Hi friends,

I got a new job and took a summer break on the newsletter, but I am back with the goods. FOR real. I looked at my compressed time with the tech job and fashion company. Had figured out what I loved in what I was doing and what I was ready to drop or reduce. The truth is, I missed writing this. I’m still debating if this will be biweekly or monthly, so let me know if you have a preference, or if you prefer more events/shorter writeups or anything.

Also, look forward to me releasing the video version of this on my IG to get the virality going on my lil cultural curation.

And here we go!

[above image: a little teaser image of my next video/art project for Zorsay. Photo by Ayman Siam]

Friday Aug 28

Aug 28 – Karachi Community Radio: 9 Years w/ Bianca Oblivion, Asad Khan, Yas Meen Selectress🌶️🌶️🌶️

Elsewhere, Bushwick • 10:30 PM, curfew 4 AM • $46.66

Most community events don’t last 9 years. This one kicked off my obsession with the diaspora music scene when it came to NYC a few years ago.

KCR started in Karachi in 2017 and has been tireless about showcasing the best sounds from around the world in Karachi (a city w no legal nightclubs), NYC, SF and LA. Now they’re taking over an entire club in Bushwick. There will be a staggering variety of house and techno music but most of all, just inventive folks from several diasporas like Bianca Oblivion, Asad Khan, Yas Meen Selectress. Other highlights - Lahori rapper Blal Bloch and KCR founder Jahanzeb playing under the name URLHUG.

Founder Jahanzeb Khawaja was key in building the Pakistani electronic music scene, a place where rave venues are totally banned and he shared:

Also, I will be running the merch booth at the event, with limited run KCR t-shirts + some pieces and giveaways from my brand Zorsay!

Aug 28 – SLOWSPIN Live 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Barzakh Cafe, 147 Utica Ave, Crown Heights • 8–10 PM

Zeerak Ahmed is Slowspin: she makes music built from matrilineal folk traditions, devotional singing, ambient texture and electronics, in Urdu, Purbi and English. Zeerak was an artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works this summer, crafting her latest album AFTERIMAGE. That release show was one of my favorite shows of the year and I apologize for not informing you. I just can’t speak highly enough how her and how fun her live shows are, so you get another shot in an intimate venue for a dream-folk Slowspin set.

I asked Zeerak if she would tell me why people should attend the show:

Aug 28 – Bryant Park Picnic Performance: Accordion Festival

Bryant Park Lawn, Midtown • 7–10 PM • Free

The accordion in global genres: Cajun from Louisiana’s Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs, Qawwali and Khayal from Karachi’s Saami Brothers that I’ve written about, and psychedelic cumbia from Brooklyn’s Chicha Libre, back on the road after a long hiatus. The Saami brothers are always a true treat. Maybe it’s a post work hang before you dress up for the other events :)

Saturday Aug 29 - Sunday Aug 30

Aug 29–30 – Rovaco Dance Festival 2026

Brooklyn Ballet & The Mark O’Donnell Theater, Downtown Brooklyn • 5 PM social, 6:30 PM performances

Rohan Bhargava’s company has been throwing the Rovaco Dance Party for seven years; this is the first time it is a full festival. Two nights, two programs, contemporary dance-theater that puts queerness and Indianness in the same room. Program A (Sat) has Sonny Singh and Miwi La Lupa playing harmonium and trumpet, plus Ishita Mili’s Bharatanatyam-meets-hip-hop (see more on her later). Program B (Sun) has Compass Trio on sitar and tabla and a staged reading by Hasan ul Haq with National Queer Theater.

The pre-show is an hour of complimentary Indian street food made by their resident chef Ashmita Biswas.

Aug 29 – Fontainhas Jazz Night

Fontainhas, 28 Jay St, DUMBO • 6:30–9:30 PM

Shailen Patel and Braun Productions playing live jazz at my fav Goan cafe on Jay Street. RSVP through Posh.

Aug 29 – Miss Universe Pakistan Watch Party & Celebration

Manhattan, exact location shared after RSVP • 8 PM

Muskan Effendi (@muskanistani) competed in this year’s Miss Universe Pakistan - the franchise’s fourth edition, decided Aug 19 in Manila. I helped Muskan with styling through the run-up and lent her Zorsay pieces for it. The night is a group viewing of the 2026 finale at a private apartment plus a mini pasarela training session, cuz of course she is also a crown salsa dancer. Dress code is green or white.

Aug 29 – Dragistan 🌶️🌶️🌶️

3 Dollar Bill, 260 Meserole St, Bushwick • 10 PM–4 AM • $40 GA tickets available as of writing

LaWhore Vagistan, the drag persona of Tufts performance studies professor Kareem Khubchandani, hosts their annual showcase of South Asian queer performance. It’s two sets of drag from artists across the Subcontinent and diaspora, plus vendors all night, now in its fourth year after a 2023 start on Fire Island. This year’s guests are King Molasses, winner of the first season of King of Drag, and Bijli, a fixture of New York’s desi drag scene since the 90s. RSVP and tickets through the venue page.

Sunday Aug 30

Aug 30 – Silsila: Resonance - The Living Journey of South Asian Classical Music

Abrons Arts Center Playhouse, Lower East Side • 7 PM • $51.30

Jayanta Banerjee on sitar and Pandit Samir Chatterjee on tabla, in a 300-seat room. Chatterjee played the Nobel ceremony in Oslo and accompanied Ravi Shankar; Banerjee trained in the Rampur and Maihar gharanas. There’s also a sitar duet between Banerjee and his student Tehreem Khan, who is presenting the whole night through her Ruh Arts Foundation, and a composed finale with violin, bansuri and dholak.

Tuesday Sep 1 - Wednesday Sep 2

Sep 1–2 – IMGE Studios Launch Week 🌶️🌶️🌶️

160 Broadway, FiDi • Tue 7:15 PM and 8 PM, Wed 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM

My homie Ishita Mili signed a lease!! Her troupe IMGE now has its studio room downtown, and as far as I can tell it’s the first dedicated South Asian-run dance and wellness space in the city. Launch week is open to anyone: Tuesday is a 7:15 open rehearsal of and an 8 PM pop-up class with Ishita; Wednesday is a 7:30 collab class with Sang and Shiv - Sang is just off touring Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen - and a 9:30 open floor. Highly recommend, even if you move like you’re buffering.

Wednesday Sep 2

Sep 2 – Mirror Embroidery Workshop

Bolo Bolo Cafe & Bakery, Cobble Hill • 7–9 PM • $60

Sajnee of sajlearnseverything and Milli of Parampara teaching mirror work, and you leave with an embroidered bag. I gotta get to a workshop like this because I’m obsessed with this style.

Thursday Sep 3

Sep 3 – Picnic Performances: Grace Kelly, Ashni 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Bryant Park • 7–9 PM • Free, no ticket, just show up

Programmed by the Asian American Arts Alliance. Ashni is a New York singer-pianist threading North Indian folk through jazz and R&B, with a debut album out this fall. She’s also a high school friend and I’m very excited to hear the new material. We previously wrote about her show with Slowspin. Apparently, blankets are free on a first-come basis and the lawn fills early.

Sep 3 – Emily Wilson + Jhumpa Lahiri: Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea

Strand Book Store, 6th floor, 826 Broadway • 7 PM

Wilson, who has showstopper translations of the Odyssey and the Iliad, is speaking on her new book about what translation does to the ancient world. Jhumpa Lahiri, a translator herself, moderates. The Strand lists 300 tickets.

Saturday Sep 5

Sep 5 – Merope & Shahzad Ismaily

Public Records, Gowanus • 7 PM

Lithuanian folk pulled through drone and improvisation, with Shahzad Ismaily, who has played on a very long list of records (400) and is one of the most insanely connected collaborators in this city. Also, obviously, a strong name. Can also share here that Shahzad’s collaborator, Slowspin, will be opening if you miss her Barzakh show!

Sep 5–6 – Chinese Artists on the Edge

Asia Society, Upper East Side

Five films across two afternoons, guest curated by Sam C. Mac: Zhang Yuan’s Beijing Bastards and White Lines, Chen Yifei’s Reverie on Old Shanghai, Ding Jiancheng’s The Paper, and Li Wake’s The Crack, restored by the Chinese Independent Film Archive after years of circulating only through underground screenings. The Paper has a Q&A after.

Wednesday Sep 9

Sep 9 – Summer Movies in the Park: The Namesake

Fort Greene Park, Central Lawn • 6 PM, film at dusk • Free

The mayor’s mom, Mira Nair, outdoors, in Fort Greene. Rooftop Films and the Fort Greene Park Conservancy. It is the 20th anniversary screening, and it opens with a Q&A between Jhumpa Lahiri (she made it twice in this listing), Mira Nair and Kal Penn at 7:30, before the film starts after sundown. Come early to picnic. RSVP is free through Eventbrite, though bad weather will cancel it.

