Arts at the Armory Spotlight Series Presents L. Shankar
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Arts at the Armory is delighted to welcome living legend and musical pioneer L. Shankar to the Spotlight Series
L. Shankar is a violinist, vocalist, and composer whose career has redefined what Indian classical music can sound like on a global stage. Born in Madras into a family of musicians—his father V. Lakshminarayana was a celebrated Carnatic vocalist and violinist—Shankar began vocal training at age two and gave his first solo concert at seven. He went on to earn a doctorate in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, where he connected with jazz musicians including Ornette Coleman and John McLaughlin.
L. Shankar is known for inventing the double violin—a stereophonic double-necked electric violin; he debuted the instrument in 1981 on Phil Collins’ solo album (Face Value) and on his own album (Who’s to Know). He has released over 20 albums and dozens of unique and legendary collaborations including many recordings and tours with artists like Peter Gabriel, PIL, Talking Heads, Yoko Ono, Echo and The Bunnyman, among others. Shankar co-wrote the Grammy nominated soundtrack Passion for the Martin Scorsese film Last Temptation of Christ.
Now considered a living legend, a pioneer, and a musical genius, L. Shankar is a prolific international touring artist. With a career spanning decades, L. Shankar’s devotion to making groundbreaking music continues – in 2024 he released two world music albums: Full Moon and Over the Stars, followed by the star-studded pop-rock album Answers in 2025.
For this Spotlight performance Shankar will perform his original Indian classical ragas and compositions along with a handful of classic Shakti pieces. He will be accompanied by an all star duo of percussion including fellow Shakti family member Selvaganesh Vinayakram, who is a two-time Grammy Award winning member of Shakti and also the son of original Shakti member Vikku Vinyakram. On tabla is Amit Kavthekar, a longtime student of the late great Zakir Hussain and Zakir’s father Ustad Alla Rakha. Amit is regarded as one of the top-ranking tabla players of his generation regularly playing with master musicians of Indian music such as Amjad Ali Khan to jazz musicians such as Al Di Meola.
L. Shankar: double violin, vocals
Selvaganesh Vinayakram: mridangam (double-headed barrel drum), kanjira (small frame drum), konakkol (vocal percussion)
Amit Kavthekar: tabla (tuned hand drums) and spoken percussion
Tickets available now: experience the genius of L. Shankar at Arts at the Armory on September 17th. Doors will open at 7:00pm, the concert will begin at 8:00pm with a TBD opener.
Tickets: $45 advance / $50 day of show. General Admission seating.
Tickets purchased for L. Shankar are non-refundable. All sales are final.
We strive to be a welcoming, accessible community arts space. We are delighted to be a part of Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program.
Arts at the Armory will offer 10 free tickets (max of 2 free tickets per person) to EBT, WIC and ConnectCareholders for each Spotlight Series performance. Please contact elyse@artsatthearmory.org for more information.