Music comes home: Inside India’s growing market for intimate music gigs

It was in 2018 that Sukanya Banerjee and Tejas Jaishankar opened their home in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, to classical music lovers. They called it Upstairs With Us, a nod to their third floor apartment. The idea was to bring musicians and listeners together, charging the latter to pay the former. It raised eyebrows. “People questioned why we were charg ing for something traditionally associated with a host’s generosity. But we were clear the musicians needed to be paid. The difference in our approach is to shift the burden of generosity from host to crowdsourcing,” says Banerjee. The couple organised 15 concerts before putting the initiative on hold in 2019.

Upstairs resumed in early 2025 at a ground-floor flat, but the name stayed. Its baithaks sold out immediately. The couple have now organised around 50 concerts, their Instagram following has grown from 200 to 41,000, and the `500 ticket of 2018 has become a `3,000 evening with dinner. Most attendees are working professionals aged 25-45 years, many experiencing Indian classical music for the first time.

The old baithak has found a new beat and a contemporary, ticketed twist. Across India, living rooms, terraces and farmhouses are becoming intimate concert spaces. A small group of people pay and congregate for classical music and ghazals, Sufi music and community singalongs. The appeal extends beyond music to an experience minus the crowd and the distance separating artists and listeners at conventional gigs.


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Once Upon India (OUI) was founded by Arpita Sharma, Malini Arora and Shiva Sureka in Noida in 2024. Beginning with home baithaks—featuring music, storytelling and high tea—for 50 people, it has now expanded to nearly 20 cities. Some performances now attract 500-600 people, although smaller baithaks continue.

Inspired by the tradition of mehfils and baithaks, OUI founders wanted to introduce lesser-known artists to urban audiences. While the scale has changed, Sharma insists intimacy isn’t just a matter of headcount. Thoughtful seating, decor, hospitality, storytelling and the interaction between musicians and audience can make even a large gathering feel personal. “People don’t necessarily come because they recognise the artist, but they trust us to give them a special experience. It’s about music, stories, atmosphere and the feeling of being part of something.”

Sharma explains that guests return, recognise familiar faces and have conversations beyond the performance. Their audience now spans several generations, with grandparents, parents and children coming to the same mehfil sometimes.

HOUSE PARTY REDUX

In Agra, Riya Agarwal, 26, decided the city needed a mini-concert format. She started the Agra Jamming Club (AJC) with 15-20 people. Approaching its first anniversary this October, it attracts 100-150 people to sessions held in cafes, farmhouses, auditoriums and living rooms. Tickets cost `299-500. Agarwal, a brand strategist, says Bollywood songs, Sufi music, ghazals and even bhajans draw crowds. The appeal lies in escaping screen-dominated lives and finding new experiences with friends. “We are surrounded by brain rot and AI slop, and some people are beginning to recognise how much they miss human connection,” she says.

Meanwhile, in Navi Mumbai, college buddies Gaurav Suvarna, Aditya Patil and Pratham Panchal, all 23, were looking for a “different” activity to do with friends. They started Tiny Room Concerts from a service apartment in December last year. Now they host gatherings of 40-50 guests in rented villas and apartments in and around Mumbai. The tickets are priced at `1,000-1,500 and the performances are informal—they encourage audience participation. Patil says, “It’s an alter native to conventional nightlife. Not everyone wants the din and chaos of a club or a rave.”

The open-ended format has resulted in over 50% repeat attendance. “Guests can listen, hang, play games, or even perform themselves. At one gathering, someone played Nintendo while the music continued. Nobody seemed particularly bothered,” he says.

Organisers believe these third spaces address a missing ingredient in the socialising scene.

Bengaluru’s Home At Last has a children-first approach. Founders Anagha A Kinjavadekar, Rzhude David, Lakshmi Rammohan, Anuradha Nambiar and Yogitha Mallemala wanted a space where children even as young as six months are not kept out as it happens in traditional music venues. Kinjavadekar was inspired by her own childhood, sleepily attending concerts at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi. “The exposure to music at that age has stayed with me. As a parent, I found that formal concerts are less forgiving of children who are seen as distractions.”

