Mumbai: The Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) 2026, South India’s biggest literary festival, is set to elevate its cultural offering with Live Musical Evenings at the iconic Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram. Scheduled from January 29 to February 1, 2026, at Kanakakkunnu Palace, the seventh edition of the festival promises a vibrant confluence of literature, ideas, and music under the overarching theme ‘Paradox of Pace’.
The festival will bring together over 400 international and Indian writers, readers, influencers, and intellectuals, with sessions spanning fiction, poetry, nonfiction, politics, environment, travel, science and technology, activism, and cinema. Alongside the literary programme, MBIFL 2026 will host three nights of live music, blending contemporary sounds, folk roots, and global influences to create immersive cultural experiences for attendees.
Live Musical Evening Line-Up
- January 30, 2026: Playback singer Naresh Iyer joins guitarist-composer Vijay Ganesan and vocalists Srikant Hariharan and Aparna Harikumar for a genre-blending performance.
- January 31, 2026: Kerala band Thakara brings folk-fusion rhythms with a contemporary twist.
- February 1, 2026: Shanka Tribe, featuring singer-songwriter Neha Nair, delivers a high-energy mix of electronic, tribal, and live instrumentation.
Each evening is designed as a musical journey that aims to enthral, inspire, and connect audiences across generations and backgrounds, reinforcing MBIFL’s positioning as a holistic cultural festival.
Commenting on the initiative, M V Shreyams Kumar, Festival Chairman and Managing Director, Mathrubhumi Group, said, “MBIFL has always been about celebrating ideas and creativity. Our Live Musical Evenings are an extension of this vision—where music meets literature, and audiences experience culture in its most vibrant form.”
The Live Musical Evenings underscore MBIFL’s commitment to blending artistic excellence with cultural celebration, making the festival a multidimensional platform for literature, music, and intellectual discourse. Organisers expect the musical showcases to be among the key highlights of MBIFL 2026, offering attendees three unforgettable nights of curated performances.
Tickets for MBIFL 2026 are available via the festival’s official platform, inviting literature and music enthusiasts alike to be part of the cultural celebration in Thiruvananthapuram.
