Soul, Funk & R&B in New Delhi

Sticky-sweet grooves and sultry vocals turn up most nights around Safdarjung and the Eldeco Centre, with a few faithful outposts even reaching Gurugram’s 32nd Avenue. The Piano Man Jazz Club and its sister spots — The Piano Man at Eldeco and The Piano Man Gurugram — keep things intimate, spinning curated vinyl sessions of ’70s and ’80s soul, funk and R&B. Expect a nightlife-first, casual crowd of adults and professionals who treat these paid, late-evening shows as small, social rituals rather than festival spectacles. Those sets nod to a bigger story: the music’s roots in New York’s Hispanic and African American communities, where turntablism, street style and rap were born, are audible in the slinky rhythms and occasional hip-hop inflections here. With only a handful of focused gigs, the scene feels deliberate and well-produced — a compact, polished circuit that’s only getting warmer. Go catch a vinyl night and see how local players fold their own urban tales into the groove.