Karsh Kale believes shattering racial barriers opened the world to Indian pop music
For Karsh Kale, the growing global curiosity around Indian pop has little to do with streaming spikes and everything to do with a long-overdue cultural shift
Kale will perform at Lollapalooza 2026. (Photo: Rafique Sayed)
For Indian origin musician Karsh Kale, the growing global curiosity around Indian pop and hybrid sounds has little to do with streaming spikes and everything to do with a long-overdue cultural shift. “What was always hard to push past was the racial barrier,” he says, reflecting on how global pop music was once seen through a narrowly defined lens.
“Back in the ’80s, pop music was generally white. It took people like Michael Jackson and Prince to break those boundaries. But Indian faces, Asian faces were not part of that,” he adds.
That, has finally changed as the 51-year-old musician points to the rise of K-pop and the growing visibility of artists from Asia and the Middle East. “People are now used to seeing Indian artists, Middle Eastern artists representing these global styles. You might just happen to be from India, but if you’re doing something global, it should be accepted as a global thing,” he says, adding that for him, the excitement lies not just in representation, but in how Indian musicians are actively expanding the sound itself.
“You have people mixing idioms now — Carnatic R&B singers, Indian samples, Indian instruments — and that’s introducing the world to an expansion of these styles. Audiences around the world are ready for this,” Karsh adds.
That perspective also informs his views on what it actually takes to build a sustainable music career today. Karsh is also wary of how younger artists are often conditioned to chase numbers. “A thousand enthusiastic fans investing in an artist is worth way more than a million streams. You can get two million streams, but that’s not paying your rent,” he says, rather bluntly.
That perspective also informs his views on what it actually takes to build a sustainable music career today. Karsh is also wary of how younger artists are often conditioned to chase numbers. “A thousand enthusiastic fans investing in an artist is worth way more than a million streams. You can get two million streams, but that’s not paying your rent,” he says, rather bluntly.
Instead, he argues, the focus should be on live audiences and genuine engagement. “A thousand people spending a little bit of money on what you’re putting out will pay your rent and sustain your career. It’s no longer about big numbers — it’s about the people that really care. The right audience,” says Karsh who will be returning to India in 2026, to perform at Lollapalooza music festival, produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live, in Mumbai.
“Back in 1991, when I was in high school, I attended the very first Lollapalooza. “It featured Fishbone, Ice-T, Siouxsie and the Banshees — all these underground bands. It really represented the cultural shift of the ’90s. The Woodstock of our generation,” he recalls. Standing in the crowd back then, Kale remembers thinking, “One day I’m going to be on that stage.” While he has since played festivals across the world, Lollapalooza remained unchecked. “So to finally hit that stage — and that too in Mumbai — I’m very, very excited.”
The set will also mark a new chapter creatively. Karsh confirms he will be playing a significant amount of material from his upcoming album, slated for release in late February or early March. “This album is really focused on me as a songwriter,” he says. “I’m the main vocalist on it. Earlier, I always had different singers and guests. This time, it’s about bringing together everything I’ve done in the past and also getting on stage with new songs I’ve written,” he adds.
That blend mirrors Karsh’s own life — growing up in New York City while remaining deeply rooted in Mumbai, where his mother was born and where he has family. “The sound of New York City simultaneously with the sound of Mumbai — it’s always been there in the music. Over my lifetime, those worlds have fused into a sound,” he says.
On stage, that fusion will be reflected through a wide-ranging ensemble spanning Indian classical musicians, newer artists and long-time collaborators. “It’s everything from the ancient to the modern. and I kind of sit in the middle of all of that,” he ends.
