The Score Magazine September 2017 issue! | Page 39

Are you ready for the

Sennheiser Top 50 Grand Finale ?

Strengthening its commitment of building a platform for independent music in India , Sennheiser announced its third edition of Sennheiser Top 50-a battle of Indian bands to compete and make their way to the coveted list of Top 50 best bands in India . After a grueling competition between 500 plus bands from across India and two rounds of selection , Sennheiser along with the jury selected it ’ s zonal finalists ’ basis the on-ground zonal battle held in 4 zones ; East- Guwahati , North- Delhi , West-Pune and South- Bangalore . The winners from the respective zones will now battle it out at the grand finale to be held in Mumbai on 21st September to bag prizes worth 20 Lacs and get 2-year endorsement by Sennheiser which will give them access to the Sennheiser gear by being the face of Sennheiser for the next year .
To begin with the first leg of its race , Sennheiser held an on-ground battle in on 23rd August at Terra Mayaa . From a compelling 157 entries from the East , the brands that were crowned the top 3 bands were- Avora Records , Spreading Roots , and The Buddha Therapy . The grand finale evening saw Avora Records , The Buddha Therapy , and Spreading Roots ( top 3 finalists ) battling it in the presence of a cheering crowd and music maestros of the east . Apart from the performance by the top 3 bands , Guwahati also witnessed a soulful performance by none other than Lucid Recess . The East Zone was judged by none other than Papon and Rudy Wallang . Avora Records turned out to be the crowd favourite and the judge ’ s choice to grab the No . 1 spot . Avora Records will now further battle it out in Mumbai for the grand finale .
The next day followed the same level of excitement with the onground zonal battle in the North held on 24th August at Hard Rock Café , New Delhi . From a compelling 121 entries from the North , the bands that were crowned the top 3 bands were- Knight Shades ( winner ), Warwan ( Rank 2 ) and Naalayak ( Rank 3 ). The face off the bands was graced and judged by the none other than the talented jury – Surojit Dev- Founding member and Leading Drummer of ThemClones and Subir Malik- Keyboard player , renowned manager of noted singers and driving force behind Parikrama- One of India ’ s oldest rock bands . Apart from the performance by the top 3 bands , Delhi also witnessed a soulful headliner act by none other than Faridkot . Knight Shades turned out to be the crowd favorite and the judge ’ s choice to grab the No . 1 spot . Knight Shades will now further battle it out in Mumbai for the grand finale on 21st September to win the trophy of the most coveted band in India .
Post Guwahati and Delhi , Sennheiser announced the winner from the west zone basis the on-ground finale held on 31st August at Hard Rock Café , Pune . The brands that were crowned the top 3 bands were- The Family Cheese , Vernon Noronha and Fame The Band . The face off of the bands was graced and judged by the none other than the talented jury – Ashish Manchanda and Uday Benegal . Apart from the performance by the top 3 bands , Pune also witnessed a soulful performance by none other than The Peepal Tree . The Family Cheese turned out to be the crowd favourite and the judge ’ s choice to grab the No . 1 spot . The Family Cheese will now further battle it out in Mumbai for the grand finale on 21st September
The final race of Sennheiser Top 50 zonal battle ended with the on-ground battle held in South on 1st September at The Humming Street Bangalore , where the top 3 finalists from the south- When Chai Met Toast , All the Fat Children and Big Deal battled it out to further compete at the grand finale . The face off of the bands was graced and judged by the none other than the talented jury – Raghu Dixit and Swarathma- popular Indian Folk-Rock band . Apart from the performance by the top 3 bands , Bangalore also witnessed a soulful performance by none other than Vasu Dixit Collective . When Chai Met Toast turned out to be the crowd favorite and the judge ’ s choice to grab the No . 1 spot and will further battle it out in the grand finale to be held in Mumbai .
All this makes Sennheiser Top 50 a perfect platform for Indian bands to showcase their talent and create a place for themselves in the competitive and growing music industry .
The last two editions of Sennheiser Top 50 saw tremendous response and engagement . And this season received an overwhelming response with registration from over 500 bands across all genres - pop , rock , fusion , classic , metal , jazz , and blues .
Mr . Vipin Pungalia , Director , Sennheiser Professional Segment India , commented on Sennheiser-Top50 saying , “ We have received an exceptional response this season . All the 4 zonal on-ground battles were beyond thrilling . It was as it is difficult to shortlist top 12 but the real struggle was finalizing the zonal winners as there is so much of talent in our country . To make this a bigger success and support the bands , we received an exceptional response from the audience as well .”
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