“24 hours of uninterrupted, absolutely incredible music performances”

- The New York Times

NYC Radio Live Podcast

NYC Radio Live is a podcast and WKCR-FM radio series whose ambitious programming of live performances and interviews since 2005 gave rise to the Ragas Live Festival in 2012. It has featured over 400 live performances and interviews with musicians from more than 40 countries, including Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate, McCoy Tyner, Béla Fleck, and Hugh Masekela.

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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.