The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is all set to host its annual rock fest ‘Strawberry Fields’ from November 8 to 10 at its sprawling campus in Nagarbhavi. This year’s fest will have a line-up of over 50 bands from across the country.
Metrolife interacted with a few students of NLSIU and some of the bands who will be performing for the rock fest, to gauge their level of excitement.
The core committee in charge of organising the fest at the NLSIU have been running around non-stop for the last few months trying to get sponsorships and sending out invitations for the fest.
Vice-chancellor Dr R Venkata Rao, who has been lending a lot of support to the students, says, “This is one of the premium rock fests in the City which is entirely organised by the students with utmost dedication and professionalism. It is one of the most-awaited events every year.”
The participating bands say that they are looking forward to performing at ‘Strawberry Fields’.
Bharath Kashyap, a band member of ‘Broken Membrane’, says that this is the first time that they are performing at the fest. “It’s a dream-come-true for us to perform at this fest. We hope to play our new album that we are yet to release.”
Supreet Mankad, the lead guitarist and vocalist of ‘Thrash’, says, “We won’t waste time planning for the fest. Instead, we will perform whatever the crowd wants. It is always best to go with the flow. NLSIU has always kept up its culture of being the best in hosting a rock fest.”
Avinash, a band member of ‘The Lies Inside’, thinks that playing at ‘Strawberry Fields’ will be a good experience.
“The sound is among the best at the fest. The crowd is what we are looking forward to. It’s a lot of fun to get out there and play,” states Avinash.
Mathew, the vocalist of ‘White Mug’, points out that their band focusses on promoting love, peace and rock ‘n’ roll. “We usually perform the old songs in the rock ‘n’ roll category with an alternative element of music to it,” explains Mathew, who seems just as delighted to perform at the fest. The students of NLSIU are thrilled and note that they can’t wait for the show to begin. Atulaa Krishnamurthy, a third-year law student, feels that the core ideal of ‘Strawberry Fields' is to bring free music to Bangalore audiences.
“This year’s edition is going to be more like a festival with almost double the number of professional acts than usual, playing over two days. I am looking forward to performances by some of the biggest names in Indian music industry such as ‘Scribe’, ‘Sky Rabbit’, ‘Clown with a Frown’ and ‘Anthracite’.”
Apurva Shukla, another third-year student, says, “I've been closely associated with the ‘Strawberry Fields’ for the last two years but this year, I feel a different sense of excitement about the show. In terms of ideology, the show has shifted its emphasis in certain genres and generally become more accepting of diverse musical backgrounds. Personally, I am really eager to see ‘Clown with a Frown’ and ‘Anthracite’ perform, both of which were finalists last year.”