Sep
Prime Feature
Anirudh Varma Collective Announces First UK Tour, Taking Indian Contemporary Music To The World
Mumbai, 30th September 2026: The Anirudh Varma Collective is set to embark on its first-ever UK tour in 2026, while also returning to the United States with new music in the making. Led by pianist, composer and producer Anirudh Varma, the New Delhi-based ensemble brings together Indian classical and folk traditions with contemporary arrangements, harmony, improvisation and diverse musical voices. The upcoming tour will feature music from the Collective’s three albums, Perspectives (2018), Homecoming (2022) and Sabr (2025), alongside early material from its forthcoming fourth album.
The UK visit marks a significant new chapter for the Collective, taking its music into a new territory while expanding beyond conventional concert spaces. Alongside performances in London, Manchester and other locations, the programme will include university engagements and a masterclass at the University of Cambridge. The US leg continues the Collective’s international touring journey, following its substantial 2023 US tour and an earlier visit in 2026.
Since its debut, the Collective has developed as an evolving musical community rather than a fixed band. Perspectives brought together around 65 artists, while Homecoming expanded its collaborations across India, Canada and the United States. Sabr explored a more introspective musical space, and the wider Collective has now grown to more than 150 musicians across India, the US and Canada.
The 2026 tour reflects Anirudh Varma’s larger vision of music as an ongoing conversation shaped by musicians, audiences and the places where performances happen. Alongside concerts, educational and cultural engagements will allow the Collective to share its creative process with new audiences. Co-produced by the Anirudh Varma Collective and Teamwork Arts, with the Indo-American Association as national promoter for the US leg, the tour marks another step in taking the Collective’s contemporary interpretation of Indian musical traditions to a global stage.
