Ragas Live Festival 2026
“24 hours of uninterrupted, absolutely incredible music performances”
- The New York Times
24 hours of performances
October 17-18 2026
TIME
Doors: 6 PM
Starts: 7 PM
Ends: 7 PM
LOCATION
Pioneer Works
Wednesday, July 22, at 10 AM ET
The 15th annual Ragas Live Festival featuring 24 hours of transcendent music in the Pioneer Works Main Hall. The entire program will be broadcast live on video at Pioneer Works' YouTube, WKCR 89.9 FM in NYC (audio only), and podcast at NYC Radio Live.
For the 2026 festival, more than 50 artists and legendary maestros of the South Asian classical tradition will perform alongside groundbreaking contemporary artists in a musical journey through day and night.
The full lineup will be announced September 9.
Early bird tickets will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, July 22 at 10 AM ET.
Support
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About Ragas Live Festival
Ragas Live Festival was born as an in-studio radio broadcast at Columbia University's radio station, WKCR, in 2012 and immediately gained a global listening audience. The annual presentation of 50-70 musicians, and its expansive presentation of music inspired by the Indian classical tradition, became central to a musical movement that The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, and others have called “The Raga Renaissance.” The event first left the studio and became a live, in-person broadcast in 2016 at Pioneer Works, where it has since grown a passionate following.
The event is inspired by raga, the classical music tradition from South Asia, where specific modes harmonize with the moods and energy of particular times of day, such as sunrise, sunset, or the darkest hours of the night. Master musicians from the raga tradition are presented alongside legends in ambient music, minimalism, jazz, and global traditions.
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, with the support of The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto) and The 4J Family Foundation
Community Partners include AHT Productions, Brooklyn Raga Massive, People of Rhythm Productions. Ragas Live Festival is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Podcast
Ragas Live Festival began as a live radio broadcast in 2012. These performances became the first of over 300 episodes the NYC Radio Live podcast.
Featured in
Ragas Live Retrospective
Ragas Live Festival 2012-2017