Sep 9 – Seasons of Fury: Rozina Ali with Isaac Chotiner 🌶️🌶️🌶️

NYPL, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Berger Forum • 7–8 PM • Free, ticketed • In person and livestream

My friend Rozina Ali’s book follows four Muslim families across eight decades to trace how surveillance, law and the War on Terror hardened into Islamophobia in America. I just got my copy in the mail and hope to share more in a future issue, and there will def be more to say about it.

Sep 9–13 – Christine Choy Retrospective

Anthology Film Archives, East Village

Nine newly preserved films from Choy, the co-founder of Third World Newsreel, Asian CineVision, and CAAM. Who Killed Vincent Chin? screens Sept 11 and 13 in the Academy Film Archive restoration and is a hugely important Asians in America story.

Choy pointed a camera at Chinatown garment workers, incarcerated women, refugee families, and the Mississippi Delta for fifty years. The retrospective also runs at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema and at Asia Society through AAIFF.

Friday Sep 11

Sep 11 (through Dec 4) – Fursat Lecture Series

Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

Nikita Shah taught me a lot about fabric and the most patient forms of block printing and natural dye work. And now her public kalamkari practice has turned into a teaching series - four evenings of South Asian art history with guest lecturer Vinit Vyas, Sep 11, Oct 9, Nov 6 and Dec 4, 6:30–9 PM, each lecture followed by drawing and kalamkari. The Sep 11 session is on Amrita Sher-Gil and portraiture.

Saturday Sep 12

Sep 12 – Laylit: 8 Year Anniversary 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Elsewhere, Bushwick • 5 PM to 4 AM • 21+

Eight years of the Arab/SWANA party that turned dabke, shaabi and mahraganat into a New York dance floor and then took it to ten other cities. It’s a guaranteed good time. I have made friends in the bathroom line (hi Kariem!).

Sep 12 – Brooklyn Baithak: First Timers

HAPPYMONDAY Studio, 66 Green St, Greenpoint • 6:30–10:30 PM

Raga-adjacent house concert for emerging artists, and this round is built for people who have never been to one. I love these showcases! Very chill, a good size, artist driven, non-commercial. The July session I listed here sold out as they tend to by the week before.

Sep 12 – Books & Burlesque

Caveat, Lower East Side • Doors 9 PM, show 9:30–11:30 PM • $41.91 standard, $45 at the door, $11.63 livestream • 21+

Five authors read from new books and each is paired with a burlesque or drag performer making an act out of it. Malavika Kannan reads from Unprecedented Times and Bobuq Sayed from No God But Us, with Nicholas Boggs, Emma Copley Eisenberg and Harriet Clark. Malai and RuAfza perform among others.

Sunday Sep 13

Sep 13 – The Nursery: Benji B, Nabihah Iqbal [DJ]🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Gowanus • 3 PM

I said in April I would keep writing about Nabihah Iqbal and here we are. Daytime, outdoors, in the plant nursery, with Benji B. I went to this side area of the Public Records for the first time over the weekend and it is shockingly fun. The right size of dancefloor and acoustics where you can talk but also boogie. Nabihah hits every time, and also has an album in the works for the fall.

Sep 13 – Second Sundays

Pioneer Works, Red Hook • 12–6 PM • Free

Monthly open house: studios open, artists-in-residence around to ask questions of, no ticket required. This is a great afternoon plan for a lower key hang.

Sep 13 – Public Service: Season 5 finale

Maria Hernandez Park, Bushwick • 2 PM • Free

The fifth season of Toribio and Mickey Perez’s free outdoor dance party ends in Bushwick. First record at 2, Karlala on sound, all ages, everything on vinyl. I haven’t been to this, but it’s broadly loved and this will be the last one until next year. No tickets needed.

Looking Ahead [details in next issue]

Sep 16 – Ankur Thakkar release of “Blow Yourself Up” • McNally Jackson Books, Seaport, Gowanus • 7 PM

Sep 16 – Tyondai Braxton, Qasim Naqvi • Public Records, Gowanus • 7 PM

Sep 16 – Technology and Storytelling: Ken Liu and The Passing of the Dragon • Asia Society, 725 Park Ave, Upper East Side • 6:30–7:30 PM • $30, $20 members

Sep 19 – Queens Night Market returns • New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park • 4 PM to midnight • On break for the US Open until then, then Saturdays through Oct 31

Sep 19–20 – Erasing Borders Dance Festival • The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, Upper East Side • 6 PM both nights

Sep 20 – Tarka Mela • The Meadows, Bushwick • 4 PM • $10 early bird

Sep 27 – Nilima Sheikh: Fractured Skies opens • MoMA, Midtown • Through June 2027

Sep 30 – Jaipur Literary Festival New York 2026 • Asia Society, 725 Park Ave, Upper East Side • 3:30–9 PM • $30, $20 members

Oct 3 – El Souq: The Other Side of the Bridge • Industry City, Sunset Park • 11 AM–6 PM

Oct 5 – A4 2026 Annual Benefit: Unbreakable Ties • Opera House, 5 Doyers St, Chinatown • After party 9 PM–12 AM

Oct 10 – Lahore Literary Festival in New York 2026 • Asia Society, 725 Park Ave, Upper East Side • 11 AM–6 PM • $40, $30 members • Speakers not announced yet

That’s the rundown. Woo. Thanks for making it down here.

If any of these events resonated, please share this newsletter with a friend who’d appreciate it. It is a labor of love that isn’t so viral, but is meaningful to those of us making events and building community.

And as always, got something juicy to promote? DM me or reply here.

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

-Shahzad and Bodhi (pup)

Hi friends,

Spring showed up and the calendar went feral. I spent the winter figuring out how to balance this newsletter with a bunch of other creative and entrepreneurial projects, and I think I cracked it. The trick seems to be automating the scutwork so I can focus on my take. I also made it to about 12 art exhibits in the past month and made a tool to find all the free ones — look forward to that soon.

This issue covers the first half of April, which is stacked with diaspora music as usual, a surprising amount of food events, and a few gallery walks to justify your art-kid self-image. I’ll be at a few of these. Say hi if you spot me.

Thursday Apr 2

Apr 2 – Curating Global Taste 🌶️🌶️🌶️

36 Orchard St, Lower East Side • 6 PM • Free

Rajiv Menon of Rajiv Menon Contemporary (an LA gallery of South Asian art) and Nisha Khater of Society of Cloth (a South Asian-centric multilabel shop), in conversation. Menon is someone I’ve been curious to meet as he works with several of my friends or artquaintances, like painter Sanié Bokhari. SoC puts on thoughtful events from the several I’ve attended. Say hi.

Apr 2 – Azadi: ZAINAB, Arianna Danae, Sidd 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Gowanus • 10:30 PM • From $23.69

Azadi is DJ and producer ZAINAB’s (fka ZEEMUFFIN) global dance party — rooted in New York underground club culture, spotlighting sounds from the global south. This is the first night of a weekly Thursday residency at Public Records running through April. Arianna Danae and Sidd (visiting from Pakistan!) open the run. Say hi.

Other Azadi dates:

• Thu Apr 9 — w/ Arthi, Eden

• Thu Apr 16 — w/ Aku, DJ Guari

Apr 2 – Insider’s Tour: DUMBO First Thursday Gallery Walk

A.I.R. Gallery, DUMBO • 6 PM • Free • RSVP Required

The DUMBO galleries stay open late on first Thursdays and there’s a free guided tour from 6–7 PM. If you’ve been meaning to actually walk into the galleries you speed past on the way to the waterfront, this is your nudge.

Apr 2 – Hala Alyan Reading

Abrons Arts Center, Lower East Side • 6–8 PM • Free

Guided meditation, writing exercises, and a reading by Palestinian poet and scholar Hala Alyan. Part of the Kinstillatory Mappings series, centering anti-colonial care practices.

Been to her readings before, bought her book, and she may make you cry.

Apr 2 – SALON CREATIVES: VOL III

Egyptian Riviera, West Village • 6:30 PM • Free

Monthly salon for working creatives at Egyptian Riviera. Dress code is “splendor fair” — top hats welcome, gowns encouraged. The aim is for it not to be a bland networking event. More of a wine-glass-to-weird-places conversation night.

Friday Apr 3

Apr 3 – Kimjang Night: Make Kimchi Together!

Fabrik DUMBO, DUMBO • 6 PM • $54.44

A hands-on kimjang (the process of making kimchi) night hosted by Andrea Kim where you make this delicious food from scratch and take it home. Kimjang is one of those traditions that’s as much about preserving stories as it is about preserving cabbage. Smells incredible. The Fabrik community is quite lovely and social.

