From Prime Minister Narendra Modi joining a Delhi bhajan-clubbing gathering to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma attending Krishna Das’ kirtans, devotional music is increasingly finding audiences beyond traditional spiritual settings. As the format enters contemporary live entertainment, artist managers and promoters are now navigating questions around production, commercialisation, rights, touring, digital audiences and sustainability.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a bhajan-clubbing event in New Delhi in September 2026, clapping along with young attendees and playing a tambourine-like instrument, the format found itself at an unusually visible cultural moment. The appearance followed his January 2026 Mann Ki Baat remarks on bhajan clubbing and its appeal among younger audiences, including Gen Z. The sequence is significant as a marker of visibility: a format that has emerged at the intersection of devotion and contemporary live experiences is now being discussed and witnessed in increasingly mainstream spaces.
The scale of the format is equally striking. In March 2026, more than 75,000 people gathered at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for a large-scale bhajan-clubbing event, reflecting the growing ability of devotional music to draw mass audiences in contemporary live settings.
The wider contemporary devotional ecosystem is reaching audiences well beyond traditional settings too. In 2024, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma attended Krishna Das’s kirtan at London’s Union Chapel and were later seen at his Mumbai performance at Nesco, Mumbai. Their appearances are not evidence that kirtan and bhajan clubbing are the same format, but they reflect the broader reach of contemporary devotional music and its ability to draw audiences from outside conventional religious spaces.
For Caleb Williams, Senior Artist Manager at Unified Music Group, who manages artists like Radhika Das, Premanjali, Jahnavi Harrison, etc., the evolution of devotional music into professional live entertainment raises a more fundamental question: what can change around the music, and what must remain untouched?
Keeping the offering sincere as the experience evolves
For Williams, the starting point is the nature of the offering itself. Production can become larger, the experience can become more contemporary and the audience can become wider, but the underlying sincerity of the music remains central. He says:
“I think the main thing that must remain untouched for the audience and performer is the sincerity of the offering. If it is being offered and delivered in a sincere manner, then I think the sacred mantras will always be sacred. What changes is pretty much everything else around that. The production quality is much higher, and the experience is much more modern. Some people may not want to go to the temples and this is making the mantras much more accessible for families and a younger and wider audience.”
That distinction captures one of the defining characteristics of the format. The devotional material does not necessarily have to change for the experience around it to become contemporary. For artists, managers and promoters, the challenge is understanding how production, venues and audience engagement can evolve without compromising the nature of the offering.
Where commercialisation meets belief
As bhajan clubbing becomes part of the ticketed live-entertainment ecosystem, commercial considerations inevitably enter the conversation. Sponsorships, partnerships and brand integrations can help build large-scale experiences, but devotional music also carries specific belief structures.
Williams is careful to position his view as personal rather than an industry-wide prescription. For him, the commercial opportunity needs to remain aligned with the meaning behind the music. He says:
“I think this is a very personal question. My personal opinion, and I will really highlight this is just my opinion! I think if the opportunity starts being sponsored by alcohol or things that do not align with the belief structures or foundations of where the mantras come from then it is going too far. The offering needs to align with the belief systems and meaning behind the mantras.”
That creates a different commercial consideration from a conventional live-music property. The question is not simply whether a brand can reach the audience, but whether its association makes sense within the environment and belief system the audience is entering.
The rights question is still evolving
The move into professional recordings and ticketed performances also brings devotional music into a more complicated conversation around intellectual property. Traditional mantras may have existed for generations, while contemporary artists can contribute new melodies, arrangements and production.
Williams sees the distinction as an area that the industry is still figuring out.
“I think this is a huge question, and it will take a while to figure out. Especially from a publishing sense, it is not straightforward. There are two ways to look at it also, from the spiritual sense that these mantras are older than time itself and lyrically can not be claimed by anyone. BUT the melodies can be traced, so they could be copyrighted, but arrangements and production are generally still different. So I would say the only rights people could claim are for arrangements and maybe some melody if it’s different from what was being sung in the 60s. I think this is a watch-this-space situation,” he shares.
For artists and managers, the distinction becomes increasingly relevant as contemporary interpretations move between recordings, streaming platforms and live performances. As the category develops, the question of where traditional material ends and new creative contribution begins is likely to become more important.
Taking devotional music beyond India
International touring presents another challenge. While devotional music has audiences outside India, Williams points to the lack of an established touring map for the genre in many international markets.
Different religious and cultural contexts, performance permissions, promoter networks and limited historical data make it difficult to approach international expansion using the same indicators available to established touring genres. Williams says:
“I am finding this is actually a little more challenging than I imagined. Obviously India is fine, but with this genre moving into other territories with different religious beliefs, there are definitely challenges getting permits, etc. There’s also not a lot of radio, traditional data points, or touring history for this around the world. So getting promoters and finding out where it is and isn’t going to work is definitely a challenge. Learning and gathering the data as we go!”
For artist management, that means international growth has to be built through market discovery rather than simply following an established touring circuit. Promoters need to be identified, audience demand tested and the economics of each market understood.
Why followers are not the same as an audience
Social media has played an important role in bringing devotional music to audiences beyond traditional discovery channels. Videos of performances and large gatherings can introduce people to the format long before they attend a live event.
But Williams cautions against treating follower numbers as a direct measure of touring potential. For him, active engagement and actual audience behaviour matter more than the headline number attached to an artist’s social profile. He says:
“Honestly it I think it comes back to maybe what it was like before social media, a bit of using your gut feelings and instinct as well as the artists instinct to see what will work. Social media can help, but it’s definitely not as accurate as it used to be. By that I mean you can have thousands of followers in a city, but that doesn’t mean they will come and see you perform. So followers are not as important as people the are interacting and active. Going back to the days of touring and developing the Audience by word of mouth is very effective. I am not trying to play down the importance of social media as it’s obviously vital, but I think there are also other ways.”
That distinction is particularly relevant to a category that is still building its live audience. Digital visibility can create awareness, but touring requires a deeper form of engagement: people willing to attend, return and recommend the experience to others.
Finding the category’s “happy centre”
The rapid arrival of multiple shows also creates a challenge. A growing audience can encourage more events, but an oversupply of shows can make it harder for the market to establish sustainable demand.
Williams does not describe the next stage as a dramatic change. Instead, he sees a category that is still learning its own parameters, with artists, venues, promoters and managers developing the ecosystem simultaneously. He says:
“I would say it’s more evolution than change. This is new not only for the venues and the ecosystem, but also for the artists. It’s really being worked out on the run. I think it will adjust itself and naturally find its level. It definitely got flooded with shows and that’s never a good thing, so I do believe it will all calm down and find a happy centre.”
That idea of evolution perhaps best captures where bhajan clubbing stands today.
The format has demonstrated that devotional music can be presented through contemporary production and large-scale live experiences while retaining its participatory character. The next challenge is building the infrastructure around it: audiences that convert from digital discovery to ticket purchases, markets that can sustain touring, commercial partnerships that respect the nature of the offering, and frameworks that give artists clarity around their creative contributions.
For Williams, the answer is not to force the category into a predetermined model. It is to allow artists, venues, promoters and audiences to learn what works as the ecosystem develops. In a category that is still defining its audience, business models and touring possibilities, that evolution may be as important as growth itself.
The goal, ultimately, is not simply to make bhajan clubbing bigger. It is to let it evolve until it finds its “happy centre.”
