Leeds Summer Solstice Festival 2026: An Evening of Celestial Music

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 Music.

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 & Gayaki

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 the creation of ‘Gayaki Ang’ considered as the very important and lasting contribution of Vilayat Khan in the world of Indian classical music. 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.

3:00–4:00pm Chai and Chat with BBC Radio Leeds and Look North Presenter Arzu Dutta:
Raag, Taal & Time: Modal Music and the Cycles of the Day

This conversational salon explores how Hindustani classical music aligns with the rhythms of time — from the freshness of morning Raags and the contemplative weight of twilight, to the expansive, glowing qualities suited to a solstice evening.

Rather than treating time as clockwork, this session invites audiences into a musical understanding of time as feeling, season, breath, and atmosphere. It opens a doorway into how musicians listen to the world — and prepares the ear for the evening’s unfolding musical journey.

Evening Double Bill – An Evening of Celestial Song

As the solstice evening settles, two concerts invite the audience into a radiant world of voice, poetry, and musical imagination — forming a continuous arc of sound across tradition and expression.

5:00–7:00pm Mukul Kulkarni, Kirpal Singh Panesar, Rajvir Singh Bhachu, Ravneet Kaur & Ikjot Kaur:

An accomplished exponent of Khayal from the Gwalior tradition, Mukul Kulkarni is known for his refined, thoughtful approach to performance. His artistry lies in allowing each Raag to bloom through carefully chosen bandish, weaving melodic architecture, rhythmic cycle, and poetic meaning into a seamless whole. His voice carries clarity, restraint, and emotional depth — offering a meditative yet expressive journey through the classical landscape, illuminated by tradition and shaped with grace.

Mukul ji is joined by Shri Kirpal Singh Panesar one of UK’s leading Hindustani classical musicians and a renowned performer of the Tār-Shehnāī and Dilruba. Trained under Ustad Surjeet Singh in the lineage of Pandit Ram Narayan, his playing is celebrated for its soulful depth & expressive artistry.

They will be joined by Rajvir Singh Bhachu, Ravneet Kaur and Ikjot Kaur for an immersive evening of Indian classical music rooted in melody, rhythm & improvisation.

7:30–9:30pm Jasdeep Singh Degun, Harkiret Singh Bahra:

We are delighted to welcome multi-award-winning sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun to this year’s Leeds Summer Solstice.

A composer, arranger, and improviser of remarkable depth, Jasdeep is both a consummate soloist and a generous collaborator—deeply rooted in tradition while continually pushing its boundaries. Born in Leeds, his exceptional artistry is reshaping the musical landscape for his peers and inspiring future generations. Jasdeep also has a longstanding connection with SAA-uk, having been a regular participant in our Summer Schools.

He began studying the sitar at the age of fifteen under SAA-uk’s Founder, Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE. What began as a secondary interest quickly became his primary pursuit, shaped by the guidance of his teacher and mentor.

Jasdeep is joined by Harkiret Singh Bahra, a distinguished UK-based tabla player and dedicated educator. A custodian of the rich tabla tradition, Harkiret brings both technical mastery and musical sensitivity to his performance and teaching.

With a strong grounding in classical training, his work spans both traditional and collaborative contexts, while his commitment to education continues to nur