Apr 3–15 – Muslim Writers Collective: LIVE

Chain Theatre, 312 W 36th St, Midtown • $25 (Pay What You Can, min $7)

A multi-night storytelling series at the NYC Fringe Festival hosted by Hamdan Azhar. Each open mic night features a fresh lineup of Muslim comedians, poets, writers, and first-time performers.

Full disclosure: I co-founded the Bay Area chapter so I have the tea (kettle). The NYC chapter promotes last-minute, which is why I can never write about it and it’s hard to go .

Show dates:

• Fri Apr 3 at 9:20 PM

• Sun Apr 12 at 12:20 PM

• Tue Apr 15 at 9:20 PM

Apr 3-5– The Architecture of Genocide: Gaza Before and After October 2023

Chocolate Factory Theater, Astoria • All weekend event with specific programs • Free

A 3D exhibition mapping Gaza’s infrastructure, “before” and “after” the ongoing genocide. These maps document systematic destruction with precision. Important and sobering work.

Saturday Apr 4

Apr 4 – RE-LOVED: Pop-Up Closet Sale

SOMMWHERE, Lower East Side • 11:30 AM • Free

A community closet sale at a cute event space. I love when people sell directly from their own wardrobes. Please God do not let me buy any more clothes — I just donated two giant bags.

Apr 4 – Sabah Elkhair Pop-Up & Art Show at Kotn

Kotn, 65 Orchard St, Lower East Side • Opening Night Apr 4, open for one week • Free

Sabah Elkhair is bringing their first NYC pop-up and art show to Kotn on Orchard St. Photography by Dahlia Dandashi. Opening night dress code: come in your pajamas, ready for a pillow fight. I have some lime green Pakola-themed pajamas that really needed this event. Runs for a week and open to the public.

Apr 4 – Queer Fake Shaadi

3 Dollar Bill, East Williamsburg • 10 PM • $30–$45

Shaadi means wedding in Urdu/Hindi and this is a brilliant concept. 3 Dollar Bill might be the hottest queer club in town right now. It’s definitely the most creative and I adore the events it hosts (this is also the venue for the Queer Diwali Ball I love). Don’t know the DJs but bet on the format — this one’s going to catch. Or at least be an excuse for some absurd outfits stuck in the back of closets.

Apr 4 (ongoing) Courtly Visions: Indian Miniature Painting

Aicon Art, 35 Great Jones St, NoHo • Free

Aicon Art’s first exhibition devoted to Indian miniature painting, spanning Mughal, Deccani, Rajasthani, and Pahari courts. Get up in there with a magnifying glass (provided) because this is so cool. It was a form I hadn’t really appreciated when seeing it from further away in a museum. They used individual hair brushes to get some of the fine detail here. There’s also a companion exhibiton of work from contemporary artists from Lahore, Pakistan, and I loved Humaira Abid’s wood carvings (as featured at the top here).

Sunday Apr 5

Apr 5 – nasha table x bolo bolo pop up

Bolo Bolo, Cobble Hill • 11 AM

I keep meaning to go here, but haven’t, because I despise a line in my own hood. However this weekend, Nasha Table’s slow-fermented sourdough meets Bolo Bolo’s South Asian flavors: paneer tikka, chili cheese toast, and methi paratha sourdough loaves. It literally says “reserve your loaf” which is the most Brooklyn sh—

Apr 5 – Jewish Glamour: Isaac Mizrahi, Danielle Durchslag & Negin Farsad

La MaMa Galleria, NoHo • 6 PM • Free

Negin Farsad moderating a conversation with Isaac Mizrahi as part of the JEWESS exhibition — which explores personas at the crossroads of Jewish ritual, 1960s glamour, Tudor court dressing, and early London punk. That’s a wild Venn diagram. Farsad is a hilarious comic (she made The Muslims Are Coming) and the JEWESS exhibition features some genuinely campy, multilayered looks — artist Durchslag restyling herself across eras.

Apr 5 – Tarka Khayal & Qawwali Night ft. Ustaad Naseeruddin Saami & The Saami Brothers 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Xanadu, Bushwick • 8 PM • $56.40 (if price is a barrier, message me and I’ll see if any community codes are left)

Classical khayal and qawwali at Xanadu roller rink. Ustaad Naseeruddin Saami carries a lineage that traces back generations of classical training and his family has been touring up a storm the past few years. Qawwali in a space with cavernous ceilings and disco-adjacent energy is unheard of (this is the 2nd edition in the space). Khayal is a meditative trance of an improv practice, so expect to be sitting the whole time.

I am thinking of bringing my own pillow to sit on and it will be really embarrassing if I can’t bring it in, but there are cushioned seat tickets too.

Tuesday Apr 7

Apr 7 – Gold House Music Listening Session

Walker Hotel, Greenwich Village • 6 PM • Free

An intimate session where emerging AAPI artists share unreleased tracks and workshop ideas. This looks new. Gold House is aiming to be like Soho House but for Asian tastemakers and entrepreneurs. Think they were down to the last few tickets and I am still on the pending list. Am I a tastemaker yet? :p

Wednesday Apr 8

Apr 8 – Mando Jazz Night Standards + Jam

Spicy Moon, East Village • 7:30 PM • $30

Mandarin jazz standards at a plant-based Szechuan spot on the Bowery. Part of Jazz Appreciation Month. AAPI Jazz Collective plays a set, then it opens to a jam.

Friday Apr 10

Apr 10 – Seat at the Table: An International Dining Experience

Fabrik DUMBO, DUMBO • 6:30 PM • $15

Five guest eateries present their signature dishes and share the heritage stories behind them. At $15, basically a steal for a multi-course cultural exchange. 🇹🇹 🇮🇷 🇮🇹 🇬🇭 🇲🇽 🇻🇳 🇧🇷 🇫🇷

Saturday Apr 11

Apr 11 – NYC Pizza Crawl #13: West Village

West Village (register for exact location) • 12 PM • Free (pay for your own slices)

Four shops, three hours, all new spots. Meet at noon at a bar, then walk and eat. I did one of these for my friend Nick E’s birthday as a fresh NYC resident and it was lovely.

Apr 11 – Butter Social

Kitsby Studio, SoHo • 3 PM • $25

Bring a butter, spread, or dip — sweet, savory, or weird — and share it with strangers over fresh bread (provided). If anyone goes please report back. May be worth pairing with Renegade Art Fair (below).

Apr 11 – Black Women in Audio’s Second Annual Listening Party

Miss Barb’s, Crown Heights • 5 PM • Free (suggested $20 donation)

Original music, podcast episodes, spoken word — spotlighting independent Black women creators working in audio. Hosted by Miah Hardy. Second year running. Love a good pod nerd party.

Apr 11 – Cooly G + Nabihah Iqbal [DJ] / Lovie / Marco Weibel

Public Records, Gowanus • 11:00 PM • From $23.69

Cooly G is one of the original key figures of Hyperdub and a pioneer of UK funky. Nabihah Iqbal (who I’ve written about before and will keep writing about) brings her ethnomusicological lens to a DJ set. She’s finishing up a new album so I’m hopeful there will be a little taster here!

Apr 11 – Tarka Dawat 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Light & Sound Design (KG’s), Chinatown • 7 PM • $25–$40

The fifth Tarka Dawat (party in Urdu, but grander than the translation allows). The formula has been perfected: live experimental music anchored by a family vegetable biryani recipe, served at intimate capacity. This installment features Bint, Yiddish techno artist Chaia, sarod devotee Camila Celine, and a Haal performance by Dynoman (he and DJ Zara Dekho host).

Apr 11 – Kostume Kult’s HORNED BALL 2026: Party Raptors

EDEN NYC, Midtown • 10 PM • $40–$60

Full Burner vibes here. Kostume Kult’s longest-running annual gala. Going since 2002. Two dance floors, black light, costumes, participatory spectacle. The theme is dinosaur-to-bird evolution, which they’re calling “Party Raptor.” If you’ve got a feathered look collecting dust, this is its moment. Also in the dinosaur-adjacent energy space: Rex’s Dinosaur Bodega, one of my favorite subway art installations of all time.

Closing Apr 11 – Siyan Wong: Mother Warriors

Equity Gallery, 245 Broome St, Lower East Side • Wed–Sat 12–6 PM • Free

Last chance to see Siyan Wong’s solo exhibition of paintings depicting immigrant Chinese women working in garment factories, restaurants, homecare, and as street vendors. I love her approach — she uses decorative patterning and shallow compositions to make working-poor lives visible. The gallery is also showing two companion exhibitions: “Familiar Stranger” and “Immigration in America” (featuring NYC high school students’ work).

Sunday Apr 14

Apr 11–12 – Renegade Craft Fair: New York Spring

Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th St, Chelsea • 11 AM–5 PM both days • Suggested $5 entry

180+ curated artists and makers under one roof. Renegade is the gold standard for curated craft fairs. A lot of small-batch stuff you won’t find elsewhere. Genuinely fun weekend browse. I hope to sell at the next big one with some of my woodblock prints in production.

