f the high point of a musical note is a crescendo, Hyderabad is riding that note. The land of biryani, badminton and Baahubali has another B added to its bindaas vibe. The live music bands, or should we say live homegrown music bands? The gig culture is here and how!
When these live bands are not playing in Hyderabad, they are busy regaling the NRIs at glitzy watering holes from Michigan to Melbourne. Just take a look at the concert calendar of a bunch of top Hyderabad music bands – Threeory, Band Capricio and Band Elyzium. The six-piece Telugu cover Band Capricio performed to a packed stadium at Melbourne Pavilion last month. Elsewhere, in another continent, on the same weekend, Band Elyzium, a seven-member group, was getting the desis to groove to numbers at Hard Rock Café in Seattle. Closer home, at the Gachibowli Sports Village Stadium, Threeory got the stamp of approval from none other than the god of laya, legendary South composer Ilayaraja, when they opened at his live concert last month. Band Merakee upped its ante in the music world by going mic-less in May to organize a sing-along event with a line-up of songs that Hyderabadis dig. Nawab Gang is making the tipplers in Hyderabad’s snazzy pubs parrot out their now-viral Telangana rap – Taginaka Fight Ayitadi, Gantalona Light Ayitadi, Crowd Anta Fan Ayitadi – with gusto.
The Forerunners
While there is no authentic documentation of the live band culture in the city, music aficionados have concluded that Band Capricio can safely be termed as one of the mainstream forerunners. Established in 2017, it was also the time that YouTube and social media sites started picking trends in society and the band soon established its presence. They were unapologetically dishing out Telugu numbers and boy, were they successful. The band was invited to beatbox their way into the Hyderabadi hearts with melodies such as Yamaho Nagari, catering to the 20-to-30-year-olds who grew up listening to the music of the 80’s and 90’s.
basic laya gyanam and doesn’t necessitate a professional music background. Not many band members are trained in music, but they still put together good shows,” says Pavan PSRK of Band Navarasa.
Live In The Digital Era
In an age of digital media and instant gratification, live music stands as a reminder of the beauty and importance of being present in the moment. It encourages us to put away our screens, embrace the magic of human creativity, and share in the genuine connection that can only be found in a live music experience.
offline to discuss the nitty-gritty of the event,” says Pramod, known as Asura, from the Nawab Gang.
Nawab Gang
Where they play: Odeum by Prism, Trops, EXT, F House
What they play: Hip-hop with a Telangana flavor, hip-hop originals and the 100 original songs the five-member band has created
Since when: The year 2019, Asura, Feroz Israel, Ricky B, Psychlone, MWaker, and Notchfiltr
Day job/gig: Full-time into music
Side hustles: Composing and writing for movie numbers
Busy days: Weekends
Claim to fame: Nenu Taagitey Telugu rap that we played at actor-producer Rana Daggubati’s talk show No. 1 Yaari season 3 on AHA. The song went viral with a million views and is a popular remix for Telugu reels
Other gigs: Lyrics for the title song in Chiranjeevi’s August release Bhola Shankar; Australia tour this month;
What live music means to them: We believe music is the most powerful tool, it can create magic when one uses it right; It can change the world
What’s next: Bindaas Tour in the US later this year
Crowd favorites: Sigguledu, Mastundi Life and Hyderabad Cypher besides Nenu Tagitey
Why them: We do anything to do anything to do with music including creating sonic branding for companies and products. Started as a three-member group with Asura as a rapper-producer, and Ricky B and 1knob as producers to release 20+ singles, five full albums, and two EPs since 2019
Best experience/compliment: When we have finished all our numbers and the show has to close, but our audience won’t let us go without an encore of our hit numbers
Dream dais: An international forum for live bands where we can showcase our talent alongside the best in the world
Diversity And Inclusion
