What happened to Bengaluru, the rock capital of the country?

By Falah Faisal

Growing up, I was told that besides being the Garden City, IT City, and Pub Capital, Bangalore was also the Rock Capital of the country, with a proclivity for old school rock and roll and metal. Largely owing to the fact that many international acts like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Aerosmith made it a stop on their Asia tours with the availability of venues like Bangalore Palace and Jayamahal Palace to play at.

When I attended my first rock gig – Independence Rock – I was blown away by the sounds of Inner Sanctum who have gone on to become a Bangalore staple. I also took pride that one of the first rock bands in the country was from my school – The Trojans formed in the mid-1960s by Biddu hailed from Bishop Cottons Boys’ School.

But the good times were coming to an end. Bangalore Palace stopped being a venue for gigs, which meant international acts stopped coming and music aficionados had to travel further out towards Yelahanka to attend NH7 Weekender. Things weren’t good in the city either – with many venues like Humming Tree, Bflat and Take 5 shutting down making it harder and harder to find live music anywhere.

“The Bangalore scene is a reflection of what’s happening globally, where Rock music has been out of favor for a while now,” says Anand Vijaysimha who moonlights as a musician. “There are challenges from electronic music which is economically more feasible for a venue than having a whole band. But these things can co-exist as long as people have the mindset of going out and seeing live acts irrespective of genre,” he says.

Some of the most iconic bands in the country have come out from the city including Lounge Piranha, Kryptos, Sulk Station, and Thermal and a Quarter - who have stayed together for decades. But are new acts emerging that have that kind of staying power?

Anurag Tagat, a music journalist who writes for Rolling Stone, says “Yes, acts like Disco Puppets, Aanchal Bordoloi, and Ranj x Clifr show just how experimental Bangalore musicians can be. And there are many more if you look beyond the strict definition of ‘western music’. Regional language acts draw their own audience.”

He also commends the work done by Bangalore Open Air in keeping the metal scene going. “Bangalore Open Air soldiered on even during years even when metal wasn’t doing well globally. It has been a great place for me to discover new acts and I usually just buy a ticket without even looking at the lineup,” says Tagat.

Innovation has always been key, and where venues might have dropped out websites and apps like Bandcamp and Spotify have provided an outlet for bands. Not to say there are no venues. Fandom and Gylt have been hosting phenomenal gigs lately and UB City has played host to bands like Peter Cat Recording Company and Lucky Ali in recent months.

I hope to see Bangalore regain its reputation as the Rock Capital again in the coming years.