Closing Apr 12 – The Endless Garment: Atlantic Basin

Pioneer Works, 159 Pioneer St, Red Hook, Brooklyn • Free

Deeply enjoyed this when it opened. It’s a transnational exhibition studying how Asian fashion production is represented. This iteration responds to Red Hook’s deep connection to the Asian and global textile trade. If you go on this particular Sunday, they will also have their residents doing open studios and usually Dustin Yellin’s amazing studio next door is open (the art that funded Pioneer Works).

Tuesday Apr 14

Apr 14 – StoryTell & Sound Mind Present: Story in Sound

Barzakh Café, Crown Heights • 6:30 PM • $38

An evening of music, storytelling, and participatory sound-making. The featured guest is the talented Umer Piracha, a Pakistani-American musician and composer. Small-group storytelling and collective music-making at one of Brooklyn’s coziest cafés. I have never seen a StoryTell event not sell out several days in advance and invite a frenzy on their WhatsApp group and that is...why I haven’t been (yet).

Looking Ahead

Apr 15 – TAX DAY TASK PARTY!

Fabrik DUMBO, DUMBO • 6 PM • Free

On the most dreaded day of the year, artist Oliver Herring’s TASK Party format: create a task, pick a task, carry it out with simple materials and strangers. Creative play as civic rebellion against the IRS.

Apr 16 – Leo Bar Happy Hour

Asia Society, Upper East Side • 6 PM • $25

Spring happy hour in Asia Society’s Garden Court with free museum admission and drink specials. It brings a mix of young yuppies fresh out of their 2 years in i-banking and older UES artsy socialites. I spent the last one hanging with a woman who became a full-time model in her 70s and when I have the right shoot, I’m hiring her.

Apr 17 – In Search of Bengali Harlem 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Asia Society, Upper East Side • 6:30 PM • $15

Screening of the documentary In Search of Bengali Harlem — the hidden history of working-class South Asian immigrants in NYC and their cross-racial coalition-building. The book is dense — I’m still working through it — but this might be my chance to get a copy signed. It’s just an excellent history of this diaspora before the 1970s immigration wave we often talk about.

Panel after with directors Vivek Bald and Alaudin Ullah, Councilmember and homie Shahana Hanif, and Young Lords co-founder Mickey Melendez.

That’s the rundown. Thanks for your patience as I pruned some life projects. I spent the past 40-50 days working on a ton of business + art ideas, trying to make something every day for myself. Now I’m figuring out which are worth building into my life. This one made it.

If any of these events resonated, please share this newsletter with a friend who’d appreciate it. And as always, got something juicy to promote? DM me or reply here.

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

-Shahzad and Bodhi (pup)

*🌶️ indicates hot pick

Spotted in Downtown Brooklyn - a festive mannequin

THU JAN 15 – minor genius lit reading + mixer

Alphabet City • 7:00 PM–9:30 PM • RSVP Required

A hybrid of readings and social chemistry.

join us for another minor genius lit reading that could be a cocktail party. we’ve got eugene hutz (gogol bordello) ali weiss adi eshman and chris jesu lee reading, plus NEW minor genius print zines for sale.”

FRI JAN 16 and ongoing through Jan 19 – New Ear Festival

Fridman Gallery, Lower East Side • 7:30 PM • $44

A multi-night concert series focused on experimental sound and performance, presented as part of Fridman Gallery’s contemporary arts programming. Expect it to get weird.

FRI JAN 16-17 – Creatives in Motion

Korean Cultural Center New York, Midtown East • 4:00 PM and 7:30 PM • Free

A two-day performance and networking program presenting emerging Korean artists working across contemporary dance, traditional Korean arts, and multidisciplinary practices. They’re pulling emerging dancers and performance artist from Korea’s National University of the Arts, so I imagine it’ll be a great showcase for the Korea curious. I still can’t get over that my mom pays for a Korean language streaming service to get her dramas.

SAT JAN 17 – Photodom x VSCO Public Zine Launch Party

Ace Hotel, Downtown Brooklyn • 8-12a • Free

Photodom is a great Black owned camera and film shop and they are putting out their annual zine. I enjoy this quite underused venue for parties.

SAT JAN 17 – Carista + Nabihah Iqbal + Cosmo + Dee Diggs 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Gowanus • 11-4a • Price~$30

A multi-artist takeover of Public Records including Nabihah Iqbal, whose songwriting I adore (my favorite, “Zone 1 to 6000”). Iqbal also has a long background of running NTS radio shows in the UK. When she made a Portuguese cover of “Creep” send a club crazy at a previous residency, I knew I’d see her sets as often as I could. Excited for the other acts too, because in these takeovers you get a great mix of vibes.

MON JAN 19 – MLK Day - Bushwick Community Clean-Up

Maria Hernandez Park, Bushwick • 3p • Free

Cold air yard work, gloves provided, and the quiet satisfaction of showing up for your city. Optional hang afterwards. Sponsored by Clean Bushwick and Bushwick Trash Lady.

WED JAN 21 – 8760 Magazine Launch

Bushwick • 7 PM–9 PM • Free, but buy a magazine

Global urban photojournalism in a new photo zine. I’m seeing a definite trend in magazine parties like it’s the 90’s and I’m into it—people are there to engage and nerd out.

WED JAN 21 – Words on the Street: A Salon on Street Text

Index Chinatown • 7pm • $20

TL;DR, they made sick art around the idea of mapping and naming. “Artists Alex Lukas and Yufeng Zhao join Lylia Li for a discussion about their two complementary bodies of work on of street text, and how public mark-making shapes our experience of site, place, and time.”

THU JAN 22 – Dynoman Will Present Sounds

Private Loft, Greenpoint • 7 PM–11 PM • $20, with optional $15 dinner

Vintage Klipschorn speakers, low light, and my homie Hamiid spinning in a private Greenpoint loft.

THURS JAN 22 – Pushing 30: Abby Govindan

Union Hall • 10pm show • $20

Abby Govindan is previewing a new comedy hour exploring breakups, generational curses, and turning 30 in public. Union Hall is a tiny basement venue perfect for an intimate show to be workshopped like this.

FRI JAN 23 – Good Grief

Greenpoint • 6-11p • $20

Merope (a Lithuanian experimental band) plays with Shahzad Ismaily (reigning coolest Shahzad in NYC) in a show featuring their latest album Vėjula. I gotta give Shahzad a shirt I made for him, so maybe it’s the night for it.

FRI JAN 23 – Opening Reception for The Endless Garment

Pioneer Works, Red Hook • 7 PM–9 PM • Free with RSVP

This basically dockside art exhibition is examining Asian fashion production (including sculptures and counterfeit designer clothes) + Red Hook’s connection to that global trade as a port. It’s heady, it’s weird, and I think it’ll be a blast. The exhibition runs until April—I recommend seeing it on a Second Sunday or at this opening!

SAT JAN 24 Rhythm of the City: Rep Asia

Museum of the City of New York, Harlem • 1p-4pm • Pay what you can for NY Residents

Rep Asia is a celebration uniting Chinatown Records and Basement Bhangra together on the dance floor. You’ll get Hong Kong freestyle and Taiwanese house music spun by DJ yiuyiu 瑶瑶 and DJ Rekha’s electrifying dhol-driven energy through Bhangra and Bollywood bangers.

TUE JAN 27 – Good Work Live: Banning Social Media

Caveat, Lower East Side • Doors at 6:30p • Price $20 in advance

I love this comedian from the Internet: “Dan Toomey and his news associates bring their YouTube channel to the live stage – tackling one surprise news topic each show with a panel of guests, experts, and hopefully one animal. This time, Toomey looks at banning social media. How? Why? Where?”

TUE JAN 27 – January Town Hall: Fashion 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Prime Produce, Hell’s Kitchen • 6:30 PM–8:30 PM • RSVP Required (fills up)

A fashion mixer with the AAPI creative community in a super kind and collaborative space. Rujuta Sheth (has her own namesake brand) and Tsui Pappas (Theory, Alexander Wang) will share incredible textile work and process as featured presenters. I’ll be sharing a bit about my 2026 projects. Anyone with a fashion interest can also apply to pitch/share, so please feel free to forward this one. I have found such good collaborators from these!

THU JAN 29 – Viet Craft + Chat

Banh by Lauren, LES• 6:30 PM–8:30 PM • $12, includes a drink

A Vietnamese language and craft meetup hosted by VCS NYC. I like the vibe of this group and please share with any friends who would be into it. It’s clearly a love of the community project.

SAT JAN 31 – Culture Linkup w/ Bianca Maielli and MTooray 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Aura 57, Midtown East • 10 PM–4 AM • Price $23-35

Late-night shindig by Electron India, with a focus on South Asian music melded with Latinoamerica (Maielli is South Indian and Colombian Carribbean). I haven’t seen this blend at a show so very curious about it. Bianca’s No Nazar cofounder MTOORAY will also be playing a set. These two started a new project called SPICE that is mostly West Coast lately, but I’m sure coming back to NYC soon. Here’s a taste from their SoundCloud.

