Highlights:
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Four-day festival runs from November 20–23, 2025, across the Southbank Centre and Ismaili Centre London.
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Zakir Hussain honored in the opening tribute performed by the Triveni Quartet.
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Festival celebrates music rooted in Muslim cultural heritage, spanning regions from West Africa to South Asia.
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Main awards ceremony on November 22 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, featuring live collaborations, new commissions, and short films.
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Total prize fund: £400,000 ($500,000) shared among the 2025 laureates, including commissions and touring support.
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Finalists represent 16 countries, including India’s Warsi Brothers, Pakistan’s Ustad Naseeruddin Saami, and Morocco’s Hamid El Kasri.
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Performances by Soumik Datta, Oumou Sangaré, Karim Ziad, and Michael League of Snarky Puppy.
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Educational programs and free daytime performances by students from Cairo and Kyrgyzstan at the Clore Ballroom.
The Aga Khan Music Awards will stage a four-day festival in London from November 20 to 23, 2025, presenting music rooted in Muslim cultural heritage across the Southbank Centre and the Ismaili Centre London. The programme brings together traditional and contemporary musicians from West Africa to South Asia and includes performances, new commissions, short films and educational events.
Zakir Hussain tribute opens the festival
The festival opens on November 20 with a tribute to tabla master Zakir Hussain. The Triveni Quartet will perform an homage to the artist, who was honoured in 2022 with the AKMA Lifetime Achievement recognition. The opening programme also includes Travellers, a new work by sarod player and 2022 AKMA laureate Soumik Datta, and closes with a performance by Grammy-winning Malian singer Oumou Sangaré accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Zakir Hussain and the awards ceremony
The awards ceremony will be held on November 22 at Queen Elizabeth Hall. The event will present the 2025 laureates in live collaborations, newly commissioned pieces and short films. Winners for the 2025 cycle will be announced in early November and will be honoured at the November 22 ceremony. The Aga Khan Music Programme says the laureates will share a prize fund of $500,000, along with commissions and support for global touring.
Finalists for the 2025 cycle come from 16 countries and include ensembles and solo artists working in different musical traditions. Named among this year’s finalists are India’s Warsi Brothers, Pakistan’s Ustad Naseeruddin Saami, Morocco’s Hamid El Kasri, Mali’s Mariam Bagayoko, Palestine’s Kamilya Jubran and Senegal’s Senny Camara. The AKMA organisers selected 22 finalists from more than 300 nominations.
Fairouz Nishanova, director of the Aga Khan Music Programme, said the initiative “fosters dialogue and understanding across cultures.” That statement is included in the programme materials released by the organisers.
Zakir Hussain in context: programme highlights
On November 21, the Royal Festival Hall programme will present the Aga Khan Master Musicians alongside visiting artists, including accordionist Vincent Peirani, the Warsi Brothers, the Saami Brothers, Hamid El Kasri, drummer and composer Karim Ziad and Michael League of Snarky Puppy. The festival will feature live premieres and collaborative sets that mix regional traditions with contemporary arrangements.
Daytime events will include free performances and workshops by students and alumni from music initiatives in Cairo and Kyrgyzstan. The festival organisers have emphasised the educational element of the programme, noting that public engagement and learning are part of the event’s stated aims.
Zakir Hussain and closing performances
The festival’s closing events feature Tunisian singer Ghalia Benali at Dingwalls, followed by Soumik Datta presenting Travellers again, with Oumou Sangaré concluding the festival in a final set with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The awards night is being presented as the centrepiece of the four-day festival, produced in partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival.
Tickets, dates and practical details
The festival runs from November 20 to 23, 2025, across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre and at the Ismaili Centre London. Tickets are available through the EFG London Jazz Festival booking channels and the Southbank Centre ticketing pages. The winners of the awards will be publicly announced in early November and will receive financial awards, commissions and touring support as outlined by the Aga Khan Music Programme.
This programme places the music and legacy of Zakir Hussain at the opening of a wider festival that aims to present a cross-section of musical practices shaped by Muslim cultural heritage, while offering commissioning and touring opportunities for winners and collaborators.
