Issue No. 026 — August 27, 2026

Editor's Picks

The best South Asian cultural events happening right now in NYC

Shreya Ghoshal next Saturday. Omar Sarwar four weeks out.

Twenty-six issues in.

Saturday September 5: Shreya Ghoshal at Prudential Center, Newark. The Unstoppable Tour. 19,500-seat arena. Only Tri-State show. One PATH stop from Manhattan. This is the anchor of the month.

Saturday September 26: Omar Sarwar's Sufi Sessions at Silo NYC. Four weeks and change. A new tradition being built inside an old one — the mehfil, made intimate and portable, above Cirrus Nightclub in midtown.

In between: Sudeep Sen at HRC Auditorium September 4. Sonu Nigam and Gaurav Kapoor on September 13. Rupi Kaur on September 17. L Shankar on September 18. Erasing Borders Dance Festival on September 19-20.

Editor's Pick • Next Saturday

Shreya Ghoshal: The Unstoppable Tour — Prudential Center, Newark


Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St, Newark, NJ

She won Sa Re Ga Ma Pa at 16. Her first Bollywood playback song was for Devdas in 2002. She has since recorded in 14 languages.

The Unstoppable Tour marks over two decades of that career in one evening — with full live orchestration.

Prudential Center holds 19,500. The only Tri-State area show, presented by BongBashi. One PATH stop from Manhattan.

Bollywood • Sep 13

Sonu Nigam — Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum


Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

Multiple Filmfare and National Film Awards. "Kal Ho Naa Ho," "Dard-E-Disco," "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin," "Dil Chahta Hai."

One of the most recognizable voices in Bollywood playback singing across four decades. Nassau Coliseum is on the LIRR. Same day: Gaurav Kapoor at Town Hall, 5pm.

Sufi • Four Weeks Out

Omar Sarwar's Sufi Sessions — Silo NYC


Silo NYC (Skylight above Cirrus Nightclub), 300 W 40th St, Manhattan • $37+

Omar Sarwar builds Sufi Sessions from the tradition of the mehfil — small, seated, listening-first. Not a concert. Not a nightclub set. Somewhere in between, closer to how this music has always been shared.

New York does not have enough spaces like this. Silo NYC is the Skylight room above Cirrus Nightclub in midtown.

Coming Soon — Worth a Look

Fri, Sep 4 • 3–6 PM — Poetry

Sudeep Sen at HRC Auditorium, Manhattan

Bengali diaspora poet with 20+ books to his name. PEN Nabaneeta Dev Sen Prize 2023. Reading with Yashaswinni, Uma Dwivedi, and Andrew Kominik across an afternoon at HRC Auditorium.

Details — IHC
Sat, Oct 3 • 8 PM — Qawwali

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan — Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of the world's leading qawwals. Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale. Same Saturday as Kanan Gill at Town Hall, 7pm.

Tickets — Ticketmaster
Thu, Sep 17 • 7:30 PM — Poetry

In Conversation with Rupi Kaur — Union Hall

Punjabi-Canadian poet, 10M+ copies sold. Conversation format at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Tickets — AXS
Fri, Sep 18 • 8 PM — WMI Masters Series

L Shankar — Adler Hall

Pioneer of the double violin and touch guitar. Co-founded Shakti with John McLaughlin. Recorded with U2, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Zakir Hussain. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. $45/$55. NY Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W 64th St.

Tickets — wmi.org
Sat + Sun, Sep 19 + 20 • 6–8 PM

Erasing Borders Dance Festival 2026 — Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College

18th annual. Five classical Indian dance forms: Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Mohiniyattam, Odissi. Two evenings, 6–8pm. Kaye Playhouse, 68th St between Park and Lex.

Tickets — Kaye Playhouse
ICYMI — The Months Ahead

On the Radar

Kanan Gill at Town Hall, Saturday October 3, 7pm (same evening as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan above). NYC South Asian Comedy Festival by Laughing Lassi, October 16–18. Sid Sriram at Blue Note, November 4–5. Niladri Kumar at NJPAC, November 6. AR Rahman at Carnegie Hall (Naad 2027), Friday May 22, 2027.