Indian Grammy legend Hariharan to light up Pickering with live concert
On Sunday, October 26, 2025, music lovers in the Greater Toronto Area will gather in Pickering, Ontario for a very special event: the Tamil-edition live concert featuring Hariharan. The show promises to be a high-energy evening of soulful vocals, timeless melodies and deep connection to the Tamil-language film and classical music scenes, for what is set to be one of the year’s standout cultural performances for the diaspora.
With Pickering playing host, the event draws on the vibrant South-Asian community in the region and beyond. Fans in Canada can expect Hariharan to deliver his popular Tamil hits, playback gems and perhaps even an unexpected classical interlude. It’s an opportunity to hear one of India’s most celebrated singers in a North American setting — a moment that bridges continents through music.
Who Hariharan is and why his songs resonate
Hariharan (born 3 April 1955 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) is a legendary Indian playback, ghazal and classical singer whose career spans several decades.
- Raised in Mumbai in a Tamil Brahmin Iyer family, he studied science and law, but his roots were in music — his mother, Alamelu Mani, and father H.A.S. Mani were distinguished Carnatic vocalists.
- Hariharan has sung in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, and is credited with thousands of songs.
- Known for his soulful voice, faultless diction and emotional depth, he has also pioneered Indian fusion music (notably through the band Colonial Cousins) and earned major honours including the Padma Shri (India) and several national awards.
His popularity among Tamil-language and Indian-language audiences stems from his versatility — the ability to sing light film songs, devotional numbers, ghazals and classical pieces — and his distinctive voice that touches both heart and mind. Whether the romantic hit or the classical ragam, Hariharan remains a favourite across generations and geographies.
The Tamil-speaking diaspora in Canada and the USA
The Tamil-language community holds a strong presence in North America, and this concert will naturally resonate with them. In Canada, the Tamil diaspora is estimated at approximately 240,000 people as of recent estimates. Many are settled in the Greater Toronto Area.
In the United States, Tamil-speaking communities are also significant, drawing on South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil migration, with hundreds of thousands living across states.
For Tamil-Canadians (and Tamil-Americans alike), events like this don’t just offer live entertainment — they connect to language, culture, nostalgia and identity. Hearing Tamil songs live, feeling that emotional resonance, and being among others who share the same cultural signifiers all contribute to a meaningful experience.
Hariharan’s concert becomes more than a show — it becomes a cultural gathering.