Jodhpur RIFF
13 to 18 October 2027 · Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India) — the roots music of the world under the brightest full moon of the year
The festival
Every autumn, when the full moon of Sharad Purnima — the brightest of the year — rises over the Blue City, Mehrangarh Fort opens to music. Since its first edition in October 2007, Jodhpur RIFF — the Rajasthan International Folk Festival — has gathered there the masters of Rajasthan's traditions: Langa and Manganiar singers, Meghwal musicians, kamaicha and dholak players, in dialogue with roots artists from around the world.
The festival is presented by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, created with the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, and it is non-profit: its purpose is the livelihood of Rajasthan's traditional artists and their communities. UNESCO has recognised it as a “People's Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development.” Its chief patron is HH Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, and its international patron is none other than Sir Mick Jagger.
The 2027 edition — 13 to 18 October
The next edition, announced on the festival's official website, will be held from 13 to 18 October 2027 at Mehrangarh Fort: the festival enters its twentieth year. Expect its signature — dawn concerts, as music greets the rising day above the ramparts —, evenings in the fort's courtyards, encounters between desert traditions and the world's stages, and the collaborations born every year between Rajasthani masters and international guests.
The man behind the festival
The festival director is Divya Bhatia: a Jodhpur programmer and producer, he has made this gathering the world showcase of Rajasthan's music. It is as a delegate of the International Presenters Network of Sunfest, in Canada, that his road crosses Festival TV's — the same craft: connecting traditional artists to the world's stages.
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Key facts
Name: Jodhpur RIFF — Rajasthan International Folk Festival. Venue: Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. Dates: 13 to 18 October 2027 (next edition). Founded: 2007. Organizer: Mehrangarh Museum Trust. Festival director: Divya Bhatia. Official website: jodhpurriff.org. Official contact: [email protected].
Around the festival
Mehrangarh Fort — the festival's own venue: carved palaces, museums and ramparts perched above the Blue City, one of India's greatest fortresses. Jaswant Thada — the white-marble cenotaph at the foot of the fort, bathed in light at daybreak. The Clock Tower and Sardar Market — spices, textiles and crafts in the heart of the old city. The blue lanes — the labyrinth of blue-painted houses that made Jodhpur famous. Umaid Bhawan Palace — the Art Deco royal residence turned palace-museum. Mandore Gardens — the ancient capital of Marwar, its cenotaphs and temples.