‘Band’ baaja at fests!

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Nail-biting finishes, dance performances that leave you awe-struck, young rockers making the crowd head bang to their tunes — college fests have always been a source of entertainment and a platform to build ever-lasting memories. But when there’s a professional band or well-known musician performing, the fest gets bigger!
Mount Carmel College’s recently held Cul-ah! saw popular rock band Thermal and a Quarter and the all-girl band D Major entertain the crowd, along with Beat Gurus. Geniviev D’souza, president of the college says, “Our fests have always had popular bands performing. We’ve had Vinapra and Mood Logic during the previous years. And this time, we had a great response as a lot of people attended the fest mainly to watch the shows. Having popular bands to perform is a nice way to end a rock show. The gigs saw a packed venue.”
English rock bands attract a lot of youngsters, believes Genivuev, adding, “I’ve attended the IIT Madras and IIT Bombay fests. The IIT Bombay fest Mood Indigo, saw Katatonia, a Swedish metal band perform. I know people who travel out of the city just to attend IITs fests to watch such gigs,” she says. Mood Indigo also saw legendary singer Asha Bhonsle perform. The audience was in for another treat when Bollywood’s contemporary musical genius Amit Trivedi took to the stage. The fest also saw qawwali performances by the Sabri Brothers.
IIM Bengaluru’s Unmaad too is a popular fest that has seen Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Jal and other prominent musicians perform on stage. This year, popular rock band Indian Ocean and Indo-German rock band Fire on Dawson will entertain the crowd. Says student Kiran M., “I choose fests that have big bands performing. If there’s any major gig at a fest outside my city, I’d love to go.”
Eben Johnson, a final year student, who’s college (Christ University) is bringing down Galeej Gurus to perform at their fest, says, “We’ve always brought down bands to perform at out fest. But we give importance to participants too. I’ve seen many colleges bring down popular artistes for their pronights.”
For those who don’t take part in the events, but like attending fests, the presence of popular musicians and bands adds to the ‘wow’ factor. “I’m not active in the fest scene. But I love going for fests that have popular musicians,” says Prarthana P.
Bring on the ‘fest’ive spirit!