5:30 AM to 7:30 AM
Jaswant Thada (outside Mehrangarh Fort)
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass/ J RIFF Dawns Pass Rs. 300/-

Sonam Dorji “Kheng” Sonam Dorji is a celebrated Bhutanese vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and cultural archivist. A musical journey that began in the remote village of Kaktong, Bhutan, Sonam spent his early teens performing original songs on national radio and composing in his native dialect, earning national recognition. He composed the first-ever nationally broadcast song in Khengpa, which earned him the name “Kheng” Sonam Dorji.
A master of the Drangyen (Bhutanese lute), Lim (flute), Dratong (zither), Chiwang (fiddle), Esraj (bowed lute) and many more, he is a pioneering figure in the attempts to document and preserve the musical traditions of Bhutan.
At Jodhpur RIFF, Sonam presents YakVibe – an unusual folk music experience featuring Druk folk musicians. From the high valleys of the Himalayas come four musicians carrying the songs, stories, and spirit of their homeland. Their music is a meeting place of devotion and dynamism, where age-old Bhutanese melodies dance with the colours of contemporary and fusion sounds. Their performances are often lauded not just for their musical excellence, but for the profound spiritual and cultural messages they convey.
The quartet features Sobit Singh (Lubang, Bass Guitar, Keyboard, Aungli), Pinaki Chakraborty (Drums, Chabdrung, Shakers), Ganga Ram (Auroo, Guitar, Metobobchu), and Sonam Dorji (vocals, Drangyen, Flute, Dobtsi). Together, they weave traditional tales with modern instrumentation, creating layered, textured performances that are both rooted and globally resonant. This Jodhpur RIFF performance is a rare chance to hear Bhutan live—music that travels lightly across borders, yet arrives heavy with meaning.

08:00 AM to 11:00 AM/ 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Solo, guided immersive walk throughout the Mehrangarh Fort and nearby (60 – 80min)
Tickets INR. 800.00

An immersive, pedestrian-based mobile work, en route creates an experience where the personal and public, the imagined and concrete, converge. It is designed to facilitate one audience member at a time, experiencing an enduring memory-based personal connection to a place. A Jodhpur RIFF and India debut, en route is reimagined as a journey through the majestic Mehrangarh Fort – courtyards, hidden stairs, jharokas, and winding lanes transformed into living stages of reflection, memory, and surprise. Snippets of voice, music, poetic fragments, and philosophical musings interweave with onsite sounds and the trace of human presence, inviting you to see the space anew, as if for the first time. Experience an unusual relation with the place, as you move through a landscape of moments in motion, both discovered and co-created. Expect to be guided on a journey beyond space and time with this audio-based site-oriented project.

Please wear appropriate, weather relevant and comfortable clothing, and good walking shoes.

en route is presented by One Step At A Time Like This and Richard Jordan Productions in collaboration with Jodhpur RIFF

9.00 AM to 10.30 AM
Chokelao Mahal
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

A former athlete, a functional trainer and an award-winning, young, third generation classical dancer, Tarini Tripathi grew up surrounded by Kathak. By popular demand, she returns with her unique legacy to Jodhpur RIFF, to facilitate an invigorating session of dance, introducing us to this beautiful form of movement. Kathak derives much of its beauty from subtle expressions, graceful hand movements and intricate foot movement enhanced by the resounding bells of the ghungroo worn around the dancer’s ankles. Tarini has trained and performed alongside her mother Gauri Sharma Tripathi and grandmother Padma Sharma, both eminent names in Kathak. She has successfully incorporated dancing into her career in fitness training too, advocating the artform as a way of core building and balance training. This session gives us a taste of Tarini’s simple philosophy, that dance is a way of life in every sense.

Jodhpur RIFF presents rustic dance ‘bootcamps’, facilitated by noted practitioners and trainers. Short, intense, and rigorous, these camps will give participants an experiential insight into the movements and practice of traditional dance forms.

Please Note:
This is the one-and-only, stand-alone session of this dance form. Please wear/ bring appropriate and comfortable clothing that allows free movement such as T-shirts, long/loose shirts or blouses, tights, loose track or harem pants or long skirts. Do carry your own rehydration and drying material. Be prepared to sweat – it is a boot camp!!

