Red
Bull Spotlight, a new nation-wide programme to identify and support top talent across various fields, kicked
off with a band hunt in February. To be held at 11 venues across the country –
Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai,
Kolkata, and Guwahati – the band hunt is a search for the best college bands in
India. It began in Chennai on February 16, 2018 at Madras Christian College,
and then proceeded to Guwahati before its Goa leg. It will now head to
Hyderabad. In Goa, the Red Bull Spotlight programme was held at Parvatibai
Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Gogol-Margao on February 22.
Five colleges, namely Goa College of
Engineering (Farmagudi), Government Polytechnic (Panjim), Padre Conceição
College Of Engineering (Verna), Don Bosco College of Engineering (Fatorda) and
Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, faced against one another at
battle of the bands competitions. Around 100-150 students were present for the
competition that was judged by The Cool Water Project band and Daniel Miranda,
Goa’s foremost guitar techs.
TNT from Parvatibai Chowgule College emerged as the winners of
Red Bull Spotlight, Goa, while the first runner up Death Stroke from Padre
Conceição College of Engineering and the second runner up was Thunder Boats
from Government Polytechnic.
TNT and other select bands, similarly chosen by a jury, will
face off against one another at battle of the bands competitions in colleges
across the ten other cities, with one emerging city winner. An online voting
round will follow, with the national winner ultimately selected by a panel of
industry experts.
One national winner will be given the opportunity to record a
full-length album at a professional studio, plus other benefits including a
full press kit – complete with a photoshoot and album art for their newly
recorded album. Winning bands from each of the 11 cities will also be given
studio time to record one song in a professional studio. The national winner
will also get the chance to participate in an intimate Q and A session with
industry experts, including artistes, artiste managers and booking agents,
venue managers and more, giving them an in-depth look into the functioning of
the live music industry in India.
It
maybe recalled that last year, South Goa based (non college) band, The Runks,
had fared well in the national Redbull BandHunt 2017 and now, all eyes are on
TNT to see how they fare against some of the country’s best college bands at
the Redbull Spotlight.
