2026 marks the 15th anniversary of our flagship Leeds Summer Solstice Festival, celebrating South Asian music and culture.
To honour this landmark year, we invite you to our most expansive and immersive edition yet — a Double Bill Evening of Celestial Song.
Each year, as the sun reaches its highest point and the longest day stretches into a luminous evening, we gather in Leeds to welcome the Summer Solstice through music, listening, reflection, and shared experience. Rooted in astronomy, natural cycles, and the resonant Sounds of the Earth, the festival brings the depth of South Asian classical traditions into dialogue with the celestial — reminding us that music, like nature, moves in cycles of light, time, and transformation.
With over 300 years of South Asian presence woven into the cultural history of Leeds, this gathering stands as both continuity and renewal — a collective moment beneath the longest sky of the year, where ancient knowledge meets the present.
Festival Focus 2026: Voice & Vocals
This year, the festival turns its attention to voice — the human instrument closest to breath, intuition, and the body’s rhythm. Through conversation and performance, we explore how Indian classical music holds time itself: how Raags shift with the hours of day, seasons, mood, and atmosphere, carrying the emotional and spiritual texture of light in sound.
The Howard Assembly Room, with its warm acoustics and intimate setting, becomes our home for a day of deep listening, stillness, and communal resonance.
In partnership with South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk).
Pre-Concert Talk
3 – 4pm
Modal Music and Time
An insight into the Connection between Hindustani Raags and Time.
Set 1
5.30 – 7.30pm
Mukul Kulkarni – Vocals
Rajvir Singh – Tabla
Kirpal Singh Panesar – Esraj
Taanpura: Ravneet Kaur & Ikjot Kaur
30-minute interval
Set 2
8 – 10pm
Koyel Bhattachayree – Vocals
Kuntal Das – Tabla
Satwinderpal Singh – Sarangi
Taanpura: Ravneet Kaur & Ikjot Kaur
