High on Music

July 25 is a big day for guitarist Rigzin Nurboo and his band,Checkmates,a local group from Leh,so they dont mind jamming all over again,even though it has been five hours since the session began.

Promising an array of live acts,Ladakh Arts and Music Festival hopes to collect funds for people hit by the cloudburst last year

July 25 is a big day for guitarist Rigzin Nurboo and his band,Checkmates,a local group from Leh,so they dont mind jamming all over again,even though it has been five hours since the session began. On that day,Checkmates opens a show for Delhi-based classic rock band Parikrama as part of the three-day Ladakh Art and Music Festival,which starts on July 24. One of the aims of the festival is to collect funds for the people of Ladakh,who were badly hit by cloudbursts at Sindhu Ghat in Leh in August last year.

Rockers and metalheads from across the country have been waiting for the second coming of the Ladakh Confluence,which was cancelled after allegations of drug and alcohol abuse last year. This year,the festival features live music by bands from around the world as well as several interesting acts from India. It is a time to enjoy the beats and riffs on the high plateau against the picturesque backdrop of the Himalayas.

Story continues below this ad

Ladakh Art and Music Festival is the brainchild of Phuntsog Angchok,the lead guitarist of Chandigarh-based metal band,Wasted Soul,who also runs a music school in Leh. Previously titled,Re-emergence 2011,the festival features Pete Lockett,Germany-based Electroswing,Mahesh Vinayakram,Emergence,Abiogenesis,Albatross,Half-Step Down and Reggae Rajahs. One of its thrust areas is to encourage local artisans,musicians and folk art performers,thangka painters and pashmina shawl embroiderers as well as landscape photographers and painters by providing them with a platform.

Checkmates will perform eight original compositions at the festival,which includes the popular Bakula,a tribute song to Bakula Rinpoche,a well-loved Buddhist lama. We were in Delhi when the flash-flood struck Leh but our families were there. Now,we have a chance to do something for the people, says bassist Sonam Gyaltsan.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.

Cyclone Montha: Schools closed, fishing activities suspended in Andhra, Odisha

India4 hr ago

A severe cyclonic storm, named Montha, is expected to make landfall along India's east coast between Odisha and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued warnings for heavy rain and rough seas, with the potential for extremely heavy rain in certain areas.

View all shorts

More Entertainment

Entertainment Malayalam cinema's most celebrated filmmaker's first movie earned 15 times its budget; romantic drama marked debut of Mohanlal