Among what arena rock bands can do, Imagine Dragons began their 90-minute Lollapalooza Paris performance a few months ago with the sound of the humble mandolin opening the show with their opening hit ‘It’s Time’ . Frontman Dan Reynolds remained the focal point for thousands of phone cameras recording the comeback of the American pop-rock band, as guitarist Wayne Sirman picked up the mandolin.
It’s the kind of hard-to-predict passages that make the four-member band — Reynolds, Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman — a hit with audiences. McKee, a graduate of Berklee College of Music (like everyone except Reynolds), says on a call that the craft of improvisation is often on display in Imagine Dragons’ sets, wherever they go. “We never play the same song the same way twice.”
L-R: Wayne Serman, Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds and Daniel Platzman of Imagine Dragons | photo credit: Eric Ray Davidson
an ambitious debut
They’re at home at Lollapalooza, a multi-genre gathering that has set stages across the globe and is now making its way to India later this month. In a country where long-standing music festivals such as Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Zero Festival of Music, Sunburn and Magnetic Fields Festival have earned the cred for bringing together Indian favorites as well as international flavours, Lollapalooza India is one of the most Starting off by piling up the numbers. International live band at an Indian music festival in recent memory.
With the pandemic still posing challenges for promoters to book big-name international acts, they have expanded their world-renowned repertoire in nearly 30 years to bring in current, never-before-seen artists such as Japanese Breakfast, ZHU and Indian Have the advantage of international brand name. Raveena, the original artist for the country. With an ambitious 60,000 tickets to be sold, this will be an annual affair that is one of the most enterprising debut editions.
Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons CES | I perform Photo Credit: AP
For artists such as Imagine Dragons, they were drawn to Lollapalooza not only for their long-standing familiarity with it, but also the vibe it brings to the artists. “Perry [Farrell, the founder] Has been a great supporter. And we have a great time bonding with the band. The way they have curated the whole experience, it really is a kind of communal experience – everyone comes out of their shell, hangs out, and it creates a fun atmosphere that spills onto the stage,” McKee Says, their concert ahead will arguably represent pop-rock music, retaining the tropes of the early 2000s but updating it with present-day production.
never play it the same
It takes a lot to be called one of the current torchbearers for arena rock in the world, but is also known as formulaic music makers. But Imagine Dragons takes it all in its stride. Formed in Las Vegas in 2008, they took off around the time they released their debut album Dreams in 2012. While some critics called them “the worst band ever” for their loud music and ‘unimaginable’ songwriting, Imagine Dragons’ audience continued to grow into the millions, inspired by the relatability and honesty of their lyrics.
In the years when they were put down to being mediocre, the band won a Grammy, a few American Music Awards, gathered hundreds of thousands of fans around the world to see them on sold-out tours, and arguably kept rock music alive in the mainstream. Is. He even crossed over by making ‘enemies’ with rapper JID in 2021 for a Netflix series of distinction (An adaptation of the video game series League of Legends).
It’s been a decade and Imagine Dragons have gone from only being known for songs like ‘Radioactive’, ‘Believer’ and ‘Thunder’ to plotting a two-part album. Wed, with Act 1 being released in 2021, followed by Act 2 in 2022. Pop albums are usually reserved for when artists want to make a big, concept-driven statement. They have sometimes fallen short in terms of having pithy lyrics, but Wed Lived up to the hype—with one hour and 42 minutes of soulful, gorgeous music. The band doubled down on their genre-hopping sound, covering everything from EDM to pop, rock and R&B, with songs such as ‘Follow You’, ‘Wasted’, ‘Bones’ and ‘Sharks’ were. “We had written so much music that we were so proud of, there was no way we could have released less than that many songs,” says Mackie.
Now, imagine the Dragons are here to show their might, be it in Qatar, Bahrain, India or South Africa on their Mercury World Tour. McKee concluded, “We’re going to chalk up frequent flier miles to this one.”
when in india
Outside the Lollapalooza India stage, McKee, a vegetarian, is predictably excited about the food he is about to try. “There are so many vegetables in India that I have never experienced before. The spices that come out of my drawer at home will not taste exactly like what I will experience when I reach there and try authentic cooking.
Lollapalooza India is on January 28-29 at Mahalaxmi Race Course, Mumbai.
The author is a freelance music journalist based in Bengaluru.