Artists

Arko Mukhaerjee singer 
Nishad Pandey guitar 

Inspired by the Eurovision Song Contest, five leading art song festivals – LIEDBasel, Heidelberger Frühling, Liedstadt, Schubertíada, and Leeds Song – joined forces in 2025 to launch the first Art Song Challenge. This initiative invited artists across Europe to submit innovative, interdisciplinary, and unconventional approaches to art song, with the goal of making the genre more accessible. Winners were selected from a large pool of entries through online auditions.  

Join us at the Howard Assembly Room’s Kino Bar to experience performances by Leeds Song’s winners: Arko & Nishad blend folk, tribal and classical music from the South Asian subcontinent with contemporary influences – jazz, African folk, pop and beyond – revealing the eclecticism of modern India in high resolution. 

Arko Mukhaerjee’s intoxicating voice interlocks and interweaves with Nishad Pandey’s expressive guitar playing, to create a dynamic and multi-dimensional sound, taking the audience on a journey of twists and turns, inviting them to experience the full spectrum of human emotions. The duo’s unique take on folk and traditional songs from India and around the world, rich with improvisation and spontaneous interaction, tells a captivating story of human migration and cultural cross-pollination.