Ricky Kej on upcoming India tour, says BTS should compete for Grammys' mainstream categories | Interview

Three-time Grammy Award-winning composer and environmentalist Ricky Kej is taking his biggest Indian live show yet to audiences across the country. Titled DAMROOH – Dance To The Cosmic Spirit, the arena tour will bring together orchestral music, electronic sounds, Indian folk and traditional music with an immersive visual production.

The tour, staged in support of UNICEF, will travel across India between October and December 2026, with shows announced in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai, alongside upcoming dates in Ahmedabad and Chennai. Unlike a conventional concert, DAMROOH is designed as a fully seated symphonic experience, with Ricky bringing together a large ensemble of musicians and a production built around sound, visuals and technology.

The idea behind the tour comes from something much older than the technology that will power it. Ricky has built the show around the damru, an instrument closely associated with Lord Shiva and Indian spirituality. For him, it also connects naturally with the environmental themes that have been central to his music for years.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Ricky spoke about why the damru became the starting point for the tour, his concerns about the way Asian music is represented at the Grammys , and why he believes traditional Indian musicians need to rethink the live concert experience.

Environmental awareness and sustainability have been at the centre of Ricky’s work for much of the past decade. With DAMROOH, he wanted to connect those ideas with something deeply rooted in Indian culture.

"For me, most of my music, you know, for the last 10 years has been about the environment. It's been about sustainability, positive social impact around those areas," Kej explains. "So the thing is that, for me, DAMROOH was a beautiful concept simply because it is the first sound of creation. And also it's an ancient sound very representative of Indian culture and most importantly, like you know, the damru is associated with the deity Lord Shiva."

For Ricky, the instrument's spiritual meaning also aligns closely with his interest in the environment and coexistence. "Lord Shiva is considered to be the protector of the five elements of nature and the embodiment of coexistence," he adds. "So all of that seamlessly came together, of you know, environmental consciousness and spirituality."

The scale of DAMROOH is considerably larger than a conventional orchestral concert. The show is being designed around a fully seated audience, a large ensemble and an elaborate production setup. That also means the musicians have to work with considerable precision to make the different elements of the performance come together.

Ricky’s perspective on the global music industry is shaped by his own Grammy journey. A three-time Grammy winner, including two wins forDivine Tides, he has experienced the awards from within rather than simply observing them from the outside.