The live music bands of Hyderabad attract diverse talent from across the two Telugu states. The five-piece Nawab Gang has artistes from Kakinada, Tirupati and Hyderabad, bringing with them a piece of their regional flavors. Band Panaah’s lead vocalist Snigdha Sharma hails from Vijayanagaram. Each region comes with its own cultural ethos and the bands are happy to have varied voices that come in handy during numbers with specific dialects. With the ability to connect with their fans on social media, most bands don’t have agents and typically have one member do the talking. “Most of us have an active Instagram presence and event managers and individuals message us to block our dates. We then take the conversation
What they play: Hip-hop with a Telangana flavor, hip-hop originals and the 100 original songs the five-member band has created
Since when: The year 2019, Asura, Feroz Israel, Ricky B, Psychlone, MWaker, and Notchfiltr
Day job/gig: Full-time into music
Side hustles: Composing and writing for movie numbers
Busy days: Weekends
Claim to fame: Nenu Taagitey Telugu rap that we played at actor-producer Rana Daggubati’s talk show No. 1 Yaari season 3 on AHA. The song went viral with a million views and is a popular remix for Telugu reels
Other gigs: Lyrics for the title song in Chiranjeevi’s August release Bhola Shankar; Australia tour this month;
What live music means to them: We believe music is the most powerful tool, it can create magic when one uses it right; It can change the world
What’s next: Bindaas Tour in the US later this year
Crowd favorites: Sigguledu, Mastundi Life and Hyderabad Cypher besides Nenu Tagitey
Why them: We do anything to do anything to do with music including creating sonic branding for companies and products. Started as a three-member group with Asura as a rapper-producer, and Ricky B and 1knob as producers to release 20+ singles, five full albums, and two EPs since 2019
Best experience/compliment: When we have finished all our numbers and the show has to close, but our audience won’t let us go without an encore of our hit numbers
Dream dais: An international forum for live bands where we can showcase our talent alongside the best in the world
Gig Economy
Interestingly, most music band members don’t have a day job and are fully into gigs. “We are performing almost 20 days a month and the rest is spent in jamming and rehearsals. Even a three-year-old band in Hyderabad can thrive on gigs alone,” says Asura. Recently, a popular Telugu education supplement announced that live music is the career of 2023 based on their research, sending the bands into a happy tizzy over their choice of career, which now also has the stamp of approval from career-building entities. Dinker Kalvala, the lead vocalist of Band Elyzium, says he hasn’t regretted his decision to shift from being a pharmacist in London to a band member in Hyderabad. “Forget the money, the love I receive is priceless,” he quips.
It sounds like the dream job of any artiste – to be able to make a living from their passion, jam with likeminded buddies, travel and be loved by music lovers. Snigdha says that the toughest part is sometimes having to recover their payments, even from big corporates. “But it’s all in a day’s work. Maybe in the future, some of the bands may want to have agents who will do the talking, fix up the advances and recover the payments. That would make things more professional,” she adds.
Mikhail Wadhwani, a communications professional who arranges for shoutouts for live gigs says that with food, ambience and alcohol being almost the same in most pubs/ lounges, live music is the clincher. “It is an experience of energy
Band Elyzium
Where they play: F House, Xora, Tabula Rasa, private gigs in Bali and for other destination weddings
What they play: Mix of Telugu and Hindi and a few original compositions. We also include songs from our E-Pop series – Elyzium Pop – where we released four videos (cover originals)
Since when: December 25, 2020
Day job/gig: Playback singing, mentors at reality shows
Side hustles: Corporate events, private shows, sangeet
Busy days: Weekends, public holidays and social holidays (Valentine’s Day, Friendship Day)
Claim to fame: First Telugu band to be invited to perform in Australia across three cities in 2022
Other gigs: June to August – the band is performing at 20 shows across the tour in Bay and that is giving Hyderabadis a high. All things equal, a pub with the best live music gets the thumbs up for the evening,” he explains.
