Jodhpur RIFF turns 20 on 22 October, with seven India debuts and 250 Rajasthani musicians

Jodhpur RIFF, the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, is back for its 20th edition from 22 to 26 October 2026 at Mehrangarh Fort. The dates are no accident: the festival is built around Sharad Purnima, the brightest full moon of the year in North India, so the fort's courtyards get their best light for the closing nights.

If you have never been, RIFF is the rare Indian festival where the headliners are not the point. The point is the pairing of Rajasthan's hereditary musicians with artists from elsewhere, in a fort that was built for sound to carry.

Who is playing

More than 250 folk musicians from Rajasthan and other Indian states are on the bill, from the Manganiyar, Langa, Meghwal, Bhopa, Kalbelia, Meena and Bhil communities. The festival's Living Legends programme honours masters of vanishing instruments, including alghoza player Taga Ram Bhil and bhapang exponent Gafruddin Jogi.

Seven acts are making their India debut, according to the festival's announcement:

• DOBBY, the Filipino-Murrawari rapper and composer from Australia
• Camila y Silvio, a Latin American duo
• Michael McGoldrick, the UK uilleann piper and flute player
• Donald Shaw, the BAFTA-nominated Scottish composer
• Printz Board's Butter Funk Family from the US
• Martha Redbone Roots Project, American folk, blues and soul
• Guitare Voginha from Cabo Verde

Indian names include Hindustani vocalist Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande and violinist Ambi Subramaniam. One new project to watch is The Book of Queens, which puts Hindustani singer Smita Bellur, French opera singer Camille Bordet and Rajasthani kamaicha master Kode Khan Manganiyar on one stage. Artists from more than 12 countries are listed, including Colombia, Chile, Poland, Scotland and Estonia.

A first for RIFF

For the first time the programme includes a full-length spoken theatre production: Adishakti Theatre's Brhannala, a movement-driven retelling drawn from the Mahabharata.

Tickets and how it works

The festival's official schedule lists a Full Festival Pass, Day Passes, the J RIFF Dawns Pass at Rs 400 and the Moonrise Pass at Rs 600. A museum entry ticket is required for the fort festivities. Opening day is free for the city: the Bal Mela is free for school children and the evening concert is open to all.

Set times and the full day-by-day line-up are on the festival site, and passes can be booked there. For anyone planning a trip from Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, October is peak season in Jodhpur, so rooms near the fort tend to go early.

We are following the festival's own announcements and will add set times as they are published. Meanwhile, if RIFF is your gateway to folk, our artist pages are a good place to find more of what Indian roots music sounds like on the road.