Bengaluru’s live music scene has seen a resurgence in recent months.
Dutch group Vengaboys took the stage in November. American DJ Steve Aoki and British DJ TroyBoi (as part of the SteppinOut Music Festival), and Denmark-based pop rock band Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR) came soon after in December. In the past few weeks, VH1 Supersonic brought to the city British singer Anne-Marie and Nigerian singer-songwriter CKay, the name behind the viral track, ‘Love Nwantiti’. Dutch DJ Martin Garrix stopped by thanks to Sunburn Arena.
While the city has hosted numerous international acts in the past, the sheer number and scale of the artistes this time around have been noteworthy.
The need for new and exciting experiences after the Covid lull is one reason, says Karan Badkar, the founder of Envision (the agency responsible for booking artistes like Fedd Le Grand, and Offset for SteppinOut Music Festival). “Music lovers are looking forward to moving experiences, and these performances are helping drive the music community in India,” says Karan.
Karan Singh, CEO of Sunburn Festival, says that Bengaluru has a great ecosystem for big-ticket acts. “Bengalureans have always been receptive to different genres of music and music festivals. The city is also the best in terms of technical inventory,” he explains. For Ajay Gowda, partner-director at Byg Brewski Brewing Company, the main reason to rope in big names like Vengaboys and MLTR is to make the most of their sprawling 65,000 sq ft space. These concerts saw a crowd of 3,000 people.
“For me, it’s a business requirement. We have a huge space and there’s so much we can do with it. Most other food and beverage spaces in the city have a maximum cover of 200-300 people. There are additional benefits in terms of extra revenue,” reveals Gowda, who recently co-hosted French musician French Kiwi Juice and is planning to bring French outfit Gypsy Kings.
Bengaluru Open Air kicks off on April 1 and will see performances by Netherlands-based Pestilence, and American band Born of Osiris.