Iconic Concert Venues in India
There is something about live music shows which cannot be matched with even with the best music systems in the world. The energy and the vibe of not only the artist but thousands of fans create an unmatched experience. Not to forget the thrill of seeing one’s favourite artist live and exclusive in front of your eyes. Apart from the musicians, the music and the fans, there is another component which can add that much more depth to a performance-the concert venue. In recent times, India has hosted a slew of live shows being performed across the country by indie musicians, national as well as by international artists. Starting this month, in a two-part series, the focus will be on music venues-iconic as well as the new age venues.
National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai
Inaugurated in 1969, NCPA, Mumbai, is one of India’s premiere cultural institutions.
It is considered to be one of the city’s first live music spaces and is known to host everything from western classical music, Indian classical music to even indie bands. Located at Nariman Point, NCPA has played host to music maestros like Zakir Hussain, Shivkumar Sharma, Zubin Mehta and even new age artists like Dualist Inquiry. It also hosts quite a few music festivals throughout the year and the musical experience here is fantastic.
Mehboob Studios, Mumbai
Mehboob Studios is nothing short of an iconic venue. Founded in 1954 by Mehboob Khan, they have been hosting live performances from 2010. ‘Live from the Console’ is an event hosted twice a month on Saturdays by Sony Music where several Indian bands perform. They have hosted an assortment of indie talent including electro-pop-rock quartet Sky Rabbit, progressive band Goddess Gagged and gypsy punk group Peter Cat Recording Co.
Asiatic Society Library Steps, Mumbai
The stairs of the heritage structure-Asiatic Society, often turns into an iconic performance venue to host the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and the Mumbai Sanskruti festival of Hindustani classical music. The stretch of road in front of the library is also closed off to make space for a stage and this ethereal venue has seen the likes of Sonu Nigam and even Shivkumar Sharma performing.
Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Mumbai
Mumbai’s Shanmukhananda Auditorium is more than sixty
years old and is the city’s largest auditorium with a seating capacity of 2,763 spread over three floors. It is a popular venue for Carnatic music. Master percussionist Trilok Gurtu and Grammy-winning mohan veena player Vishwa Mohan Bhatt have staged performances here. This auditorium is also the venue for the annual concert organised by Zakir Hussain in memory of his father Allah Rakha Khan-an event featuring the world’s finest musicians.
Shillong International Center of Performing Arts and Culture
Scheduled to open this year, Shillong International Center of Performing Arts and Culture or SIPAC is going to be India’s largest concert hall with state-ofthe-art facilities and is designed by Icelandic artist and architect Guðjón Bjarnason. With an indoor seating of two thousand guests and an outdoor theatre for twenty thousand people, SIPAC will serve as a cultural centre for the whole country.
These are just a few of the iconic auditoriums in the country. There are plenty more like the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Chennai which has hosted the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg; the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi; Jio Gardens in Mumbai which hosted Coldplay and Ed Sheeran and innumerable memorable locations, each with its own uniqueness and brilliant set of artist performances. In the next and final part to this series, we shall cover the new age venues which have taken performance and live acts to the next level.