Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani Grammy winner when she took home the global music performance award for her song “Mohabbat” in 2022.

A year later, actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh stepped onto the smoke-filled stage of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California, becoming the festival’s first artist from the Indian state of Punjab near the border with Pakistan, a region known for its vibrant musical culture.

In August, the first-generation Indian American artist Avara sat in a bed of rose petals at a concert hall in Brooklyn for the opening performance of her first tour. Fans crowded around the stage for a glimpse of the artist, who has gained over 250,000 new monthly Spotify listeners since November 2024 — a more than 250% increase.

“I started gettin

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