Leeds 2023: Inside the summer solstice festival in the Corn Exchange with South Asian music until 5am

Leeds-based arts charity South Asian Arts UK is hosting its annual pay-as-you-feel Summer Solstice: Asian Music Festival at the Corn Exchange today, June 21, to honour the return of summer.

This year, the line-up includes award-winning musician Qais Essar who has travelled from America to play enchanting melodies on a 2,500-year-old instrument, the Afghan rabab.

He will be joined by sarangi player Sardar Satwinderpal Singh, rising star Kaviraj Singh and award-winning singer Anamika Chowdhury who will be uniting musical worlds as she sings songs from Assam with a jazz twist.

“I’m very excited,” said chief executive Keranjeet Kaur Virdee MBE, who has been planning the event for a year. “There’s a touch of anxiety –purely because this is the first time I’m in this venue so I’m not familiar with it.

"We’ve got tenants and shoppers all coming in so we’re having to respectfully be aware what music they would be happy with, how loud it is and just navigating it – it’s quite interesting actually.”

Keranjeet believes the Corn Exchange was the perfect place to host the event, with it being central to the city, visually stunning and littered with messages of positivity. Beyond the musical programme, there are more surprises to glean – from creative clubs to games and even Kundalini yoga sessions with teacher Brinder Sandhu. The Corn Exchange’s permanent cafe Bruschetta are cooking up delicious treats including onion bhajis, samosas, jalebis, mocktails and more for customers to enjoy.

Keranjeet wishes to expand the event to four days next year to include a wider range of Asian music – from the rappers and DJs to classical and folk – but is currently looking forward to the exciting roster of events South Asian Arts UK is hosting this summer at Seven Arts in Chapel Allerton.

Coming up in the following weeks are two concerts – one from sarangi player Nabeel Khan and another from sitarist and composer Mohamed Assani, among other events. Visit the South Asian Arts UK website to find out more.

Here is the full line-up of events:

- 11am: Smell the coffee with Kamalbir Singh (violin) and John Ball (tabla)

- 12pm: Yoga class with Brinder Kaur Sandhu

- 1pm: Desert Sands with Qais Essar (rabab)

- 2pm: Yoga class with Brinder Kaur Sandhu

- 3pm: Teatime Symphony with Lakshay Mohan (sitar) and Bhavanjot Singh Rehal (tabla)

- 5pm: Jazz It Out with Anamika Chowdhury and Dave Evans Jazz band

- 7pm: Evening Flower with Debasmita Bhattacharya (sarod) and Shahbaz Hussain (tabla)

- 9pm: Qawwali Sounds with Shah-e-Mardan

- 10:50pm: Sunset Raga with Kaviraj Singh (santoor) and Shahbaz Hussain (tabla)

- 12:10am: Midnight Drums with tabla collective led by Shahbaz Hussain and accompanied by Kirpal Singh Panesar (esraj)

- 1am: Beckoning Sunrise with Sardar Satwinderpal Singh (sarangi) and Pt. Sanju Sahai (tabla)

- 3am: Good Morning Leeds with Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay (vocals), Pt. Sanju Sahai (tabla) and Kirpal Singh Panesar (esraj)