South Side Story 2026 celebrates South Indian identity with music, dance and fashion in Delhi
From Baby Jean’s hip-hop beats to Shobana’s Bharatanatyam, the eighth edition of South Side Story brought the fluid, contemporary pulse of South Indian culture to the capital.
Spanning two high-energy days in Delhi, the Red FM initiative, with The Hindu as print partner, brought together over 13,000 attendees across generations and geographies for a rich celebration of South Indian music, art and culinary heritage.
Where else would you see fluid sarees paired with sneakers, crisp veshtis complementing brightly coloured shirts, and traditional gajras effortlessly styled with sleek sunglasses? South Side Story 2026 redefined the festival aesthetic.
Day one saw rising rapper Baby Jean of Kerala open the festival with his signature wordplay and infectious beats, singing tracks such as Tapori, Pantal Chant, Balatha Jathi, Komban and Neon Ride.
The Raghu Dixit Project, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, kickstarted their performance with the popular Parasiva and went on to regale the crowd with hits such as Jag Changa, Shakkarpari, Mysore Se Aayi, Ambar and the rock anthem Neene Beku. A musical jugalbandi between their flautist, violinist and guitarists was one of the highlights of their performance.
“Going on stage and infusing a little bit of joy, happiness and positivity into people has become first nature for me now, and my music has found its purpose behind doing that,” said Dixit, known for singing his brand of “happy music”.
