JAZZ IN THE CITY

As autumn sets in, Delhi tunes into its jazziest weekend yet with the Jazz Weekender festival bringing together ten artists whose sounds stretch from French-Mediterranean melodies to Indian hip-hop funk. Get ready to groove!

- ADITHI REENA AJITH

OCTOBER kicks off on a festive note, and for Delhi’s jazz lovers, this weekend promises pure rhythm as Jazz Weekender returns for its fourth edition on October 11 and 12 in Mehrauli.

This year’s lineup brings 10 artists from across the world—from Australian singer-songwriter Allysha Joy’s soulful lyricism to jazz pioneer Mark de Clive-Lowe’s India debut with an improvisational live set. From India, Ahmedabad rapper Dhanji leads a 13-piece band that fuses rap-funk with jazz, while the quintet Sambucada from Goa blends jazz harmonies with Brazilian samba and bossa nova.

“Nowadays, everybody is going after the headliner,” says Tanish Thakker, co-founder of Jazz Weekender. “We're not chasing big names. Our idea is to present multiple headliners—artists who may not be massive yet but are exceptional in their craft. There’s so much unexplored jazz talent in India, and we want to give them a space to shine.”