When Chai Met Toast Live 2026 in Dubai

When Chai Met Toast Live 2026 in Dubai brings the Kerala indie band to The New Covent Garden Theatre at Mall of the Emirates on Saturday 14 November. Presented by Live Nation, it is a seated theatre show from a group known for upbeat, sunny songs and singalong choruses, and a chance to hear their newest material alongside the tracks that built their following across India and beyond. Doors open at 6pm, the band are due on at 7pm, and the show runs for around 1 hour 40 minutes.

Who are When Chai Met Toast?

When Chai Met Toast formed in Kochi, Kerala, in 2016. The line-up is a four-piece: Ashwin Gopakumar on vocals, Achyuth Jaigopal on guitar and banjo, Palee Francis on keyboards and production, and Pai Sailesh on drums and percussion. They describe themselves as genre-defying, and their sound sits somewhere between indie folk and alternative rock, with bright melodies and a lightness that has become their calling card.

They sing mainly in English and Hindi, and sometimes slip Tamil and Malayalam lines into their songs. That mix is part of the appeal: the music feels rooted in South India while staying easy for anyone to sing along to. Their 2019 single Nee Aara is sung in Malayalam, a nod to their home state.

From Joy of Little Things to LYTS

The band arrived in 2017 with Joy of Little Things, which included the song Firefly, and followed it with the Believe EP, home to Khoj (Passing By). Those early releases made them one of the leading names in India’s growing indie scene.

Their first full-length album, When We Feel Young, came out in 2021 and carried their music to a much wider audience. It features seven songs, including Maybe I Can Fly, and one of its videos was picked among VH1 India’s top 50 hit videos. Their music also turned up in the trailer for Farhan Akhtar’s film Jee Le Zaraa, and the band created tracks for Kenny Sebastian’s web series Die Trying. Spotify recognised them in its RADAR programme for rising artists, and they followed up with the single Lovin’ U in 2022.

The latest chapter is the EP LYTS, recorded in London with producer Richard Wilkinson. It marks a new direction in their sound, so the Dubai show is a good opportunity to hear how those new songs sit next to older favourites on stage.

The live show

When Chai Met Toast have built their reputation on concerts. They are known for high-energy, feel-good sets, and they have headlined major Indian festivals and played stages such as Bacardi NH7 Weekender, SulaFest and the OnePlus Music Festival. Further afield, they performed at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2022 and sold out tours across the UK and the US.

This is not their first time in Dubai either: the band played Expo 2020 Dubai, so some fans in the city will already have seen them live. A theatre setting suits their music well, with acoustic textures, banjo and keys that carry clearly in a room built for performance, and choruses that tend to turn into a crowd singalong.

The venue: The New Covent Garden Theatre

The New Covent Garden Theatre is on Level 2 of Mall of the Emirates in Al Barsha, just off Sheikh Zayed Road. Inside the mall, head to Level 2 and make your way to Michael Kors in the Fashion Dome, take the hallway just after the store and walk to the end to reach the theatre.

The theatre is laid out in stalls and circle sections. For this show, seating is split across Bronze and Silver Circle and Gold and Platinum Stalls, so you can choose between a closer view from the stalls or a raised view from the circle.

Getting there

• By car: the closest parking is on Level 2 in Orange Zone A5 and A6.
• By Metro: take the Red Line to Mall of the Emirates station (R32).
• By taxi: ask for Mall of the Emirates and get dropped at the taxi drop-off at Entrance A, then take the lift or escalator up to Level 2.

Who it suits

Longtime fans of Indian indie music will know what to expect, but the show is also an easy introduction for anyone who likes warm, melodic folk-rock in the vein of uplifting singer-songwriter bands. The lyrics in English and Hindi, with flashes of Malayalam and Tamil, make it a natural pick for Dubai’s large Indian community, especially anyone from Kerala who has followed the band since their early days.

It also works for families with teenagers. Under-16s are welcome as long as they are accompanied by an adult aged 21 or over. With a 7pm start and a running time of about 100 minutes, it is an early night that leaves room for dinner at Mall of the Emirates before or after.

If plans change, Platinumlist lets you exchange your ticket with another fan. For more live music this season, browse our concerts in Dubai guide, see what else is on in November, or check things to do this weekend.