What's on

Roopa Panesar, London

Queen Elizabeth Hall

17th May
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Book tickets

7:30 PM

Tickets: From £15

UK's finest Sitar player Roopa Panesar is performing at South Asian Sounds Festival!

We are delighted to be working with Southbank Centre to produce several events at South Asian Sounds festival 2025. Celebrated UK-based Sitar player Roopa Panesar will perform music from her 2023 album ATMA at the South Asian Sounds festival 2025 at the Southbank Centre!

Roopa will be performing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday 17th May.

ATMA is a rich musical meeting ground of  traditional Indian and western instruments, performed by her 7-piece group. Sitar & tabla beautifully weave and interchange with Double Bass, Guitar, Tanpura & Indian Mouth Harp (Morsing), with electronic textures by Camilo Tirado, plus Kanjira, Jori and Double-Headed Barrel Drum (Mirdangam).

The festival is running from Wednesday 14 May – Sunday 18 May across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. South Asian Sounds celebrates the rich, varied musical traditions of the wider Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi diaspora as well as UK-based artists.

Panesar’s ATMA is a journey that beautifully portrays all aspects of life – love, loss, grief, separation and ultimately the bliss of union (Atma encapsulates the concept of the eternal self – or soul – in Hinduism). After a period of personal loss, Roopa wrote the music echoing feelings associated with challenges of life, with the intention to uplift.

ATMA was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios and was made possible as part of our Breaking Barriers’ Innovate Music Commissions.

“One of the UK’s finest sitarists”…Sitar player Roopa Panesar is certainly one of the most important musicians to have emerged in the British Asian diaspora over the past few years. She expresses a profound sense of calmness laced with an inexplicable exhilaration.”

**** 4-stars Songlines

You’ll be captivated by Roopa’s enthralling performance of her profound and multi-faceted album.

Qawwali legends Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwals will be closing the festival on Sunday 18th May with an electrifying performance. Get your tickets here.