9:45 AM to 5:00 PM
Venues throughout the Mehrangarh Museum
Museum Entry Ticket/ Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Discover the myriad hues of the traditional dance forms of Rajasthan, reflecting its distinctive root traditions, some popular and some rare, including: Teraah Taali – known for agility and grace, where women move to and produce the reverberating sounds of teraah i.e. thirteen little cymbals or manjira that are fastened to their waist, wrists, elbows, and hands, simultaneously showcasing their skills of movement, balance and concentration; the Kalbeliya, a dance form that evolved when the traditional snake charmers of the state could no longer work with snakes; Khari Dance– revolving around a heartfelt dialogue between a couple, performed with a wooden basket called Khari; Tamak, or bam rasiya is a folk form from Alwar. Popularly performed to celebrate the harvest season, Tamak is characterised by huge Nagadas (Bam) that set the beat and the wooden sticks decorated with flowers and feathers that are used by the dancers; Bakri ka Mashak; the captivating vocals of Young Langa Musicians!

11:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Chokelao Bagh
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

The Music of Bhutan with Sonam Dorji and other musicians
In conversation with Sonam Dorji, with demonstrations by various artists. Celebrated Bhutanese vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and cultural archivist, Sonam Dorji is a master of the Drangyen (Bhutanese lute), Lim (flute), Dratong (zither), Chiwang (fiddle), Esraj (bowed lute) and many more. He founded the Music of Bhutan Research Centre (MBRC) in 2008. Under his leadership, MBRC has documented over 170 elder musicians, retrieved and remastered 1968 royal court recordings, produced the first book profiling Bhutanese musicians, established archives and music education initiatives. Some of their rare interviews remain among the few surviving firsthand records of Bhutan’s rich musical heritage.
A musical journey that began in the remote village of Kaktong, Bhutan, Sonam spent his early teens performing original songs on national radio and composing in his native dialect, earning national recognition. He composed the first-ever nationally broadcast song in Khengpa, which earned him the name “Kheng” Sonam Dorji.
Sonam founded the Hidden Kingdom World Music Festival, the Music4All Institute, and the Music Research and Archive Center, with the vision to encourage cultural collaborations and revitalise the musical traditions of Bhutan. He has also presented Bhutanese music at festivals and conferences across the world- from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Jaipur Literature Festival, continuing to deepen global understanding of Bhutan’s rich musical heritage.

Jodhpur RIFF’s interactive session series ‘In Residence’ gives the audience a rare opportunity to meet fascinating artists from various root traditions. The sessions encourage audience members to engage and discuss challenges, forms and traditional practice through performances, lecture-demonstrations and facilitated conversations. As more of Rajasthan and India’s rich traditional cultural heritage disappears, Jodhpur RIFF puts the spotlight on some of its remarkable music forms and traditions (some nearing extinction) and opens dialogue to surface and explore how these challenges could be addressed.

3:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Chokelao Bagh
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Luke Wallace
Luke’s music, whether you hear it at a festival or a rally, is equal parts art and activism. Over the course of his decade-long journey of touring, recording, and organizing for the betterment of the planet, Luke has become a highly sought-after voice in the fight against climate change. His unique brand of politically
charged folk has earned him a loyal following and a reputation as a modern-day Pete Seeger. Featured at the 2023 UN Water Conference, Luke’s music searches for hope at the brims-calm, yet carrying a sense of urgency to rise and meet the challenges of our time. Acoustic, often choral, rooted in folk traditions, his sound feels both intimate and anthemic. So much of his music is a response to the oddities of modern life, emerging from the margins, finding ways to grow and thrive even in the most challenging conditions.

This is Luke’s premiere appearance in India.
Jodhpur RIFF introduces the ‘singer-songwriter’ tradition to its line-up this year.

5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Chokelao Bagh
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

An evening with the stalwarts of Rajasthani performing arts.

Barkat Khan Manganiyar
At 65, Barkat Khan’s resonating voice carries a rare serenity that instantly touches the listener. Barkat Khan has been singing since the age of 11. Like most Manganiyaars, his songs are those passed down from one generation to the next. Today, he is among the handful of Manganiyar musicians who remember and can perform in the Jangda shaili (songs of war, valour, heroes and love for the land), in its original form.

The themes of his songs are also devotional, dedicated to deities like Lord Shiva and Krishna. The highlight of his performance is the joyful, celebratory raga, Khamaj, which he believes to carry the true heartbeat of Rajasthani folk. In his seasoned voice, Khamaj brings life to Rajasthan’s songs of love, longing, joy, and devotion, all at once.

Barkat Khan is a performer and a teacher. These days, he is mostly dedicated to teaching young artists the old songs that are slowly disappearing, ensuring that the soulful heritage of Rajasthani folk music continues to live on.

