The only blues festival in India, Simply
The Blues, has now added Goa to its itinerary, thereby increasing the reach of
the festival to a cross-section of music lovers who either call Goa home or
their favourite holiday destination. The 4th edition of the festival kicked off
in Goa before heading to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The main event of show,
at Sol de Goa, Nerul, was the performance by French blues band ‘Lil Red &
The Roosters’, led by singer, songwriter and percussionist Jennifer Milligan
with Pascal Fouquet on guitar and Thomas Troussier playing the blues harp.
The opening band for the night was The
Herman Abreo Blues Band with Herman Abreu on blues harmonica and
guitar, Carlos Gonsalves on percussion and drums, Shayne Balantyne on
guitar and Joe Ferrao on bass.
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Simply The Blues, an initiative of
StarKonnect Events and Promotions, was the dream of its promoters Anil Mehta
and Joyce Arora, to give this beautiful genre its rightful spot in the live
music event space in India.
“The festival has been appreciated and well
received by blues bands across India. We have labels, artists and bands
connecting with us through the festival and it has even gained international
recognition,” says Anil Mehta, who believes that blues is no more considered a
niche music form.
Speaking about his first experience with
Lil Red & The Roosters, Anil continues, “I was talking with a radio host on
a show in the Netherlands who told me that he has friends in Europe who perform
blues music. That is when I learnt about the French band Lil Red & The
Roosters led by Jennifer. I heard their music and decided to approach them. I
called Jennifer and when I informed her that I was calling from India and would
love it if her band could perform here, I heard her drop the phone. She was
shocked to know that there was a blues scene in India. Though skeptical at
first, after some quick verification, she was excited to come on board.” The
band connects its modern sound to the roots of the blues, with Jennifer playing
one of the most unique ‘roots’ blues instruments – the washboard; an instrument
never heard on a live stage performance in India.
The festival held its performances in
Mumbai and Bangalore for the first three editions when they kept receiving
feedback from fans, calling the festival to their cities. “There are different
misconceptions about blues. Though the music genre was originated in America,
it has moved on to different parts of the world with many bands in Europe and
India too. For each of the performances, there will be an opening band from
that region. Music lovers earlier thought it was a genre liked by a mature
crowd but now young musicians are learning and taking up this genre of music.
There are young musicians in their twenties from places like Surat, Dehradun
and Mumbai who are brilliant musicians,” adds Anil.
Goa happy with the blues
Simply The Blues, the only blues festival
in India, has added Goa to their itinerary with renowned Blues band ‘Lil Red
and the Rooster’ kicking off their four-city tour with a performance at Sol de
Goa. Café catches up with promoter Anil Mehta to find out how Blues music is
influencing youngsters in India
Dolcy D’Cruz
The only blues festival in India, Simply
The Blues, has now added Goa to its itinerary, thereby increasing the reach of
the festival to a cross-section of music lovers who either call Goa home or
their favourite holiday destination. The 4th edition of the festival kicked off
in Goa before heading to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The main event of show,
at Sol de Goa, Nerul, was the performance by French blues band ‘Lil Red &
The Roosters’, led by singer, songwriter and percussionist Jennifer Milligan
with Pascal Fouquet on guitar and Thomas Troussier playing the blues harp.
The opening band for the night was The
Herman Abreo Blues Band with Herman Abreu on blues harmonica and
guitar, Carlos Gonsalves on percussion and drums, Shayne Balantyne on
guitar and Joe Ferrao on bass.
Simply The Blues, an initiative of
StarKonnect Events and Promotions, was the dream of its promoters Anil Mehta
and Joyce Arora, to give this beautiful genre its rightful spot in the live
music event space in India.
“The festival has been appreciated and well
received by blues bands across India. We have labels, artists and bands
connecting with us through the festival and it has even gained international
recognition,” says Anil Mehta, who believes that blues is no more considered a
niche music form.
Speaking about his first experience with
Lil Red & The Roosters, Anil continues, “I was talking with a radio host on
a show in the Netherlands who told me that he has friends in Europe who perform
blues music. That is when I learnt about the French band Lil Red & The
Roosters led by Jennifer. I heard their music and decided to approach them. I
called Jennifer and when I informed her that I was calling from India and would
love it if her band could perform here, I heard her drop the phone. She was
shocked to know that there was a blues scene in India. Though skeptical at
first, after some quick verification, she was excited to come on board.” The
band connects its modern sound to the roots of the blues, with Jennifer playing
one of the most unique ‘roots’ blues instruments – the washboard; an instrument
never heard on a live stage performance in India.
The festival held its performances in
Mumbai and Bangalore for the first three editions when they kept receiving
feedback from fans, calling the festival to their cities. “There are different
misconceptions about blues. Though the music genre was originated in America,
it has moved on to different parts of the world with many bands in Europe and
India too. For each of the performances, there will be an opening band from
that region. Music lovers earlier thought it was a genre liked by a mature
crowd but now young musicians are learning and taking up this genre of music.
There are young musicians in their twenties from places like Surat, Dehradun
and Mumbai who are brilliant musicians,” adds Anil.
