The Score Magazine May 2017 | Page 48

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 The Score Magazine highonscore.com