Lakha Khan Manganiyar
Master vocalist and the greatest living exponent of the Sindhi Sarangi. Though the sarangi is not a traditional Manganiyar instrument, Padma Shri Lakha ji has put his own stamp on their traditional repertoire with his mastery of this instrument. A living legend, Lakha Khan is not only a virtuoso on the sarangi, he sings fluently in Sindhi, Punjabi, Hindi, Marwari and a variety of dialects, his knowledge and skill spanning the divide between folk and classical music.
He was the one who commented “classical always remains in control while we, who have learnt on our own, take liberties. At times we go out of tune but at times we discover something new as well.”
His first public performances were in the late 60’s and 70’s under the guidance of the late Komal Kothari, a highly regarded Indian historian and ethnomusicologist.
Today, Lakha Khan is one of the last remaining Manganiyars to have mastered this complex instrument and to carry forward the centuries-old musical tradition of Rajasthani folk and Sufi music. He has performed extensively across Rajasthan and India, and internationally in the U.S. and Europe. In 2011, Lakha ji performed in ‘The legendary music of Rajasthan’ at the opening of the recently refurbished National Museum of Scotland. The performance was presented by Jodhpur RIFF.

Sawan Khan Manganiyar
Sawan Khan Manganiyar stands tall as a Sufi singer in Rajasthan. His awe-inspiring voice and sheer depth of knowledge make for an unforgettable listening experience. He hails from Dabdi, a small village near Jaisalmer and learnt the basics of Sindhi Sufi gayaki from his father Bhikke Khan. His passion led him to further hone his craft under the tutelage of Ustad Bhikey Khan in Sindh, Pakistan for 8 years. He now travels the globe singing primarily in Sindhi/ Sindhri and introducing audiences to this distinct genre of music. His repertoire includes poetry and music by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Bulleh Shah, and Ghulam Farid among others… bringing to us a concert of some truly rare musical gems.

Jasnath ji ki Siddha (venue TBC)
Practiced by the followers of the 15th century saint, Jasnath ji Maharaj of Bikaner. Legend has that Jasnath ji was an incarnation of Shivji, and as an infant, he would bathe in fire, and it is in honor of this legend that the fire dance is practiced by his followers even today. Performed as the culmination of jaagarans or all-night vigils, fire dance is a practice that requires incredible mastery of the senses and is equal parts ritual and art.

8:30 PM onwards
Zenana Courtyard
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Ghewar Khan, Feroze Khan, Darre Khan
Brothers Ghewar Khan Manganiyar and Darre Khan Manganiyar are the undisputed masters of the kamaycha, a string instrument completely unique to the Manganiyar community. A unique Rajasthani string instrument, the kamaycha (a round bodied, fretless string instrument, variant of the Persian kamanche) is rarely heard today, with few musicians able to play the instrument as masterfully as brothers Ghewar and Darre Khan Manganiyar can. Sons and students of the late Padma Shri Sakar Khan ji and custodians of his legacy the brothers present a special showcase of some of the most unusual, significant, and legendary tunes of their traditional repertoire on the rustic, earthy and soulful kamaicha. Tying the trio together is their brother Feroze, arguably the finest dholak player in Rajasthan. The brothers have made a name for themselves around the world, for their exquisite musical artistry, soul-stirring performances, and collaborations with classical and contemporary artistes from India and abroad. They are also teachers of their tradition, sharing the concern and care for the future of the legacy that they’ve inherited.

In its present form, the kamaicha comes with 10-17 strings and is played with a bow. Made of mango wood, its rounded resonator is covered with goat skin. Three or four of its strings are goat intestine called roda and joda while the other 14 strings of steel are ‘jhara’. The kamaicha (also called kamaycha, but completely different from the spiked fiddle from Iran – the kamancheh) bow is prepared from khejari; wood and horse tail hairs or synthetic thread. Small bells (ghungroo) are attached to the bow to produce rhythmic jingle along the notes.

Karolina Cicha
Singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and often one-woman-orchestra, Karolina is known for her masterful vocals with accordion in one hand, keyboard in another and drums by her feet. Equally comfortable in singing in Yiddish and Esperanto (yes!), she is primarily committed to singing and performing tunes and songs of the Tartars – a minority Turkic and Finno-Ugric culture, sometimes understood as part Hungarian/ part Mongolian – and brings a Polish sensibility to her music.

At Jodhpur RIFF, she presents some of her newer compositions with her accompanists, reflecting her current direction of musical exploration: the touchpoints between tradition and modernity as well as the ones between the music of the Podlasie minorities and modern poetry.