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Their Sunday morning concerts bring together 35 adults and a dozen children for music and a home-cooked meal. Adults give a fixed contribution towards artist honorariums. “There’s an acute need for community today. People are looking for intimate experiences where they can connect with others. And it isn’t just about music. Food, conversation and the feeling of being welcomed into someone’s home are equally important,” she says. “When you feel there’s a vacuum, a lack of space for people to come together, sometimes you have to create that space yourself.”

KEEPING IT PERSONAL

Apart from OUI and Upstairs, most baithaks are side hustles for hosts, driven by love of music. In Gurgaon, executive coach Sangeeta Chopra has been hosting Naadyatra from her home for over a year. Disappointed by the lack of accessible concerts nearby, she decided to host one. Fourteen baithaks later, her home welcomes 30- 40 listeners every six weeks. Tickets cost `1,500 and include high tea.

Home concert regulars also develop a sense of ownership. Some bring snacks, others contribute fairy lights or help with decor. Says Chopra: “The intimate format works for both the audience and the artists. For the audience, it’s a new way to spend a Saturday evening. Artists who have performed here tell me that they come for the engaged audience.”

A similar commitment drives Prashant Mathur and wife Mona, who started Tehzeeb Ka Aangan in Gurgaon. Their monthly gatherings have 30-35 people listening to dhrupad, Kabir vani, ghazals and thumri. The couple say finding artists is not an issue as there’s a lot of talent available. “The biggest challenge is finding an audience. Right now, 90% of our effort goes into getting people to attend,” says Mathur.

Artist fees, typically `20,000-40,000, account for much of the expense. Sound can be an additional cost; some like Upstairs and Home At Last have invested in equipment. Food is mostly sponsored by hosts. For the Agra Jamming Club’s Agarwal, keeping things fresh is another challenge. “Once people have attended a few sessions, they want fresh songs, genres and formats, even as familiar music remains the easiest way to draw a crowd,” she says.

For Tiny Room Concerts, finding suitable properties is the hurdle. Shortterm rentals often prohibit gatherings, while larger spaces are expensive. Patil says their sold-out Bandra gigs cost twice as much as those in Navi Mumbai because of rent.

Upstairs’ Banerjee believes audiences are also spoilt for choice, with supper clubs and hobby groups competing for attention. Her solution is to treat baithaks as a serious cultural business rather than a subsidised hobby. “The market is nowhere near saturation. The longer-term possibility is a baithak circuit, allowing musicians to tour Indian cities through small venues, earning meaningful fees,” she says, adding that “baithak tours” are already happening.

Upstairs is exploring talks, workshops and curated playlists as additional entry points into music. “We also want to challenge the idea that cultural experiences have to happen only on weekends. Why can’t someone attend a concert on a weekday evening? For us, the future isn’t necessarily a bigger baithak. It’s creating more ways for people to engage with music and culture.”

Mathur agrees: “If something interesting is happening in your own neighbourhood, it becomes accessible. That’s how this culture can grow.” Now, home is where the music is.

People are tired of long queues, huge crowds and watching artists from a distance. They want something more personal, be it music, stories, setting, or the hospitality” ARPITA SHARMA, cofounder, Once Upon India.

We wanted to create an alternative to the clubbing scene. Not everyone wants loud music, crowded clubs, or the pressure to socialise a certain way” ADITYA PATIL, cofounder, Tiny Room Concerts.

Imagine a musician touring India entirely through baithaks. That would create a new circuit for classical music” SUKANYA BANERJEE, cofounder, Upstairs With Us.

LIVING ROOM SESSIONS

Musicians perform for small, mostly ticketed, audiences at homes, cafes, farmhouses and other intimate spaces

TICKET

Rs 500-3,000

POPULAR FORMATS

Classical vocal, instrumental music, thumri

Ghazal, Sufi poetry, qawwali

Bollywood songs, indie music, singalongs and audience participation.