The term bhangra originally designated a particular dance performed by Sikh and Muslim men in the farming districts of the Punjab region of South Asia. The dance was associated primarily with the spring harvest festival Baisakhi, and it is from one of the major products of the harvest—bhang (hemp)—that bhangra drew its name. In a typical performance, several dancers executed vigorous kicks, leaps, and bends of the body to the accompaniment of short songs called boliyan and, most significantly, to the beat of a dhol (double-headed drum). Struck with a heavy beater on one end and with a lighter stick on the other, the dhol imbued the music with a syncopated (accents on the weak beats), swinging rhythmic character that has generally remained the hallmark of any music that has come to bear the bhangra name.

In the mid-20th century the bhangra dance began to gain popularity beyond the Punjab, and, as it did so, it became divorced from the agricultural cycle, emerging as a regular feature of wedding festivities, birthday parties, local fairs, and other celebrations. With the change in context came changes in other aspects of tradition. The term bhangra expanded to encompass not only the dance but also the instrumental and vocal music that was associated with it; the large dhol was replaced by the similar yet smaller dholak, played with the hands; various local instruments—such as the flute, zither, fiddle, harmonium (a portable, hand-pumped organ), and tabla (pair of single-headed drums)—were added to the accompaniment; and the topics of the song texts broadened from agricultural themes to include literary, romantic, and subtly comic material. In the later 20th century, guitar, mandolin, saxophone, synthesizer, drum set, and other Western instruments were added to the ensemble.

The term bhangra originally designated a particular dance performed by Sikh and Muslim men in the farming districts of the Punjab region of South Asia. The dance was associated primarily with the spring harvest festival Baisakhi, and it is from one of the major products of the harvest—bhang (hemp)—that bhangra drew its name. In a typical performance, several dancers executed vigorous kicks, leaps, and bends of the body to the accompaniment of short songs called boliyan and, most significantly, to the beat of a dhol (double-headed drum). Struck with a heavy beater on one end and with a lighter stick on the other, the dhol imbued the music with a syncopated (accents on the weak beats), swinging rhythmic character that has generally remained the hallmark of any music that has come to bear the bhangra name.

In the mid-20th century the bhangra dance began to gain popularity beyond the Punjab, and, as it did so, it became divorced from the agricultural cycle, emerging as a regular feature of wedding festivities, birthday parties, local fairs, and other celebrations. With the change in context came changes in other aspects of tradition. The term bhangra expanded to encompass not only the dance but also the instrumental and vocal music that was associated with it; the large dhol was replaced by the similar yet smaller dholak, played with the hands; various local instruments—such as the flute, zither, fiddle, harmonium (a portable, hand-pumped organ), and tabla (pair of single-headed drums)—were added to the accompaniment; and the topics of the song texts broadened from agricultural themes to include literary, romantic, and subtly comic material. In the later 20th century, guitar, mandolin, saxophone, synthesizer, drum set, and other Western instruments were added to the ensemble.