SAT JAN 31 – Hyggehiking: Queens’ Conifers

Queens (location shared with RSVP) • 10:00 AM–10:00 PM • $20 suggested

A long-form group walk through multiple Queens parks, designed for people to join and leave freely over the course of the day. Steve Dean is a master at connecting people and this feels like a great nature in the city hiking itinerary (join for what you want).

If you get any magical moments from these events, please share this newsletter with a friend.

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I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

– Shahzad + Bodhi (my pup)

DECEMBER 3 (WED)

Dec 3 - Sofreh Social: MENA Singles Night

Sofreh Café, Kings County • 7 PM – 9 PM • $40

A curated mixer centering connection across MENA identities. And maybe some electric across the room glances too…

Dec 3 - Friendly Strangers Present OMAR (Film by Hany Abu-Assad)

Cobble Hill Cinemas, Brooklyn • 8 PM – 10:30 PM • $22

A community screening of the Palestinian thriller Omar, benefiting Gaza-focused initiatives: A young Palestinian agrees to work as an informant after he’s tricked into an admission of guilt by association in the wake of a killing.

DECEMBER 4 (THU)

DEC 4 – Karachi, After Midnight: Volume 1 Launch

Printed Matter / St. Marks, Manhattan • 6 PM • Free

Late-night whispers smuggled into daylight — desire, danger, memory, and midnight softness from a Pakistan that rarely makes it to print. A launch event for Karachi, After Midnight: Volume 1, the book presents an anonymous gay Pakistani’s early 2000s online diary. Compiled by Saad Khan, founder of the Khajistan Archive.

DECEMBER 6 (SAT)

DEC 6 – Party Girls Never Die presents “Nothing’s Wrong” 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Art Warehouse, Brooklyn • 8:00 PM–late • $20 advance / $25 door

Sculptor Tom Fruin is throwing his annual party in Gowanus, organized by Party Girls Never Die. The party is headlined by North Indian dream folk artist Slowspin (Zeerak Ahmed) and her quartet. This includes the most famous and talented Shahzad in NYC, superproducer and bassist Shahzad Ismaily. Plus catch sets by Dr. Now and the NYC debut of Slav Sister. The warehouse is apparently “a cathedral of color, steel, and salvaged city artifacts” and I desperately love that.

I’ll say it - I never miss a Slowspin show. While I love her albums, the band puts something sonorous, hypnotic, and punk into the live shows. I told Zeerak she channels Thom Yorke’s spasmodic dancing and hypnotism—and no one else is doing that while channeling folk tradition from their grandparents. Wish her a very happy birthday if you join us.

DEC 6 – Sufi Night with Falsa

Barzakh Café, Brooklyn • 8 PM • $22

I met Falsa’s lead singer Umer Piracha at Public Records recently. He made the case to me on why Sufi music is primed to have a place in broader spiritual and devotional music and I keep thinking about this. In that approach of crossing over, no one’s doing it better than the band Falsa. This is a living-room-sized show that’ll sell out.

DECEMBER 7 (SUN)

Dec 7 - Lessons in Drag: Book Launch with Kareem Khubchandani

Chelsea, Manhattan • 3 PM • Free

A tender, brainy, glitter-smudged gathering with one of the sharpest drag scholars alive. This is the official launch of Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties, the newest book by Kareem Khubchandani — also known on stage as LaWhore Vagistan. Khubchandani’s book weaves performance, pedagogy, diaspora reflections, and drag into a wildly generous framework for how we learn from one another. He’s wildly entertaining in both personas and seeing him recently made me want to audit his class.

DEC 7 – El Souq: Home for the Holidays Pop-Up

Ideal Glass Studios, Manhattan • 11a-6p • $7 donation

A warm diaspora bazaar of textiles, scents, chai, and craft, featuring SWANA and South Asian creators. Of note, Arjun Shah is playing a true vinyl maniac’s set from 1pm onwards so prepare to bob politely while shopping, when you actually want to dance.

DECEMBER 9 (TUE)

DEC 9 – The Hour: A Left Magazine Issue Launch Party 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Brooklyn • 7 PM – 11 PM • Free for subscribers, $23 otherwise (includes a magazine)

This is a multi-magazine party celebrating new issues from Acacia, Lux, Hammer & Hope, and Jewish Currents. Performers include DJ Ushka who I’ve wanted to see for a minute (also playing at Tarka a few days later. Acacia is a thoughtful mag for the Muslim Left and this will pull a fun literary and politics cross section. I just subscribed. Will sell out.

DECEMBER 11 (THU)

DEC 11 – Off the Record: No Phones. Only Friends.

Jade Bar, Brooklyn • 10 PM – late • Pay what you can

What it is: A no-phone dance gathering featuring Chery, Miss Vee, Samantha DaSilva, Coco Prosecco, and Steen. DJ Aniche has been putting this series on and I can’t wait to catch one. He’s a groovy dude platforming artists of color in this and the Extra Spicy Please shows he throws.

DEC 11 – Magnum Foundation End-of-Year Community Celebration

Magnum Foundation, Manhattan • 7 PM – 9 PM • Free, but RSVP Required

Magnum’s annual showcase of their grantee work, with a pop-up portrait studio. This will be some of the best photojournalism you can see anywhere and it’s a very social space. Take a date, comment on breaking the rule of thirds, and look classy as hell.

DECEMBER 12 (FRI)

DEC 12 – From Indie to Raga (Devi Majeske, Van Lier Fellow)

Salon on Kingston, Brooklyn • 7 PM – 8 PM • Free, RSVP Required

An album preview show blending indie composition with classical South Asian forms. Devi, of Air Devi, finished a fellowship that involved putting together her debut album, and I’m really curious about it.

DECEMBER 13 (SAT)

SAT-SUN DEC 13/14 – Press Play Festival

Pioneer Works, Brooklyn • 12 PM – 7 PM • $10 on Sat, free on Sun

A marketplace of sound, books, and strange little discoveries at the museum that crosses art and science like no other. They have a special salon event with Khajistan both afternoons, and yes, I bought the “smutty” tote collab below for $20 extra. The current Pioneer Works main exhibition is a stained glass one, stunning if you catch it in the light.

DEC 13 – Archive of Subterranean Acoustics (Hongbo Cai)

Fridman Gallery, NYC • 7 PM – 8:30 PM • RSVP Required

A dreamlike dive into an imagined lost “sonic” civilization sound-worlds through 3D instruments and video. This is the culmination of a music composition fellowship Hongbo Cai just completed with the Asian American Arts Alliance. I love insanely imaginative projects like this.

DEC 13 – Bitches Brew Comedy

Halyard’s, Brooklyn • 8:30 PM • No Cover

A rowdy, tight-knit room of sharp comics I’ve enjoyed including Pooja Reddy and Sabeen Sadiq.

DECEMBER 14 (SUN)

DEC 14 – Haza Winter Souk

Cafe Erzulie, Brooklyn • Afternoon • $10

A winter bazaar featuring a lot of small makers. My talented friend Tori Mumtaz will be selling the perfect soft, vibey portrait prints for that bland living room wall you have. Perfumer and author Tanaïs will also vending a perfect gift in her sensual, Earthy perfumes (got one) and candles (got...5).

DEC 14 – Brunch & Brawl: Holiday Edition

Fontainhaus, Brooklyn • 12 PM – 3 PM • $15–$30

A holiday drag brunch hosted by outstanding drag artists RuAfza and Malai. Haven’t been to this, but they are both hilarious. I once sent a visitor from Pakistan. She won a dance off and will dine on that forever. Also, every drink at this cafe is a banger.

DEC 14 – Tarka Anniversary Party 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Brooklyn • 3 PM – late • $25 regular admission

A full-venue showcase of sweat-soaked joy. See Deep Dive below.

DECEMBER 16 (TUE)

DEC 16 – Alpha Beta Blah: Cozy Solstice

Asian American Writers’ Workshop • 7 PM • Free with RSVP (will fill up)

A solstice-themed reading by the 2025 Margins Fellows. Heard about it via Aamina Inayat Khan, a Fellow who is writing a novel about 2010s music culture converging with anxieties of the Internet age. Follow this crop of people for best sellers in 2-3 years.

Deep Dive - Tarka - Dec 14

Tarka does 3-4 tightly curated events a year and 12/14 has one of their best dance lineups ever. Founded by DJ power couple Dynoman and Zara Dekho, Tarka blends South Asian, Middle Eastern, and global club rhythms into one space. The Anniversary Party is their 2-year reckoning: multiple rooms, a drag show by Ru Afza, vinyl sets, and live sets. Armana Khan and Lapgan (doing a vinyl only set) are performers I adore and chase wherever they go. Doesn’t hurt in one of the best sounding small scale clubs in the city, Public Records. The first wave of tickets just sold out.