Karolian has performed all over the world, including TFF Rudolstadt (Germany),World Music Festival (Slovakia), WOMEX 2015 Official Selection (Hungary), Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Romania) and LaMama Theatre (USA) among many others.

The Cool Desert Project
Original moods, bluesy riffs, desert vibes, and off-beat dance grooves… The Cool Desert Project comes back to its home after a gap of two years, bringing together some of the traditional folk favourites and the ease of Jazz in an original, upbeat musical experience. A unique collaboration that brings together Mumbai’s jazz scene and Rajasthani folk traditions, The Cool Desert Project reinvents classics like Kesariya Balam, Hitchki and Soni Ghar, but with a shot of Jazz . At its core, The Cool Desert Project is SAZ, – Sadiq, Asin and Zakir Langa – the rising stars of Rajasthani folk, and Rhys Sebastian (Saxontoast), saxophonist par excellence, leader of Bombay Brass and The Bartender. One of the country’s most sought after Saxophonists, Rhys is a household name in Mumbai’s jazz scene. Trained in the classical piano, clarinet, and saxophone, he is a highly versatile musician juggling fusion, electro swing, jazz, and reinvented Bollywood. Rhys Sebastian’s saxophone with Asin Khan’s exquisite Sindhi sarangi and strong vocals; Sadiq’s mellifluous dholak and the incredible khartal and poignant supporting vocals of Zakir, this collaboration comes full circle with ace bassist Ralph Menezes, jazz keyboardist Rahul Wadhwani and the vibrant and effervescent Vaibhav Wavikar on drums. Initially developed as a collaboration at Jodhpur RIFF, The Cool Desert Project has been a crowd favourite for over 2 years now.

This collaboration is a Jodhpur RIFF commission

Helder Moutinho
One of the most charismatic and genuine singers of our time, Helder Moutinho dons the many roles of interpreter, composer and poet in the Fado musical tradition. The Portuguese Fado (literally, “fate”), is an art form renowned for its profoundly melancholic character. Helder’s songs often speak of the harsh realities of life, with a bittersweet sense of resignation and hope, invoking a deep sense of saudade or yearning. Over the course of 2 decades, Helder has dedicated himself to the interpretation of traditional fados with their respective founding poems or with new poems (some of his own), and some original compositions. His more recent music, made in collaboration with some of the most talented contemporary poets and composers, have received great praise from critics who believe that many of these new songs will go on to become future traditional fados.

At Jodhpur RIFF, Helder is accompanied by maestro Ricardo Parreira on the Portuguese guitar, André Ramos (bass guitar), Miguel Silva (guitar) and Ciro Bertini (bass) in a set that brings a deep sense of nostalgia and longing to life onstage.

This is Helder’s premiere appearance in India.

Jatayu
Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Jatayu is a bold revisiting of the much-revered Carnatic music tradition of South India. Jatayu uses their expert understanding of the rules of Carnatic music to find ways to move around the structural rigidities of mainstream Carnatic music. In their music, the cool, laid-back vibe of jazz meets the raw energy of rock, all woven together with a steady Carnatic base, making three otherwise niche genres accessible to audiences from across the world. Intricate Carnatic ragas are reimagined on an electric guitar, backed by impeccable vocals that can only be mastered from years of formal training. Watching Jatayu live is an exhilarating experience, a ‘musical mathematics’ where centuries-old tradition and contemporary soundscapes collide to create something truly unique and immersive. The lineup consists of Sahib Singh on guitars, Manu Krishnan on drums and vocals, Kashyap Jaishankar on bass, and Shylu Ravindran on Kanjira and Mridangam

Midnight onwards
Salimkot
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Killabeatmaker

Hilder Brando Osorno is a Colombian DJ, singer, and songwriter from Medellín, a pioneering Afro-Colombian voice. His music is built upon his indigenous roots, with the rich rhythms of Colombia and the Valle de Aburrá, blending them with deep basslines and urban beats to create a sound that is deeply rooted, yet never once seeming out of place in clubs across the world. Known for his bold cross-cultural experiments, much of his music also pays homage to the dwindling natural biodiversity of Colombia. At Jodhpur RIFF, Killabeatmaker features an explosive solo DJ set preceded by a live band featuring Guadalupe Giraldo (tambora, gaita, vocals) and Yulian Perc (alegre, congas, vocals).
Together, they bring a raw, high-energy experience where ancient sounds and modern electronics collide, moving effortlessly between freestyle, percussion, and soaring vocals. Lookout for the beginnings of a new collaboration with Rajasthani folk artists!

This is Killabeatmaker’s premiere appearance in India.