HERE’S WHAT IT’S REALLY LIKE TO BE AN INDIAN INDIE ARTIST PLAYING LIVE GIGS

MUSICIANS GURDIP SINGH NARANG, TEJAS, PRATIKA PRABHUNE AND ADIL MANUEL WEIGH IN ON REHEARSAL COSTS, FEES FROM SHOWS, SIDE HUSTLES AND MORE

- David Britto

Having attended a plethora of gigs over the past few months, we’ve noticed that live music is thriving more than ever in Mumbai. Even though actual live music shows (the ones where musicians play instruments and sing into a microphone) are usually given midweek slots, they are still able to pull in packed houses. Cases in point are the recent shows at the city’s premier live venue antiSOCIAL. Since the turn of the year, local artists such as brutal death metallers Gutslit, pop-rock band The Colour Compound, pop-punk outfit The Lightyears Explode, reggae-rockers Tough on Tobacco, hiphop collectives Wild Wild Women and Swadesi, and singer-songwriters Tejas and Aarifah Rebello as well as jazz/funk/blues group the Adil Manuel Collective, amongst others, have all enjoyed tremendous success playing to impressive turnouts at their gigs.

However, while everything may seem glossy from the outside, what is it like behind the scenes for the artists? In this post-COVID transition back to normalcy as well as the rise in rehearsal costs, gear and other essentials, are musicians able to profit from live shows? Gutslit’s bassist Gurdip Singh Narang says, “That’s a very logical and appropriate question in today’s time.” While his band is set to tour Europe next month, he adds, “Post-COVID, things have changed so much. Especially fuel costs and thus flight tickets have almost doubled. Because of this, touring has become so expensive. Earlier, where a landed deal would ensure us getting our flights, stay and food covered with a modest sum to save too, it’s now become difficult to even get the basics sorted for a show. Things have definitely become difficult to make ends meet when it comes to a tour.”