Darbar Culture Festival: Parveen & Ilyas Khan

Get ready for a night of soul-stirring melodies and captivating performances as PARVEEN KHAN and ILYAS KHAN bring the living musical heritage of Rajasthan to Y Theatre, Leicester. This is more than a concert — it's an immersive journey into a rich tradition, blending haunting classical rāgas, rare desert folk songs, and rhythms that bridge East and West.

Raised in Jaipur within a distinguished Indo-French artistic family and trained from childhood by their father, renowned artistic director Hameed Khan Kawa, siblings Parveen and Ilyas Khan carry forward a fragile and extraordinary legacy. Parveen is a leading voice of her generation, performing rāgas alongside maands, rare and endangered folk songs of the Rajasthani desert, and stands as one of the few remaining custodians of this tradition. Ilyas accompanies her on tabla with exceptional virtuosity, while also expanding the tradition through his pioneering practice of beatboxing, a skill he began at 14 and which has earned him international recognition, including a nomination for the French Beatboxing Championships and a viral Kit Kat campaign that reached 27 million views in 24 hours. Together, they create a vibrant dialogue between the ancient and the contemporary, a true meeting of heritage and innovation, live on stage.