Whether it’s Diljit Dosanjh performing to a sold-out Madison Square Garden, Anirudh Ravichander making a global Spotify debut aside Olivia Rodrigo, or the influx of South Asian artists visiting Australia, it’s very clear that South Asian music is having a moment locally and abroad.
The artists represent the diversity of the South Asian community, with some like Hanumankind hailing from South India’s Kerala, and others like Indian-American Vidya Vox forming part of the diaspora.
Recently, tens of thousands of people attended South Indian singer Anirudh’s shows across Melbourne and Sydney. If you know any South Indian person in your life, chances are they were either there or knew someone who went.
On a personal note, the concert was significant for multiple reasons. South India is often excluded from mainstream Indian conversations. When people think of India, they rarely think of a language beyond Hindi, an actor past Sidharth Malhotra or a singer beyond Arjit Singh.
For South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamils, Anirudh is our biggest musician, which was why being there was unlike anything else. Being surrounded by your community is an unparalleled joy. My favourite songs, that have often been labelled too ‘niche’, were songs that people around me were proudly yelling out. The movies people were talking about were movies everyone had seen (partly because Netflix’s South Indian selection is alarmingly minimal). Outside of India, there are very few environments I’ve been in where Tamil culture was celebrated so loudly – and this was one of them.
What was even more heartwarming to see were the people who came. There were just as many groups of aunties as there were uni students. I saw Indian grandparents and Sri Lankan teenagers. I saw people who had known Anirudh’s music their whole life, to those who were using it as a way of connecting with their culture. Having his show in a venue like Qudos Bank Arena only proved to the world what the diaspora have known for a while: South Indian music is more influential and popular than ever before, embedding itself into the mainstream cultural scene – and rightfully so!
These experiences of young Aussies is not unlike the diaspora overseas. Take the US, for example, where there are over six million South Asian Americans (according to 2020 US Cenus data), including the members of Penn Masala. What started out as “the world’s first South Asian acapella group” 30 years ago has now become a band adored all over the world. They pay homage to their dual identity by performing mashups of songs from the East and West.
While South Asian sounds have had a great impact on the diaspora overseas, Penn Masala flipped the script and recently toured India. We caught up with them during their anniversary tour, where they told us about their warm welcome in India. Music Director Avik Agarwal said it’s been “heartwarming,” adding “we put in, like, 30 hours a week, sometimes more… into making this group succeed, and we care so much about it, so it’s just so nice to come to India and see that people care so much about the effort we’ve put in for them”.
The group has certainly been part of the rise of South Asian music first-hand. In 2024, Penn Masala was invited to perform at the Paris Olympics for the first-ever India House. According to Avik, having “Indian culture being represented at the Olympics, and then bringing South Asian artists, whether it be musicians or dancers… I think is a testament to [how] South Asian arts and cultures are widespread”. He also said musicians around the world are collaborating together more, naming Ed Sheeran and Arjit Singh as a recent example.
Avik also said performing in India is different to the group’s previous performances, explaining “India is different… that’s just like the energy of the Indian crowds”. Even though they “may be acting like foolish Americans… some of us know Hindi, some of us don’t… all the fans have been so accommodating… and it’s been amazing.” As a result of being in India, Penn Masala was also able to collaborate with high-profile Indian artists such as Armaan Malik. Avik told us that he’d listen to his music during COVID, “so getting to meet him in person, and singing with him today was just like an unreal experience”.
He also made an interesting point on social media’s role in amplifying South Asian music. While it’s really good to “find underrated artists that might not have access to the best studios,” he added “some really big artists might not know how to optimise for social media, and as a result, maybe younger audiences aren’t able to find, for example, really classically trained Indian singers [because] they might not know how to optimise for 15-year-olds on TikTok.”
The group’s business manager, Jaydon Gollapudi told us that as a result of being in the group, he was able to “become closer” to his Indian culture in a special way , with the tour being his first time visiting. However, he also pointed out that it “kind of works both ways,” as “people that know more about Western culture will know more about Indian culture and [vice versa]”.
When international South Asian acts have recently performed in Australia, we’ve seen an opportunity for local South Asian creatives to also showcase their talents on stage. Examples include musician Ruhani Dhillon opening for Vidya Vox, or dancer Anjana Chandran and dhol player Priya Sardana-Gakhar performing at the Shreya Ghosal show. The rise of South Asian music is just as vibrant in our own backyard, so to speak.
Bands such as Eastern Empire – that perform a mix of Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi songs – have taken to the stage with their own shows in recent months. This proves that our communities are just as passionate about creating our own culturally-inspired music – not just listening to it.
So, what’s next?
We’re not even halfway through the year, and there are still huge South Asian acts to come after an incredible start to 2026. Sri Lankan artists Athula Adikari and Samitha Mudunkotuwa visited Australia in March, while iconic Indian playback singer Shreya Ghoshal performed in Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend. Punjabi artist Karan Aujla arrives Down Under in August, and the incredibly versatile Sonu Nigam will perform in Australia in October. This is important because it shows how popular – and powerful – South Asian music is. It shows our cultures are worth time, effort and investments.
These artists, whose music we’d dance to in our living rooms, are now being celebrated in massive arenas. For many South Asians, it’s a sign that our cultures are finally getting the applause they deserve.
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