Pune-The Next Big Music Destination

Over the past few years,Pune has slowly but surely ascended to the top musical rung in the country.

Pune is celebrating music like never before. The city events listings are choc-a-bloc with musical events – many clubs and lounges are regularly hosting musicians from across the country,while drum circles,tribute nights and impromptu jamming and karaoke sessions are all the rage. The city has gradually emerged as the destination that every music-lover wants to explore. Popular bands like Indian Ocean,Soulmate,East India Company,Thermal And A Quarter,and more are regular visitors to Pune,while in recent months,singer-songwriters from Mumbai and Delhi especially have had a field day here.The recently-concluded NH7 Weekender in a way sealed the new-found reputation of Pune as the next big music destination.

There was this really huge spurt in music here in the early 2000s. Then it was artist-driven,now it is more venue-driven, explains Vijay Nair,CEO of Only Much Louder,one of the organisers of the NH7 Weekender. Pune is very event-friendly,the licensing is never a problem here,it is fairly liberal too,with serving of alcohol not being a problem. Also it has good venues,where large-format events like the NH7 can be organised. Having said that,the choice for Pune as the venue was very instinctive for us.

The commitment to music that local venues have shown have influenced this trend in a big way. Koregaon Park has transformed into a mini-musical hub,what with High Spirits,Hard Rock Cafe,Swig,One Lounge,Arc Asia and Curve hosting musical acts that play a wide range of music,from club and house,to rock,hip hop,dub step and jazz. Ours is an open-air restaurant,and most of our customers are youngsters. They demand live performances,and in fact,do not like the idea of a DJ playing out music. They want live rock music,and also soft classical genres, says Rohan Jhadhav of Curve in ABC Farms. It always starts at the grassroot level, feels Nair. Big events succeed in Pune because places like Arc Asia and Area 51 have been providing small doses of different genres to the people here.

Pune’s young population of students and corporate professionals is another major draw for organisers of music events. Also,on the flip side,is the population of retired elder citizens,who are avid followers of classical music, says Aditya Prabhu of Gladpeople Inc. He was the head of the concept team that produced the Dumru drum festival in the city in September. Pune is culturally very well-built,and it is increasingly taking on metropolitan colours, he says. According to him,the media publicity trailing every musical event,big and small,is also making Pune very attractive. Moreover,if you get good bands,their followers will come. The mentality of Punekars has changed,they want to explore more and they do not mind spending money on event tickets, adds Prabhu.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories