau Coliseum, September 13. L Shankar at Adler Hall, September 18 (WMI Masters Series). Charli XCX — half Gujarati, half Sri Lankan — plays Barclays Center September 14 and 15. Kanan Gill at Town Hall October 3. NYC South Asian Comedy Festival by Laughing Lassi, October 16–18. Carnegie Hall inaugural Indian music festival: May 21–23, 2027.