P.S. Tarka itself refers to the process of seasoning spices in fats to awaken flavours.

Upcoming: 2026 is Almost Here Oh Shi

GULI Tour by Karachi Community Radio @ SILO, Jan 3, 2025

The organizer leaked an excellent lineup to me, and I’ll write about it next issue. Tickets go on sale soon. They also have shows in LA (12/13) and SF (1/10)—tell your Western friends about it so this community can grow. KCR pulls outstanding lineups from global sounds, and their DJ sets are now getting archived on Apple Music. Arini’s set from a few months ago is a standout (Apple Music link).

No one paid for inclusion here, and I wouldn’t take their money anyway. Got something juicy to promote? DM me or reply here.

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

– Shahzad + Bodhi (my pup)

Image: Saks Afridi

I got a dose of invigoration from Zohran's election night victory celebration at Xanadu Roller Rink featuring Anik Khan, Ahadadream, and more. In the joy, I ran into my favorite designers, writers, comics, DJs, and realized how much diaspora talent is gathering in the city right now. I love to support it, and this not on hiatus anymore newsletter is a tool for that, so on with the Zo’….

THU NOV 13 –Echoes of Dissent Opening Night

Williamsburg • 6:00 PM–9:00 PM • Free (RSVP)

Hosted by Disruptve Studio and vignette, this multimedia exhibition brings together twenty South Asian and diaspora artists working across film, photography, painting and mixed-media. Free chai and artist meet-ups. Looks more like an amuse bouche of these artists than a deep dive into any one of them, but I liked the work and premise.

FRI NOV 14 – 1 Hotel Sessions w/ Farooque Bhai Project

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Rooftop • 10 PM – Late • $27

Bengali singer Farooque Bhai Project brings his signature blend of Bengali mixes to the rooftop for a DJ set while the weather is jussssst right.

SAT NOV 15 – Punjabi Disco Listening Session 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Upstairs @ Public Records, Gowanus • 4–6 PM • Free (first come first serve)

Once pressed to a limited 500 records, Punjabi Disco, a long lost OG British Asian electronic record from a mother and son the 80s—has been revived (Guardian article)

Join for a chat with the creatives behind this at alistening party of Punjabi Disco (Spotify album, Pitchfork review). I’m stoked for this and the event below. Public Records is acoustically fantastic and this doubleheader is a treat.

SAT NOV 15 – Ashni + Slowspin 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Public Records, Gowanus • 7 PM • $27

These are 2 incredible South Asian artists are collapsing genre and geography. Ashni brings earthy soul and jazz vocals; Slowspin builds ambient Hindustani sound sculptures. Devotional music for the dance floor of your mind. They’re both sweetheart friends with voices I adore, and people you’d regret missing out on when you can see them in a small, acoustically incredible venue.

SAT NOV 15 – Baalti + TSVI + Zarina (2-Room Takeover) 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Good Room, Greenpoint • 10:00 PM – 5:00 AM • $22 (likely to sell out)

Baalti - an electrifying production duo storm back into Good Room with a full-crew takeover. They just finished their tour opening for Disclosure(!) last month. I can’t express how much creativity they bring to the dancefloor. This Pitchfork review of their EP captures some of what I love about their work.

SUN NOV 16 – Let’s Celebrate Zohran, Mayor of NYC

Funoon, Greenpoint • 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM • $32

From the Barzakh Cafe crew—live music, a charged-up DJ set, and a room buzzing with political and diasporic joy. Very excited to see a Roshni Samlal tabla performance, she’s a treat.

SUN NOV 16 – Scientific Controversies: Deep Thoughts of Artificial Minds

Pioneer Works, Red Hook • 7 PM • Free

Hosted by physicist Janna Levin, one of the best known AI godfathers of our time, Yann LeCun of Google Deepmind, will be part of a debate whether machines think — or just imitate thought. Even when it’s a topic you think you know about, these talks are outstandingly sharp.

TUE NOV 18 – In Conversation with Saks Afridi – The Art of Sci-Fi Sufism

Lower Manhattan • 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM • $33 early bird

Faith and futurism: Saks Afridi takes the mic to explain how he weaves Islamic thought, South Asian heritage, and speculative tech into a new visual tongue. Saniya and Musa are thoughtful hosts of this small salon series that I’ve really enjoyed.

FRI NOV 21 - Silsila - Stories and Music

3 Dollar Bill, Williamsburg • 6-10 PM • $22 early bird, $33 at door

Straight from the organizers: “Hosting a show with some folks for the queer and femme diaspora and community— classical and fusion arts mainly. Chai music guided meditation dance party it’s all there.” I’m intrigued to see, and 3 Dollar Bill is one of the few venues that can actually make this kind of event work.

FRI NOV 21 – Palve × Kaizyn Pop-Up NYC

LES • Nov 21 (12 PM) – Nov 22 (8 PM) • Free with RSVP

Creator & model Sufi Malik is launching a new brand called Kaizyn in collaboration with Palve, built around everyday minimalism. Two day popup. Very curious about this as I really like Palve’s work and Sufi’s personal style!

SAT NOV 22 – club babu tour: Jai Wolf, Arinee, SRI, Cardamami, Sana

Elsewhere, Bushwick • 10:30 PM – 4:00 AM • $45 (likely to sell out)

Three floors of diaspora heat. Jai Wolf (DJ set only) leads this killer lineup (including SRI’s debut at Elsewhere) that will turn the whole building into a moving constellation. There will be a lot of ass shaking (I see you Sana), and while Jai Wolf is a headliner, it’s an incredibly well curated set of artists overall that I’d go to even without him.

SUN NOV 23 – Final Performance of Broken Images [on-going]

East Village • 3:00 PM • $36

A one woman psychological monologue where a celebrated writer confronts her digital double, peeling back ego, memory, and the fractures between the stories we tell and the ones we bury. Heard good things about this—it’s currently running until the 23rd.

On the Radar for Next Issue

SAT NOV 30 – Rosewater

Public Records, Gowanus • 9 PM – late • $30

A late-fall sweat ritual of diaspora sounds.

As always, if you have a friend who would be into any of this, forward it over to them. Got something juicy to promote? Message me here or @shahzadpod so whenever I do the next drop, I’ll try to add it in.

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

– Shahzad + Bodhi (my pup)

SAT JUL 26 – Tarka Mela

The Sultan Room Rooftop, Bushwick • 5 PM – late • $32 (likely to sell out)

A one-day mela with drag host Kahani, sunset trance from Grammy-nominated Innov Gnawa, and six DJ/producers trading vinyl, folk samples, and sweaty global-bass edits until 2 AM. I’ll have a Zorsay merch stall and a photobooth.

Musical bios:

• Innov Gnawa – Grammy-nominated Moroccan ritualistic trance ensemble playing a live show with a full band, it’ll be joyful fun, see this YouTube for proof

• Lapgan – Chicago raised producer layering dusty filmi loops over punchy beats. Every project is absolutely dripping in forgotten histories. “Duniya Kya Hai” was one of my most played albums in 2024.

• DJ RAQX – Puerto Rican and German rooted Raquel brings in Latin and club beats beautifully. Lot Radio set.

• Dynoman – One of the Tarka founders, a Karachi-born composer/producer fusing percussive motifs with energetic club music. Lot Radio set.

• Zara Dekho – Tarka co-founder with a perfect name that means “just look”in Urdu; expect bass-heavy techno with South-Asian texture and the biggest smiles. Lot Radio set.

• Uproot Andy – NYC global-bass mainstay that I’ve wanted to see for a while. Boiler Room set

Need help covering the ticket? DM me and we’ll sort it out.

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WHAT'S ON THE MENU (⭐ denotes top picks)

TUE JUL 8 – COLORS × Anik Khan “ONĒK” Listening Party

Brooklyn TBA • 7 PM • Free with RSVP

Exclusive first listen of the Queens-Bengali rapper’s upcoming album, plus a short Q&A. First-come entry. My tip—arrive early, like hours early, because the rapper is answering the question of where he’s been the last 4 years.

FRI JUL 11 – Tipa Tipo + La Zorra Zapata + Hunters of the Alps

Public Records, Gowanus • 7 PM • $25.75

Latin art-pop, Bogotá psych-rock, and Andean synth share the audiophile Sound Room for a deep-bass cumbia fusion set.

FRI JUL 11 · 12 · 19 · 26 → ongoing – “No Other Land”

Roxy Cinema, Tribeca • 3 PM & 7 PM • $15

“No Other Land” is the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary (Best Documentary Feature) made by a Palestinian-Israeli activist collective. Roxy Cinema is giving it a limited run through late July. A beautiful venue for a shattering doc.

