Live music shows are a regular occurrence in Goa. Music across
various genres has featured in shows held in the State. Now the State government
is talking about holding a music festival. This begs the question what would
the people of the state like in a show that could be organised by the
government. The importance of live music shows to the tourism industry cannot
be understated. Its importance to the appeal of being in Goa also cannot be
understated. So what would people want in such a show by way of handling issues
like traffic jams, noise pollution and yes the crowds that come for such
events.
Colin D Cruz a well known musician in the
state said live music was the very heart of Goa’s tourism industry. He said
“Besides the beaches and beautiful surroundings are the thousands of
restaurants that feature live music. It may not be documented but I’m quite
sure Goa has the most live music venues in the world. Nurturing this usp would
be nurturing tourism. I agree to noise levels being controlled in residential
areas” Varun Carvalho the singing dentist said “Goa is all about music and live
music has been an integral part of Goan culture for a few years now. People
from all over the world come to Goa for its live music scene and we have to do
whatever we can to preserve the live music scene in Goa because if the music
dies Goa will be dead. I think issues like noise pollution, traffic jams and
crowds can easily be taken care of by zoning certain areas as entertainment
zones”.
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The youth, many of whom are fervent partygoers also had their
viewpoint. Aryan Bhobe, a student in the second year said it was important that
the show be an enjoyable experience, feature good music, the vibe should be
right and overall should make everyone happy. He said “The people attending the
concert should have a good time and forget about all the problems they are
facing in day to day life. Alcohol should be present because I feel tourists
come to Goa to have a good time and so a bit of alcohol is always better in
order to have a great party.”
Beverly Mendes, a finance professional, felt proper event
planning would include crowd management, disaster mgmt, traffic planning,
environmental impact planning, garbage disposal and controlling all kinds of
pollution.
There were opinions that made a lot of sense. Eleanore Silveira
felt there should be some sort of cap on the amount of alcohol available. She
said it usually lead to people doing stupid things with clothing being
inappropriate making them look cheap. She said “Music should be lively at all
times, they should set up near the Oceanside or the beach and not near the
residential areas, if they have better parking areas it will prevent traffic
jams”.
Jessica Rodrigues a student said “I’ve not personally been to a
music festival but I heard people invest a lot of money in it and they expect
good sound quality, better music. Volume can be reduced during the night; they
need to manage the traffic that will create problems. Varun Kammari said
something that was completely antithetical to the point made earlier. He said
“Music festivals create joy, we have new experiences, and play loud music. If
they have it near residential areas it would be good for those who love to
listen to music”.
Rachel D’souza felt a good live musical experience had to
include good music, great artists playing new and famous songs, good ambience
and a large crowd. She said “It does cause a lot of noise pollution to a
certain extent but it depends on the kind of music. But for me as a listener I
go there to enjoy the music. I don’t really think about the noise pollution”.
For Kimberly Noronha it was all about enjoyment and safety. In addition she
said it was important to have public transport if there were massive shows. She
said “There will be a huge crowd coming for these live shows so if they
introduce public transport with set timings it will curb crowds going out of
control and stop crime.” Providing ample space for the audience with a stage
for the artist to move around comfortably to interact with the audience was
necessary, she felt for a great show.
A
music show that raises the standards of organization and ensures that everyone
else who came after would follow those standards would be the ideal show. It
would be nice if that became a reality.
