A South Asian Sonic Uprising in Shangri-La!
Going South & Lila Music are proud to present this year’s South Asian stage at Glastonbury 2025
Azaadi, created in partnership with Shangri-La Glastonbury will be a fiercely joyful, musically political space where melody, identity and resistance collide.
The legendary Bally Sagoo, the Godfather of South Asian DJ/Producers, makes his first ever Glastonbury appearance, Panjabi Hit Squad celebrate their second coming as Boiler Room legends, whilst Seedhe Maut, Kiss Nuka & Rafiki bring Live Hindi HipHop, Desi Electronica & South Asian Techno from India, plus Rising global producers/DJ’s Baalti play a LIVE Brown Electronic NYC Beats set.
A South Asian & SWANA Queer Euphoric takeover is happening courtesy of the Hungama & Nazar collectives plus Daytimers close out Glastonbury with an Epic Alterations session. Lastly Bobby Friction, Kizzi and Manara bring the energy behind their BBC Asian Network shows to this year’s new venue.
In 2024, Arrivals, a collaboration between Dialled In, Daytimers, Going South & Lila Music. made a massive impact as the first ever South Asian space at the legendary festival.
This year, the teams at Lila and Going South will take this forward, uniting to produce and curate a four-day journey of boundary-smashing sounds and radical community that is a statement of intent. South Asian music has entered the spotlight and is here to stay.
Lila is a non-profit organisation working to empower South Asian music professionals in the UK music industry, and Going South, set up by Bobby Friction, works in the same space and is dedicated to fighting South Asian invisibility within the same space.
The newly named Azaadi Stage (meaning freedom in Hindi, Panjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Persian, Pashto, and more) is a Pan-South Asian celebration of liberation – sonic, cultural, and spiritual. A Space for Radical Freedom!
Azaadi is more than a stage. It’s a call to dissolve borders — between nations, music genres, genders, and generations. It’s a sanctuary from surveillance, from patriarchal control, from nationalist pressure. It’s a sonic resistance, and a home for diasporic joy.
Running in parallel with all the musical celebration represented by this stage is a solemn mission to make real radical change happen within the UK music scene and specifically within UK Festivals. Not only is Azaadi a lightning rod for British & diaspora South Asian music and its elevation, but the stage itself is a training ground for the next generation of South Asian music creatives & professionals. Our belief in massive change runs deep within our DNA.
Azaadi’s musical offering spans alt-Desi & South Asian electronica, bass-heavy audio disruption, Desi Hip Hop and genre-defying diasporic sounds. Across the weekend, the stage will spotlight the new vanguard of South Asian artists — queer, political, decolonial and deeply rooted.
APPROVED QUOTES
Bally Sagoo – “I’m so excited I’ve been asked to play Glastonbury 2025 on the Azaadi stage. Ive been touring the world for four decades but have never played Glastonbury! I hope everyone’s ready for nothing but Desi bangers ‘Bally Sagoo’ stylee!”
Ryan Lanji (Hungama/Nazar) – “This isn’t just a set—it’s a cultural takeover. HUNGAMA and NAZAR on the Azaadi stage at Glastonbury is pure, unfiltered queer euphoria. We’re summoning SWANA and South Asian queer DJs to serve a soundscape that’s part Berghain basement, part Bollywood dream sequence and SWANA rebellion. It’s chaotic, it’s camp, it’s divine disruption”
Daytimers – “We’re thrilled to be threading together an Alterations Takeover of the Azaadi stage, platforming artists that have contributed to this landmark album on the eve of its release.”
Vikram Gudi (Executive Director Azaadi Stage) – “Azaadi returns in 2025 — not as a repeat, but as a rise. Powered by a global vision and heavyweight talent, this isn’t just a stage — it’s a statement. South Asians in music aren’t a trend; we are here to stay. Azaadi is laying down the foundations for the next decade and beyond. The creative force of South Asia is ancient, but its future is loud, proud, and permanent. Azaadi means freedom — and we’re here to make sure South Asian creativity never has to ask for it again.”
Bobby Friction (Executive/Creative Director Azaadi Stage) – “We are deliriously excited about Azaadi at Glastonbury in Shangri-La this year. Going South was one of the partners behind the Arrivals space in 2024 and working with Kaye & the team from Shangri-La was a dream. It’s important for a stage that’s all about representation to exist in space that’s already revolutionary in its outlook, and with people who understand. With that in mind the cry for freedom that Azaadi represents could only have happened in such an alternative and political part of Glastonbury.
Kaye Dunnings, Creative Director for Shangri-La Glastonbury comments: “We love creating new venues for Glastonbury, and this has been a brilliant new addition to the redesign. The set pieces have been used continually for many years, and have now landed in a new configuration to create a fully immersive experience for the massive audiences that will flock to Azaadi!
Azaadi at Shangri-La Glastonbury 2025
Dates: 26–29 June 2025
Produced by: Lila Music and Going South in partnership with Shangri-La Glastonbury
Stage Decor: Sophie Sarwar
Technical Production Manager & Designer: Somin Griffin-Dave
Instagram: @Azaadi.Stage, @GoingSouthFestival, @LilaMusicOrg
Press tour day on Thursday 26th June
For more information please contact shangrilaglastonbury@todayissundae.co.uk
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