SAT JUL 12 – Tatreez in the Park

Central Park • 4 – 6 : 30 PM • $35 (cost for materials)

Beginner-friendly Palestinian embroidery circle under the trees—ticket covers hoop, thread, and patterns.

SAT JUL 12 – “Modest & Modern” Pop-Up

DOORS NYC, SoHo • 2 – 5 PM • Free RSVP

The brand Citizens of the World drops airy jilbabs and modest streetwear; complimentary mocktails and a gift-with-purchase.

⭐ SUN JUL 13 – Rahmaan & Friends “with love, Irvin” Live

HappyMonday Studio, Greenpoint • 6 : 30 PM • Pay-what-you-can

Tour-closing show by this Weeknd-like R&B singer with a new album; donations benefit UNRWA. I’ve loved it, especially the track GETAWAY. BYOB. Expect an amazing crowd including me.

TUE JUL 15 – FULLSTOP Screening w/ Same Skin

Lower East Side • 6 : 30 PM • $10

Nine-minute short on sport and period stigma, followed by a 20-seat discussion, sponsored by my friends at Same Skin.

TUE JUL 15 – In Conversation with Ammar Belal

Parcelle Chinatown • 7 – 10 PM • $33 (very limited seats)

Pakistani designer & Parsons professor Ammar Belal shares how he blends heritage, ethical business, and storytelling. Expect an intimate salon with wine, a deep-dive talk, audience Q&A, and post-chat mingling with fellow conscious-fashion nerds.

THU JUL 17 – Brooklyn Baithak Live Show [edit - sold out]

Tera Mera, Cobble Hill • 6:30 PM • $24 adv

The new “come home” party by Brooklyn Baithak has 3 artists playing songs and sharing what inspired them. This venue is a brand new Indian snack bar too.

FRI JUL 18 – Nabihah Iqbal DJ Set

Nublu Classic, Alphabet City • 10 PM • $20 adv

London producer spins her idiosyncratic taste, with lots of post-punk edits in an intimate living room vibe show.

FRI JUL 18 – House of Us: The Beginning

The Turk’s Inn, Bushwick • 11 PM – late • $23 – 28

Launch night for a queer SWANA house-music residency

SAT JUL 19 – Bungalow × Chai Room Prints Pop-Up

Rein Studios, East Williamsburg • 12 – 5 PM • $15

New South-Asian art market with DJs Halla & Agami plus free cardamom chai. Here’s a peek at the kind of work they’ll be selling. Def curious to meet some of the artists there.

SAT JUL 19 – Bengali Film Festival

Village East by Angelika, East Village • 6 : 30 PM • ~$40 GA

Third-annual BoNY showcase of new Bengali cinema with director Q&As.

SAT JUL 19 – SPICE

Superior Ingredients, Brooklyn • 10 PM – 4 AM • ~$25-$35 (21+, RSVP)

From part of the crew behind NO NAZAR this new event series will be a carnival of desi bass, Bollywood edits, and global club grooves. Very excited to see what these DJs have come up with.

THU JUL 24 – Discostan & Friends

Public Records, Gowanus • 9 PM • $25.75

LA diaspora-bass collective joins Ushka, Lapgan, and Daku for a pan-SWANA dance night.

⭐ TH JUL 24, SAT JUL 26 – Drunk Bollywood Live!

City Winery • 8 PM • $35-50

Bell House• 7:30 PM • $38-50

“Drunk History” meets Bollywood classics—live actors, wine flights, and zero fourth walls. They’re doing the movie trilogy DHOOM and will have some clothes from my closet involved in the show. These run long, hot, and hilarious.

FRI JUL 25 – Jawani 4eva

Elsewhere Hall & Loft, East Williamsburg • 10 : 30 PM • from $13

Punjabi DnB meets reggaeton edits across two rooms; headliners Jakari Wing & Jungli.

⭐ SAT JUL 26 – Dragistan

3 Dollar Bill, East Williamsburg • 10 PM – 4 AM • $25

Annual South-Asian drag showcase mixing Bollywood vibes with ballroom vogue; dancing till sunrise. Bonus points if you hit up Tarka and make it over to this one after (they’re nearby each other).

ONGOING – “Viola’s Room”

The Shed, Hudson Yards • Timed entry • $69

Punchdrunk’s barefoot, headphone-guided gothic maze narrated by Helena Bonham Carter; groups of six per slot. Ongoing, but I’m going at the end of the month. Pricey, but it comes from the Sleep No More people so I have some faith.

As always, got something juicy to promote? Message me so whenever I do the next drop, I’ll try to add it in if it fits the vibe!

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

-Shahzad + Bodhi (my pup)

P.S. If you’re into finding the perfect event without scrolling too much Instagram, Shor NYC, Habibi in the City, and Malai’s newsletter (link at bottom of page) do excellent roundups too.

If this NYC diaspora nerdy kid’s calendar is useful, please share with a friend if you’re into it, I would appreciate it a lot!

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WHAT'S ON THE MENU (⭐ denotes top picks)

June 23 to July 6, at least:

⭐⭐ Queen of My Dreams, Roxy Cinema, AMC Times Square: I saw it twice this week—at the NYC premiere and again with my parents. Fawzia Mirza toggles between ’90s Canada and 1969 Karachi as a mother-daughter duo heals generational gaps. I wept, laughed, felt wildly seen; it’s eerily close to my own Karachi trips. Show up, rate it on Letterboxd/IMDb, bring LOTS of friends. It’s an incredible identity story, complicated and told across time and place with a lot of heart.

Starting this week it has a nationwide run, including at the Roxy Theatre (July 1,5,6) and AMC Empire (Times Square), with slots daily through at least July 6. If you want art like this to exist, go support it with your feet and tell your friends elsewhere about it. The Roxy is swanky and the July 6th screening might have a surprise.

Here is the director and I at the premiere - Fawzia wore a custom Zorsay vest (that I designed). My first time on Getty Images too :)

6/22, evening:

⭐ Disco Tehran Rooftop Party, Elsewhere Rooftop, $39.94: Founded by Iranian immigrants, this dance party with a mix of live instruments and DJs celebrates Persian and global diaspora. These events have supported Iranian protests and VPN access—it's cultural preservation through incredible vibes. I always leave these parties feeling like I understand something deeper about joy as resistance and community.

Obviously it’s insane we’re bombing Iran and I think this will get emotional and cathartic and mad and sad and maybe, just maybe, impossibly hopeful.

6/24, evening:

Scientific Controversies #32: Listening to Whales, Pioneer Works in Red Hook, free with RSVPs: Astrophysicist-host Janna Levin and two scientists - a machine learning expert and a comparative anatomist unpack attempts to decode whale song. I love this nerdy series so much, a perfect date.

6/25, evening:

⭐ Slowspin, Rhiannon Giddens & Lido Pimienta, Central Park SummerStage, free: Three powerhouse diaspora voices on one stage with picnic vibes, but I want to talk about my homie. Slowspin (Zeerak Ahmed) fuses North Indian singing styles with haunting and somber instrumentation. She’s a gem and instantly entranced me last time I saw her perform at Pioneer Works Ragas Festival. She’s on the rise and is one to watch. Guitarist and Grammy nominee Shahzad Ismaily also plays with her band.

The other acts: Grammy winner Giddens reclaims African American contributions to folk music, while Colombia's Pimienta celebrates Afro-Colombian and Indigenous heritage.

Can’t swing it? Listen here to “Hamari” (“Ours” in Urdu).

6/25, evening:

Tommy Genesis Album Listening Party: Presented by Karachi Community Radio, Silence Please (Chinatown): Did you see Tommy Genesis dress up as Kali in blue paint and lick a crucifix in a critique of missionaries in South India? It has been a whole thing online. But this tiny, tiny party in a hifi listening room just got announced to hear this rapper’s latest work.

6/26, late

Naan Stop (Desi Amapiano/Jersey club mix), SOBs in Lower Manhattan, free with RSVP before 11p

My friend Neal started a restaurant chain called Naanstop in Atlanta. These folks are borrowing the name and I think they’ll put out some great music with it from what I heard of Mrii’s sets.

6/27, late:

All Your Friends - The Indie Party Launch, Baby's All Right, free with RSVP: Basement-floor flashback to 2000s-2010s indie culture. DJ sets from Passion Pit, Matt and Kim in a 250-capacity party space. Expect house party vibes and wear your nostalgia gear. I’ve got a dream to do something with Passion Pit as Angelakos’ work has left a deep mark on me.

Can’t swing it? Here’s a new mix of a classic from Passion Pit and Sofi Tukker.

6/27, late:

The Arrambam Experience, Chelsea, $45: Tamil culture series creating "modern third spaces" with traditional music, kuthu, and party bangers. Producers Vy & Praveen drop their debut record inside a secret Chelsea gallery (location texted day-of).

