Editor's Note
Shreya Ghoshal. Sonu Nigam. L Shankar. Three weeks. One September.
Twenty-five issues in. September arrives this week with a lineup that will not repeat itself.
September 5: Shreya Ghoshal at Prudential Center, Newark. The Unstoppable Tour. 8pm. The only Tri-State area show. 19,500-seat arena. One PATH stop from Manhattan. She won Sa Re Ga Ma Pa at 16. Her first Bollywood playback song was "Bairi Piya" for Devdas in 2002, composed by Vishal-Shekhar. She has since recorded in 14 languages. The Words section has something she said that covers all three artists in this issue.
September 13: Sonu Nigam at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale. One of the most recognizable voices in Bollywood playback singing. Multiple Filmfare and National Film Awards. "Kal Ho Naa Ho," "Dard-E-Disco," "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin." Worth the drive.
September 18: L Shankar at Adler Hall, 2 West 64th St. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. WMI Masters Series. $45/$55. Double violin, composer, co-founder of Shakti, collaborator with Zakir Hussain, Peter Gabriel, U2, and Talking Heads. The most quietly extraordinary evening of the season.
-- The Editors, Bollywood.NYC
Sat, Sep 5: Shreya Ghoshal at Prudential Center, Newark, 8pm.
Sat, Sep 13: Sonu Nigam at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale.
Thu, Sep 18: L Shankar at Adler Hall, doors 7pm show 8pm. WMI Masters Series.
01
Editor's Pick
Bollywood
Shreya Ghoshal: The Unstoppable Tour -- Prudential Center, Newark
Saturday September 5
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8 PM
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Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St, Newark, NJ
She won Sa Re Ga Ma Pa at 16. Her first Bollywood playback song was "Bairi Piya" for Devdas in 2002. She has since recorded in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Assamese, Punjabi, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Odia, and Tulu. The Unstoppable Tour marks over two decades of that career in one evening -- Bollywood chartbusters and regional classics with full live orchestration. Prudential Center holds 19,500. The only Tri-State area show, presented by BongBashi. One PATH stop from Manhattan.
Tickets -- Ticketmaster
02
Bollywood
Sep 13
Sonu Nigam -- Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
Saturday September 13
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Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
Multiple Filmfare and National Film Awards. "Kal Ho Naa Ho," "Dard-E-Disco," "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin," "Dil Chahta Hai," "Saathiya." One of the most recognizable voices in Bollywood playback singing across four decades. Nassau Coliseum is on the LIRR -- Penn Station to Hempstead, one stop from the coliseum. Worth the trip.
Tickets -- Ticketmaster
03
Classical
Sep 18
L Shankar -- Adler Hall, New York Society for Ethical Culture
Thursday September 18
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Doors 7 PM, Show 8 PM
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2 West 64th St, Manhattan
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$45 / $55
Indian violinist, singer, and composer. Pioneer of the double violin and the touch guitar. Co-founded Shakti with John McLaughlin. Recorded and toured with U2, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Zakir Hussain, and Allah Rakha. Grammy-winning collaboration with Peter Gabriel on The Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack. WMI Masters Series at Adler Hall. The most quietly extraordinary evening of the season.
Tickets -- wmi.org
Fri Sep 19 + Sat Sep 20
Erasing Borders Dance Festival 2026 -- Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College
18th annual. Five classical Indian dance forms across two evenings: Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Mohiniyattam, Odissi. Kaye Playhouse, 68th St between Park and Lex. 6-8pm both nights. Ten artists. Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council.
Tickets -- Kaye Playhouse
Oct 16-18
NYC South Asian Comedy Festival -- Lofte 23, Broadway Comedy Club, Top Secret Comedy Club
New York City's first South Asian comedy festival. Three nights, five shows, 40+ comedians. Produced by Laughing Lassi. Gauri B headlines Friday at Lofte 23. Saturday: Brown Unhinged and the Roast Battle (India vs. Pakistan vs. Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka) at Broadway Comedy Club. Sunday: Aparna Nancherla headlines Desi Women Takeover at Top Secret Comedy Club. Tickets at southasiancomedyfest.com.
Tickets -- southasiancomedyfest.com
Fri, Nov 6
Niladri Kumaar -- NJPAC, Newark (TD James Moody Jazz Festival)
Friday November 6, 7:30pm. Honoring Zakir Hussain. With Satyajit Talwalkar (tabla), Charlie Lindner (keys), Dèmitrio Albano (drums). 5th-generation sitar lineage, son and disciple of Pandit Kartick Kumar.
Tickets -- njpac.org
Tue Nov 4 + Wed Nov 5
Sid Sriram -- Blue Note Jazz Club, Manhattan
Sid Sriram at Blue Note Jazz Club, four shows across two nights, November 4 and 5. Tamil-American singer and producer who bridged Carnatic classical training with R&B and soul. His Ayngaran sessions earned him a devoted international following. bluenotejazz.com/nyc.
Tickets -- bluenotejazz.com
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Words
"Titles or awards are not the mark of your success. They are the beginning of a life-long sadhana."
Shreya Ghoshal -- Chai with Manju interview, indianewengland.com, October 2013
Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for devoted daily practice -- the discipline that sustains a musician across decades, not seasons. She won Sa Re Ga Ma Pa at 16. Her first Bollywood song was for Devdas in 2002. She plays Prudential Center on September 5. The word applies equally to Sonu Nigam at Nassau Coliseum on September 13 and L Shankar at Adler Hall on September 18. Three artists, one standard.
Aparna Nancherla -- her opening standup line, documented across multiple sets from 2012 onward
She said it every time she walked onstage. As far as the audience knew, it was a joke about South Asian women in comedy. Her parents heard it as an essential truth. On Sunday October 18 at Top Secret Comedy Club, she headlines the Desi Women Takeover -- the closing show of the first South Asian comedy festival in New York City. Nobody is surprised anymore.
Desi SNL is a live sketch comedy show written, directed, and produced by Bande-Ali, whose work critics compare to Hasan Minhaj and Mike Birbiglia. Episodes 1 and 2 combined for eight sold-out shows. The festival opens October 16. The Gundecha Brothers close August at Chhandayan on the 29th. Three very different rooms. One August.
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Making Sense of South Asian Life
"Alone in NYC" has been read more than 4,000 times since June 25. It is at bollywood.nyc/features. A second essay publishes soon.
ICYMI: The City Around You
Rupi Kaur at Union Hall Brooklyn, September 17. Gaurav Kapoor at Town Hall, September 13. Omar S Sufi Sessions at Silo NYC, September 26. Kanan Gill at Town Hall, October 3. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Nassau Coliseum, October 3. Sid Sriram at Blue Note, November 4-5. AR Rahman at Carnegie Hall (Naad 2027), May 22, 2027.