Music gets wings at Fly Music Festival

Members of cult band The Doors, Deep Purple and The Wailers to perform in India at the Fly Music Festival; artiste line-up also includes Anthrax and Limp Bizkit

Going by the number of international artistes touring India in the coming months, 2013 surely looks promising on the music front.

Metal-band-Megadeth

And with the announcement of a new music festival, India’s being treated to a trip down rock music’s glorious alleys. Sixties’ rock pioneers, The Doors (comprising keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger) as well as genre-bending outfit Deep Purple from the ’70s, will perform at the Fly Music Festival. The two-day event will be held concurrently at Noida and Bengaluru on February 16 and 17.

Reggae legend Bob Marley’s influential outfit, The Wailers, will also perform at the event, which will host only live bands.

American thrash metal act Anthrax features in the line-up and their performance will be a milestone for India, for having hosted the Big Four of Metal (Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica) in a span of one year. Other big bands at the fest include rockers Limp Bizkit, folk-pop singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and dubstep act Dub Pistols.

“With Fly, we want to cut to the chase. In the first year, we’re offering audiences what we gave them at Sunburn in its sixth year,” says Shailendra Singh, head, Percept Live, organisers of the event.

With the diversity in the artiste line-up as its biggest selling point, Singh hopes to attract fans across genres. “Till now, individual promoters had been whetting the appetite of fans with separate gigs. But we’re attempting something that’s never been done before by getting some of the best musicians across rock, reggae, soul and dubstep at one event. Fly will set the tone for consumerism in music.”

Other acts to watch out for at the fest

KT Tunstall: The Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist rose to fame with her hit single ‘Big black horse and a cherry tree’ in 2004. She has released four albums till date.

Deap Vally: A rock duo comprising Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums), Deap Vally broke onto the music circuit in 2011 and are touted to be a very promising outfit,

Dhol Foundation: This London-based group, formed in 1989 plays bhangra music.

Dub Pistols: Another London-based act, Dub Pistols have been a prolific band, having recording six albums till date and toured extensively.

The Cuban Brothers: This trio is known as much for their hooky music as for their histrionics on the stage.