Indie musicians from Chennai are back on stage with new music created during the lockdown. And audiences are eagerly switching from virtual concerts to the energy of live shows
When the Covid-related lockdown began in March 2020, musicians from Chennai retreated to their homes and studios to spend their time. Many people kept in touch with fans online. Most of them kept in touch with their creative inner self, quietly releasing song after song, in a steady outbreak of ‘lockdown releases’ that continues to this day.
In recent weeks, it seems the involuntary hiatus has finally come to an end.
Indie music performances are again becoming a regular feature of city nightlife, and songs hitherto limited to life and streams are finally being belted out for real-life audiences. But although fun-lovers and performers alike are happy, some common challenges remain.
Last Saturday at Barracuda Brew in Nungambakkam, it fell to singer-songwriter Sarah Black to start the evening. Her voice is powerful, but her songs were bland, and it took two solid numbers for her to really hear before the gossiping patrons settled in. Sarah’s opening act – a mix of covers, original and unreleased singles – paved the way for Michael Timothy and the rest of the Friends lineup, and the night ended on a more synergistic high.
Sarah had guessed as much: “It is a pub after all; People are there to have fun. It’s hard to keep the crowd silent when playing acoustics; But the audience got excited till the end.
Her sets included numbers she had never done before, such as the sweet-smelling ‘Someday’ written a month ago, and earlier lockdown releases such as ‘Loud’ and ‘Summer Love’.
She adds, “Michael Timothy asked me to open one of his shows a long time ago, which didn’t happen then. I was excited to finally open for him, because he’s an amazing musician and the lineup is really cool. it was good. “
Part of the same lineup was Amogh Balaji, who has been on stage for the past few weeks both as a solo artist and as part of an ensemble cast, which also includes fellow musician and collaborator Michael Timothy.
He recalls that Amogha’s first night on stage was in November at Black Orchid, RA Puram. The concept was similar to Barracuda Brew: the program was titled Michael Timothy and Friends. Amogh says, “The turnout was very good; It was one of the first major indie gigs to take place after the second lockdown. Me, Nadisha Thomas, Paul Livy, Chris Jason and many other musicians were there. The crowd was a mix of people who came just for us, and people who just wanted to have fun over the weekend. ,
Black Orchid’s night was special for his comeback. Says Amogh, “Out of the songs we performed on, two were songs that I had never sung before doing it live. I had recorded ‘Loki’ and ‘Who Cares’ while on quarantine, and I was terrified because I never imagined performing them live. They were meant to be studio songs. His fear was unfounded; The audience, he says, received two numbers as well as any other.
Followers of IRL fans
Recent gigs are giving Amoggh another reason to rejoice: “Last weekend, two or three people on the show came up to me, saying they were here because they recognized me from Instagram. It’s nice to see that social media. working for us and showing results in real life.”
A new audience isn’t the only yield musicians are getting from their year online. In some cases, it has even given them a platform. House of Tea, which has been organizing Instagram and Zoom shows for most of the pandemic – sometimes ignoring the dwindling audience – has promised new talent through it.
Thomas Davies, founder of House of Tea, says, “Many interesting musicians were part of our Zoom show, including Kavin who performs reggae music in Tamil, Sadhana B who plays violin as well as guitar, and some young talent who played the board. To stop my music due to exams, and now desperate to return.”
when the time is right
All these musicians are hosted by House of Tea at their usual venue: Republic, Adyar. His shows have been temporarily becoming more frequent since August: “We tried alternate Saturdays in August, and then made it to every Saturday night from October onwards. In November, we moved to Sunday nights, as the bar crowd in Chennai prefers dance music over live music on Saturdays. The Sunday crowd is more mellow, and wants to hear original music. ,
Thomas says that, surprisingly, viewership is now higher than before the lockdown. “A show used to have a maximum of 30 people, now there’s a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 60.”
Big platforms like Social are also optimistic about their indie music plans. Ranveer Sabani, Business Head – South, Impresario Handmade Restaurants, Mount Road Social says, “We would love to host their [independent musicians] as often as possible. We are waiting to find a pool of talent with which we can start property in the middle of the week. Currently, we have five to six gigs per month. ,
Thomas acknowledges, “The culture still needs to build more, but people are now more willing to come out to artists they don’t know personally.”
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