6/28, late:

Brooklyn Baithak Summer, Ruhani Cafe in Brooklyn venues, $20: Intimate living room vibe sets rooted in South Asian classical tradition. "Baithak" means "sitting down"—these started in living rooms and preserve that intimate energy while empowering emerging artists. The new Ruhani Café’s backyard transforms into a mehfil: rugs, chai, eight South-Asian classical sets, then an open jam ’til 11 PM.

6/28, late:

MIRCHI (all-femme Desi DJ takeover), Red Pavilion in Bushwick, $25

Turn up at the Red Pavilion with DJs Anee, Anupya, Halla & Sana (our fav) sling Bollywood bangers, global bass, and indohouse edits through a haze of neon dragons in a smoky Shanghai style nightclub. This place is straight out of a Wong Kar Wai or David Lynch, highly recommended. All femme Desi DJ takeovers are rare, but these folks are going to make sure that isn’t the case anymore.

Early July:

Weirdly I don’t have a lot on my radar for July yet. On the 5th we’re having a welcome back from Hajj party for my parents. I’m so impressed by them doing that, a dream they’ve had for years. Free, if you’re related to me.

July 25, evening:

Tarka Mela, Sultan Room, $32: This is a killer line up with Innov Gnawa and Lapgan (a producer I love so so much), put on by sexy DJ couple Zara Dekho and Dynoman who will also spin. This is a party my friends are throwing and one of the few party pop-ups I’ll be doing for my brand Zorsay this summer. I’ll have an interactive Polaroid photo booth as well.

Not leaving the house?

Sam Smith live at the Royal Albert Hall - I’m loving this tender, emotional recording (Spotify Link). If you have Apple Music, it’s mixed for surround sound on Airpods, which is how I love to hear a live show. I had tickets to see him on a Valentine’s Day in SF a few years ago… and I gave them to a friend for a date. He married her, so it was worth it.

The Diplomat. This is a classic Netflix binge, a political soap opera starring Keri Russell that I loved. It’s about trust in both a marriage and in geopolitics—where there are plenty of lies to go around. I could watch Keri do anything TBH because I miss her standout series, The Americans, which covered similar ground too.

As always, got something juicy to promote? Message me so whenever I do the next drop, I’ll try to add it in if it fits the vibe!

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

-Shahzad + Bodhi (pup)

P.S. If you’re into finding the perfect event without scrolling too much Instagram, Shor NYC, Habibi in the City, and Malai’s newsletter (link at bottom of page) do excellent roundups.

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WHAT’S ON THE MENU

(⭐ denotes top picks)

6/7:

⭐ Karachi Community Radio, SILO Brooklyn, $28.33, late:

My friend Jahanzeb has helped build the Pakistani electronic scene for nearly a decade (set up its first official “Boiler Room” set) and has now brought it to NYC the last 2 years. KCR pulls some of my favorite shows with the best crowds together. Lineup includes DJ Omar of No Nazar, Arini, Athena, and Jahanzeb himself (under the moniker URLHUG) will be playing.

I’ll sweating there in some wild outfit, and you prob want to be too.

⭐ Nabihah Iqbal, Nublu Classic, $20, late:

Picture a living-room rave for 30 people where Nabihah toggles between post-punk riffs and danceable Brazilian Radiohead covers, then smoothly drops a UK-funky drum pattern. Last time I physically couldn’t leave this wild dance floor and straight-up missed another concert.

I am gifting a “random-act-of-joy” ticket for any reader of this newsletter—DM me if you’d like it.

Her album Dreamer is not the same as her DJ sets, but a must listen.

(Me taking a video selfie at the last one)

PhotoVille, Brooklyn Bridge Park, free, daytime Sat and Sun:

Huge outdoor photo fest staged inside shipping containers. The strongest programming is this opening weekend, so grab an iced matcha, wander the piers, and flex your “I appreciate composition” squint.

Baby Luc’s Puppies & Peroni Party, Carroll Gardens, free, afternoon:

Famed Lucali’s kid-sister slice shop throws a pet adoption bash with beer, magic tricks, and pizza that’s about 75 % as good as the mothership (new salmon slice rumored). I’m swinging through for carbs and canine chaos and showing off a new dog jacket I made for my pup Bodhi.

6/8

⭐ Second Sundays, Pioneer Works in Red Hook, free, daytime:

Red Hook’s big red warehouse opens every studio and performance nook for your perusal. Last visit I learned how ceramic 3-D scanning works from a resident who looked like a clay-spattered mad scientist. Go, poke around, ask weird questions, leave inspired. I’ll be there but maybe on a date…

6/9

Grace Jones & Janelle Monae, Prospect Park Bandshell, $90, evening:

Two icons! Monae performed at Salesforce for their 15th birthday, it was awkward because they sang happy birthday to the company. Most of these shows are free but this is a seasonal kickoff benefit. If you skip the pricey ticket, at least spin The ArchAndroid —her debut from 2010 and a revelation of an album for me.

6/10

Psychedelic Assembly Moving Sale, Midtown, afternoon, free:

Their members-only “weird-book library” is closing, so they’re liquidating mountains of trippy art zines, occult manuals, and fractal wall-hangings. My tote bag is already screaming.

6/13

⭐ Laylit, Elsewhere Brooklyn, $40 currently, late:

This Middle Eastern house, dabke techno, and Arab Disco party has 3 stages you can meander between. Great community and a lovely night. I celebrated my birthday at their 100th edition in April and plan to be at this one; still one of the best and friendliest crowds in NYC. Come sweat out your ennui—plan on a 4 am halal-cart recovery outside of Elsewhere.

6/14

DJ Omar, Damballa Brooklyn, $20, late:

A new party called The Caravan from DJ Omar (the same one playing KCR and of No Nazar fame). Omar rarely misses.

Red Hook Prom, Pave Academy Charter School in Red Hook, pay what you can, early evening:

Local dance company flips a school gym into prom-night magic—expect glitter, punch, and a wholesome slow dance to restore a bit of faith in humanity.

6/15

Afrodesi, Elsewhere Brooklyn, $13.48, early evening

Early-evening mash-up of Afrobeats, amapiano, and Desi percussion lines—all before bedtime. This Afro-Indian fusion scene is building now with events like Prana, but my spidey senses say it’s about to pop.

6/19

Tatter Library Scraptacular, Downtown Brooklyn, paid/free, multiple times:

My friend Elizabeth (aka “Green Lady of Brooklyn”) just donated her textile design company’s hoard to the Tatter Museum, the nonprofit that treats fabric like sacred scripture. Wed night = fancy auction, bubbles, and presales for $44; Thu-Sat = rummage bins of vintage trims supporting their tiny Gowanus museum.

6/20

Habibi Festival, Prospect Park Bandshell, free:

Incredible community event featuring awesome SWANA sounds from saxes, singers, DJs—expect a sea of Palestinian flags. Bring your keffiyeh. I plan to be there with a Palestine solidarity fundraiser flag I’m working on.

6/21

⭐ “The Queen of My Dreams”, Roxy Cinema, $19, 7:15 pm:

Bollywood-fantasy mother-daughter drama meets queer coming-of-age. It alternates between modern Canada and 1969’s Karachi in a gorgeous aesthetic. Incredible early reviews. Director Fawzia Mirza just came off debuting a short called Poreless at Tribeca Festival 2025 and directed an episode of Deli Boys; she’s one to watch and this is the first non festival screening in the USA.

Disco Tehran Rooftop Party, Elsewhere Rooftop, $39.94, 4–10 pm

Persian funk, retro visuals, and more sequins than my closet—now above the skyline. I always have a great time at these parties and they surprise with lineups consistently.

Not leaving the house recs:

Natasha Noorani, Ronaq: Lollywood electro pop album by a Pakistani singer I can’t get out of my head. Play it all the way through when you’re vibing, Urdu not required. “Choro” is a highlight.

Black Bag: A 90 min. sexy British spy whodunnit starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett. Imagine if relationship therapist Esther Perel wrote Mr. & Mrs. Smith after a stint in the CIA. Absolutely brilliant work by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11). Stream free on Peacock, $6 rental elsewhere.

Starting your email newsletter finally: I had this thing in my head for years after texting so many friends cool plans so for long. It was posting the idea on IG to validate support for it that proved it was worth it. If you have something like that…just go do it. They can’t eat you.

—

As always, got something juicy to promote? Message me so whenever I do the next drop, I’ll try to add it in.

Disclaimer - I always note the events I’m aiming for—feel free to DM if you want to link up. Just know I believe attachment is for barnacles, so plans may change.

I’m just here to make something beautiful before anyone notices.

-Shahzad + Bodhi (pup)

P.S. If you’re into finding the perfect event without scrolling too much Instagram, Shor NYC, Habibi in the City, and Malai’s newsletter (link at bottom of page) do excellent roundups.