Area, Columbus, Sacramento, etc. for America
Telugu Sambaralu. We also have a band member (vocalist Dinker Kalavala) who has done 100 shows in the US so far
What live music means to them: It’s like breathing air, without which we cannot survive
What live music means to them: It’s like breathing air, without which we cannot survive
What’s next: Upcoming tour in Australia at the end of the year
Crowd favorites: Arabic Kuthu (as our vocalist Dinker has sung for the Tamil and Kannada version of the song) and Life of Ram vocals
Why them: Strong fusion vocals with sound pronunciation of Telugu lyrics
Best experience/compliment: When the audience bond after the show, invite us home, shower us with compliments, blessings and gifts
Dream dais: Boulder Hills, Gachibowli. We performed on 2023 New Year’s to a packed, ticketed crowd of 2,500. We want to repeat the same
The Deccan Project
Where they play: Tabula Rasa and Prism Club and Kitchen
What they play: All Telugu songs from the 1980’s-2023
Day job/gig: Most of us are full-time with the band
Side hustles: Play at weddings, compose or play for Telugu films, composing for wedding songs – where we compose some original music to be played during the wedding and in our video footage
Since when: The year 2018. Known as Hyderabad’s party band, The Deccan Project is a professional five-piece live band that has done over 1,000 plus shows, across India. We are a group of friends from college who wanted to play together and pursue our passion, music
Busy days: Wednesdays and Sundays
Claim to fame: Performed live for actor Ramcharan on behalf of his dad Chiranjeevi at the former’s farmhouse party on March 27. Also, producer Dil Raju’s house party
Other gigs: Telugu destination weddings in Udaipur, Jaipur and Coorg
What live music means to them: We are living our passion and are part of a music ecosystem that supports 100-plus people in Hyderabad alone. We are all part of this network, from event managers to sound equipment vendors. We have worked our way up from performing just once or twice a month to being at home just once or twice a month
What’s next: A few original compositions that are in the production stage now
Crowd favorites: Chaila Chaila, Kuraallo and Rajadi Raja, hits from Rajinikanth movies
Corporate events they’ve performed at: Porche, JFW Awards, Amazon
Why them: We customize our music for the crowd we cater to. Just as you would talk to a caterer to decide the menu, we sit down with our host to understand the age group, language demographic, format of event (sangeet, music nights, birthdays, etc.). We curate a set list for them then we set up a vibe for them – mellow, loud, fast dance numbers or slow romantic numbers
Best experience/compliment: We have had people come backstage to give us a hug and tell us how our music was healing and uplifting. We live and sing for such moments
Dream dais: NH1 Weekender and other such pop-up events that celebrate independent bands
Social Media Biggies
The rise of jamming studios such as Zoros and AAD in Jubilee Hills is giving space and time for the musicians to rehearse for their big gigs. “We rent out these studios for three or four hours for as low as Rs 2,000 to jam. These studios are soundproof with acoustics that replicate the pubs/live concert venues. They also come with the equipment that we need. So, we just plug and play,” says one of the founders of a city band. Among the other things that help bands get bigger gigs with better brand value is their social media presence. Asura says that things changed for the better after one of their songs went viral on Reels on Instagram. “People want to sing along and relate to the music we sing. A social media presence helps them get a taste of our music even before they decide to come down to listen to us,” he adds. As for stand-up comedians, popularity adds to their value on the music scene too.
While Hyderabad still can’t boast of an all-girls band, most of them have a significant number of female artists. Anahata has
Ananya Bhaskar and Lasya Priya; while Band Infusion has Valli Gayatri, and Band Panaah has vocalists Snigdha Sharma and Gomati Iyer. The industry is still in a churning-out phase and it may take two more years before the top ones survive and the rest fade out.
Perhaps the real litmus test for the Telugu bands comes when non-Telugus invite them for gigs abroad and they give the same kind of love and appreciation. “With Telugu music going global, that day is not far away,” says the artists.
As music elitism drowns in the mass teenmaar beats of DJ Tillu’s title track being played at live music bands to end the show, everything seems like butterflies and rainbows for mana Telugu bands. Let the music play on. Grab a peg, do a jig, enjoy the gig!
Band Panaah
Where they play: Mirai, Chemistry, HCC Gandipet, Roast & Toast, Lake District, Ironhill Brewery
What they play: Telugu regional Day job/gig: Music with a few team members working as techies in Hyderabad
Side hustles: Lead singer Snigdha Sharma sang the hit number Suguna Sundari for Shruti Haasan in Veera Simha Reddy
Busy days: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays
Claim to fame: Two female vocalists in the band
Other gigs: Movies and a big national tour later this year
What live music means to them: A medium to change the mood of the crowd
What’s next: We are popular on the college fest circuit. Vocalist Snigdha’s solo vocals for Bro the Avatar in Telugu this month
Crowd favorites: Kriti Sanon’s solo song Auv
Tuzha Moh Karta from 1 Nenokkadiney
Why them: They are known to sing soulful melodies (such as Urikey Chilaka from Bombay) in a noisy club environment and still rock it
Dream dais: Any platform with an energetic crowd. The number or the place doesn’t matter, the response and energy matters
