SUMIT SUVARNA
How India is turning out to be the dream destination for
Rock/Metal bands across the globe
If I told you that India is one of the best places to perform for
a rock band or that India is one of the places where just about
every band wants to perform in, you wouldn't have believed
me. You'd probably be amused and thought that I'm losing my
mind. Fast forward to 2017 and you may still not believe me,
but you wouldn't be amused. But you wouldn't believe me only
because you probably don't know the music scene very well.
India is home to over 1.3 billion people. Even though most
follow only Bollywood and other commercial music, there are
a lot of people who are into Rock and metal music. When I say
'a lot', I don't mean the majority. In fact, a very small minority
listen to rock and metal music. And the numbers are much
smaller as far as not-so-famous bands are concerned. But then
again, we are 1.3 billion people. That's a huge number. And
we're a huge nation. And regardless of how the economy is
doing, India is a massive market for every business in the
world. Rock / Metal music are no different.
Even if less than a million people
listen
and follow a certain kind of people, that's a big number. For,
there are tens of nations whose population is less than one
million! All of these contribute to creating a lot of interest for
performers to visit India, at least once.
How did it all start, though? Sure, we had Michael Jackson
visit India in 1996-97. It was a huge thing back then. We also
had several notable singers and other performers visit India
during, before and after that period. But where exactly did
things change? When did India become a hub of sorts for
bands from overseas? It's all up for discussion, but in my
opinion, it was when Iron Maiden made their made visit to
India in 2007. That was a major boost. India had never seen
a metal band with that kinda reputation in the world before.
Iron Maiden headlined 'Rock in India'. The concert was a
huge success and there was no looking back ever since.
Iron Maiden returned twice in consecutive years since then
performing sold out shows in Mumbai and Bangalore. Iron
Maiden's maiden visit to India opened the floodgates for a
horde of metal and rock bands performing in India.
India has been one of the most 'must-visit' places for artists
across the world. A gig or a tour in India has become
somewhat of a necessity for most. Since Iron Maiden in 2007,
we've had the greatest and the most obscurest bands visit
India. From Megadeth to Machine Head, Guns n Roses,
Metallica, etc and Meshuggah, Enslaved, etc. And it's not
slowing down... Not anytime soon!
46
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