New York City's South Asian Cultural Guide

Bollywood.NYC

We don't list everything. That's the point.

Issue No. 009 · April 30, 2026

Editor's Note

Tonight: Sarod at Symphony Space. Tuesday: Indian indie at Town Hall. This is the week.

There is no version of this week's calendar that isn't remarkable. Tonight — tonight — Amjad Ali Khan takes the stage at Symphony Space with Sharon Isbin and his sons for "Strings for Peace." That's a sarod master whose instrument is older than most nations playing a room on Broadway with a Grammy-winning classical guitarist. That's not a rare occurrence. That's a once-in-a-season occurrence.

Sunday, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan hosts a tribute to Ravi Shankar — the man who brought Indian classical music to Carnegie Hall, to the Beatles, to the world. Then Tuesday, Anuv Jain plays The Town Hall for the first time ever in New York City.

Anuv Jain has 18.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. "Husn" was the most-streamed Indian indie song of 2024. He's Forbes 30 Under 30. He has never played New York. Tuesday is the first time. The Town Hall holds 1,500 people. Given the ticket situation, those 1,500 already know what they're walking into.

That's the arc of this week: Centuries-old classical tradition on Thursday night, a living legend's tribute on Sunday afternoon, and the most-streamed Indian indie artist of 2024 on Tuesday. We don't always get a week like this. This is one.

— The Editors, Bollywood.NYC

This Week

Tonight, April 30: Amjad Ali Khan "Strings for Peace" at Symphony Space, 8pm. Sunday, May 3: Ravi Shankar tribute at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 6pm. Tuesday, May 5: Anuv Jain's first-ever New York show at The Town Hall, 7pm. One week. Three rooms. All of it matters.

The Edit — This Weekend
01
Editor's Pick Indie Pop

Anuv Jain: Dastakhat World Tour

Tuesday, May 5 · 7 PM · The Town Hall, Midtown West

Anuv Jain has 18.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. "Husn" was the most-streamed Indian indie song of 2024. "Jo Tum Mere Ho" hit number one on Apple Music India and Spotify India within weeks of release. Forbes 30 Under 30. He writes everything himself — guitar, ukulele, no percussion, just voice and the weight of a lyric that lands exactly where it's supposed to.

"I try to tell stories through my music. I hope you like them." — Anuv Jain

He has never played New York before. Tuesday is the first time. The Town Hall is a 1,500-seat room and one of the finest acoustically in Manhattan. Get the ticket. This is what "first NYC show" actually looks like when the artist is already enormous everywhere else.

Tickets — Live Nation
02
Classical Tonight

Amjad Ali Khan: Strings for Peace

Tonight, April 30 · 8 PM · Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Symphony Space · $45–$105

Amjad Ali Khan is the living master of the sarod — one of the great instruments of Hindustani classical music and one of its most demanding. Tonight he performs "Strings for Peace" alongside his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, Grammy Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin, and tabla virtuoso Amit Kavthekar, a protégé of both Ustad Allarakha and Zakir Hussain.

Presented by World Music Institute. Tickets are $45–$105. If you are reading this before 8pm and you are free tonight, this is the decision.

Tickets — Symphony Space
03
Classical

Echoes of a Legend: A Tribute to Pt. Ravi Shankar

Sunday, May 3 · 6–9 PM · Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan USA, 305 7th Ave, Midtown

Ravi Shankar brought Indian classical music to Carnegie Hall, to the Beatles, to George Harrison, to the world. He redefined what a global audience thought Indian music could be. This Sunday, Suromurchhana presents a tribute to his legacy at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan — three hours at one of the city's most committed venues for South Asian classical programming.

BVB USA is on the 17th floor at 305 7th Ave. Worth arriving a few minutes early.

Tickets — Viewcy
Coming Soon — Worth a Look
Sat, May 2

Pandit Kushal Das (Sitar) & Nitin Mitta (Tabla)

Pandit Kushal Das performs at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan USA — one of the city's anchors for South Asian classical programming. A sitar and tabla concert at a venue that has been presenting this music seriously for decades. Saturday evening, before the Ravi Shankar tribute on Sunday. A classical weekend if you want it.

Tickets — Viewcy
Thu, May 7

Imran Fida — Barzakh Café

Imran Fida returns to Barzakh Café on Thursday, May 7. Barzakh has established itself as Brooklyn's most consistent room for South Asian music that doesn't make concessions to the mainstream — and Imran Fida is exactly the kind of artist that room was built for. Thursday evening, Utica Avenue.

Tickets — Viewcy
Sat, May 9

Robi-Raagini — Barzakh Café

রবি-রাগিণী — Robi-Raagini — at Barzakh Café on Saturday May 9. Bengali music in Brooklyn, in the room that keeps showing up for this community. If you know what Robi-Raagini means, you already know why this is here. If you don't, this is a good entry point into the Bengali musical tradition that this city has largely overlooked.

Tickets — Viewcy

ICYMI — The City Around You

May is arriving in full. Beyond the South Asian calendar this week, the city is running at its spring pace — film, performance, comedy, music across every borough. The NYIFF opens May 28. Russell Peters hits NJPAC May 29. Both are on our radar. More in the coming issues.

Be Part of It

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Bollywood.NYC proudly supports South Asian comedians and women-run businesses. These are not afterthoughts for us — they are priorities. If you're a comic building an audience, a founder running something with purpose, or an organizer putting on something this community needs to know about, write to us at editors@bollywood.nyc. We read every one.

We're especially looking for:

  • Comedy shows and stand-up showcases
  • Women-led businesses, brands, and events
  • Cultural performances and live music
  • Panels, professional mixers, and community gatherings
  • Anything that feels intentional, not just loud

We don't feature everything. But when we do, we mean it — and so does our audience.

Know someone who should be reading this? Forward this issue. The list grows one good recommendation at a time.