Sitar Players for Hire

Hire Sitar Players

The sitar is the long-necked plucked string instrument most associated with North Indian classical music, brought to global recognition by Ravi Shankar and his collaborations with George Harrison and The Beatles in the 1960s. Professional sitarists train for years in the guru-shishya tradition and perform raga-based music drawn from the Hindustani classical canon, alongside Bollywood arrangements, Sufi pieces, and increasingly fusion material that pairs sitar with Western instruments.

Solo Sitar vs Sitar and Tabla Duo

Most professional sitarists perform either solo or as a duo with a tabla player, and the duo format is the more common booking. The tabla provides the rhythmic foundation that makes raga performance fully come alive, particularly for the faster gat sections after the opening alap. Solo sitar works well for quiet background music during a drinks reception, dinner, or guest arrivals, while the duo is the right choice when the music itself is part of the entertainment, such as a sangeet performance slot or a stage set at a corporate event. Some acts also offer larger lineups including bansuri (Indian bamboo flute) or sarangi.

Asian Weddings and Other Bookings

For Asian weddings, sitar players are commonly booked across multiple ritual moments: the mehndi night, the sangeet, guest arrivals before the ceremony, the wedding breakfast or reception meal, and as background music between the drinks reception and dinner. Beyond weddings, sitarists perform at corporate events with Indian or Eastern themes, restaurant residencies, art gallery openings, yoga retreats and meditation events, film and album recording sessions, and cultural festivals. Indian and Bollywood entertainment covers the wider category if you also need dancers or a Bollywood band, and a sitarist can sit alongside a string quartet from world music ensembles for fusion performances.

Practical Considerations

Sitar and tabla players sit cross-legged on the floor to perform, so a raised stage or low platform with cushions and a rug is worth arranging if guest sightlines matter, particularly for larger venues. Most acts bring their own PA suitable for rooms of around 100 to 200 people; larger venues need either an upgraded system from the act or a venue PA. Typical performance length is one to two hours of background music, or shorter dedicated performance slots of 30 to 45 minutes for sangeets and stage sets.

Sitar Player Pricing

Rates range from $75 for a solo sitarist on a shorter local booking up to $700 for an established sitar and tabla duo travelling to perform a longer wedding set or a multi-day event. The average sits at $450. The main cost drivers are solo versus duo, performance length, travel distance, and the act's profile, with classically trained sitarists from established lineages commanding higher fees.