Indian Summer Festival unveils first 2026 programming, spanning comedy and music
Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa, Rashmeet Kaur, Julian Brave NoiseCat, and Modern Biology at event that runs July 9 to 19
Rashmeet Kaur; Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa (photo by Ryan Jafarzadeh); and Modern Biology (photo by Andre Chan)
SUBVERSIVE COMEDY, genre-blurring Punjabi music, and a picnic with plant-generated sound are on the roster as Indian Summer Festival unveils its first slate of programming for 2026.
For its 16th year, the fest is titling its curatorial program Ragas for a Ruptured World, running July 9 to 19.
At the July 9 opening celebration, Sri Lankan, London-based standup comedian Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa, recognized for his deadpan, postcolonial, and often darkly funny humour, makes his Vancouver debut as part of his Paradise Gothic Tour. The evening also features Vancouver comedian Charlie Demers and a live performance by interdisciplinary artist Priyanka “Piu” Chakrabarti, who blends raga-inspired vocals with experimental electronic sound.
July 10, writer, documentary filmmaker, and journalist Julian Brave NoiseCat presents his national bestseller We Survived the Night, a book that blends memoir, history, and reportage. He’s joined in conversation by the fest’s executive artistic director Am Johal.
Punjabi singer and composer Rashmeet Kaur makes her Vancouver debut on July 11th at Sacred Sounds, New Worlds, giving a genre-blurring performance that fuses folk, Sufi, hip-hop, and R&B influences. Opening the evening, Asad Khan’s Sammah Project interprets devotional and classical traditions with electronic flourishes.
And July 13 features An Evening with Modern Biology at VanDusen Botanical Garden—an immersive outdoor performance by Modern Biology that transforms plant bioelectricity into live, improvised sound. The work draws on raga and ecological systems. The event is designed as a relaxed, picnic-style gathering with beloved local musician Tarun Nayer.
“While the world seems to be unravelling at the seams, we are coming back to the question of what art can possibly open up in this time of necessity, storytelling and defiance. We will resist this time by gathering together in new ways,” Johal said in the announcement.
Additional programming for Indian Summer Festival 2026 will be announced in the coming weeks 
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