Is Bengaluru’s live music scene slowly coming back to life?

Twenty-seven places serving liquor and hosting live music had shut down in 2018. Artistes say things are looking up now

Pubs and bars hosting live music are slowly recovering from the setbacks they faced in 2018, when 27 of them had to shut down.

In December, one of Bengaluru’s most popular live music venues, The Humming Tree, will open its doors again. It is moving to a new building not too far from its earlier location in Indiranagar. It had shut down in 2019.

“I believe Bengaluru needs half a dozen more spaces for music,” says Arati Rao Shetty, musician and owner of B Flat, a popular bar and performance space, which was among the spaces that shut down in 2019.

Legal angle

Between 2018 and 2019, many venues wound up. In 2018 alone, police action resulted in 27 venues shutting down. While the common belief is that the music scene suffered because of the government’s unfair rules, the truth is that the venues did not have a Public Entertainment License, which could only be obtained if they had an ‘occupancy certificate’ or OC, says a business insider. Earlier that year, a fire had broken out at a commercial building in Mumbai, which housed multiple pubs. It claimed 14 lives. That had triggered safety audits in Bengaluru.

An OC is difficult to obtain because it is given only if a building is constructed in accordance with the municipal bylaws. “The police were well within their rights to shut them down,” the source explains. But, multiple sources say, many of the venues were running in rented buildings, and the owners were the ones responsible for ensuring that the buildings conformed to municipal bylaws.

Lack of small spaces

Prashanth Gnanamuthu, a seasoned bassist, notes that though venues like Fandom, Koramangala, and Gylt, Hennur, exist, they are large spaces, and bands are expected to sell a minimum number of tickets for a performance to be hosted. “It is almost impossible for smaller, local and regional bands to bring in those numbers,” he explains.

Pre-pandemic, intimate venues like BFlat held at least four gigs a week, while The Humming Tree hosted about 25 events a month.

“That culture (of stepping into a small bar for a drink and enjoying some live original music at the same time) which was a large part of the city’s entertainment scene, simply does not exist anymore,” says Debjeet Basu, member of the multi-genre band Perfect Strangers. Seven years ago, his band would perform 7 or 8 shows a year in Bengaluru. Today, that number has come down to just two. “We perform more in other cities,” he says.

The Humming Tree is set to return to a larger space on Indiranagar’s 100ft Road. “The first and second of three floors have been turned into a performance space,” founder Nikhil Barua says. The venue plans to host at least 25 events a month, spanning live music, theatre, stand-up comedy and film screenings.

Venues for rent

The gap in the availability of performance spaces has led to the mushrooming of smaller venues like Raft, Koramanagala, and Streamphony, Jayamahal, which can be rented for gigs. Additionally, spaces like Bangalore International Centre, Domlur and Sabha, Kamaraj Road, have been hosting performances, but it still does not make up for the lack of boutique venues with a schedule carefully curated by its proprietors. 

Blesswin Immanuel, guitarist of country music band Mud Road, feels things are improving. “The scene is still recovering from the pandemic. But compared to three years ago, we are in a much better position,” he says.

Arati agrees. “It is better, but it is not where it should be. Bengaluru has a culturally educated audience that deserves good entertainment,” she adds.