There is a love for all things musical in Goa, and
crowds loving concerts is almost a norm. In more
recent times, there were strong rumours of UB40
travelling to Goa as a part of their 2017 India tour.
As things stand, their tour comprises Mumbai, Pune
and Bengaluru. Should they play in Goa at all, this act
would be fresh (well, kind of) on the heels of an epic
performance by Michael Learns to Rock in December
of 2015. Before them came a perhaps cringe-worthy
performance by the Vengaboys at the Mapusa Bus
Stand, and a sold-out Bellamy Brothers concert.
Prior to that, Goa has seen the likes of Osibisa, Jose
Feliciano and Jean Luc Ponty grace its stages. Mr
Big was rumoured to hit Goa post the Vengaboys
performance, however that didn’t materialise. All in
all though, the acts lined-up, good as they may be,
all hint at a target audience in the 40-plus age group,
apart from a few with discerning tastes in music.
This begs the question, is Goa incapable of drawing
a contemporary act in the ‘live’ segment, given that
it seems to have no issues with being able to pull
the big names in EDM to its shores? Many massive
names come as far from their home, and as near to
ours, as Mumbai or Bengaluru, yet are unseen or
unheard here.
PIC: CHELMSFORDCITYRACECOURSE.COM
Café asks a few concert
enthusiasts for their views:
Promoters will
bring bands
that are
economically
rewarding.
Promoting new
independent artistes
takes commitment as the market
for them is minuscule and rewards
are low or non existent. So the
band will usually be a recognisable
name. As far as why contemporary
EDM names draw a crowd? It’s
simple; times have changed and
with that, tastes and habits have
changed. The younger crowd
connects with EDM and hence
promoters find economic viability
in these acts.
VINCE COSTA,
Singer-Songwriter/Music Producer
