Mumbaikars! Get ready to groove at these 3 music festivals

Like on any other day Mumbais young brigade will be spotted at a popular Lower Parel mall today Except this time they will get the chance to shake a leg thanks to a new threeday music festival that will kick off in its courtyard Targeted at teenagers and school bands Totem Pole boasts of a lineup of Indian and global artistesMusic fans at the first edition of Nariyal Paani in Alibaug last yearCatch em youngThe festival is curated by Flying Carpet Productions headed by industry expert Ashish Manchanda who has worked with Grammy Awardwinning producer of Michael Jackson records Bruce Swedien Watch out for Top of the Pole mdash a school band competition that will select some of the best musicians from the citys school circuit A oneofitskind idea it will help the winnerwinning band create an EP mentored by experts in the music business The winning artistes also get an opportunity to create a video of their top single which will be directed by industry professionals whove contributed to largeformat videosThere is a serious dearth of music festivals and properties in India To top that teens cant attend most music festivals due to the age bar which is largely the result of a smoking and alcoholdriven environment shares Ujjla Manchanda founder of Totem Pole who believes that youngsters are big consumers of music Music serves many purposes beyond entertainment The more youngsters get exposed to music and art the better it is for their overall development We wanted parents to be able to take their kids along to a music festival Its why we put our heads together and created a festival where youngsters can enjoy great live music in a comfort zone she explains adding that the name of the festival was based on several group chats with youngstersRaghu Dixit Project will perform at Totem PoleIts cool and necessaryIndustry insiders believe that the focus on the youth is the way forward Not only Mumbai but India too needs festivals like these It will help develop talent and foster holistic growth for our young generation says composer Ehsaan Noorani Composer and singer Vishal Dadlani who has also been part of music fests across India with his band Pentagram asserts Its about time that the music business took notice of young talent Across the world teenagers become musical stars and grow into iconsVocalist Monica Dogra says Younger audiences comprise a huge sector of the independent fan base and music festivals are the best way to reach out to them as they allow artistes to explore live production Musician Clinton Cerejo adds Youngsters need a platform to showcase their talent so every opportunity to do that makes them grow and learn as artistesRanjit Barot PicSameer Markande Meanwhile veteran percussionist Ranjit Barot raises a valid point that many alcohol companies have huge budgets and tend to sponsor music festivals making younger audiences miss out My daughter couldnt attend some of my performances he reveals Musician Loy Mendonsa says that there is a time and place for everything and at times age limit is essentialEhsaan Noorani PicSuresh KKAccording to Nikhil DSouza as long as there is parental guidance and restrictions on alcohol permits for younger children festivals should open their gates to these audiences also Drummer Gino Banks thinks that more platforms for artistes will help raise awareness of the performing arts adding this will help build a strong audience for festivalsNucleya will perform at Stage4216 to 60Two more festivals scheduled in Mumbai and Alibaug around the same time choose to stay away from the young label We are not just youthinclined We cater to a wide demographic of music lovers Last year we had college students young professionals families with kids Alibaug residents and 60somethings We believe we are the most inclusive music festival in India Parents are informed of the lineup and are aware of restrictions before hand says Sid Khanna founder Nariyal Paani whose second edition will roll in Alibaug on January 23 and 24 Meanwhile Vijay Nair CEO Only Much Louder whose music and comedy festival Stage42 will take place in Mumbai starting January 23 says Age restrictions are placed for content and safety reasons We like to encourage people across ages to explore fresh music talent and discover new festival experiences for themselvesMonica DograPlay our listFestival organisers maintain that the lineup remains a huge draw With a programming line targeted at the youth artistes like UKbased collective Kefaya Bellatrix UKs first professional female beatboxer and Navid aka BBoy Spaghetti will groove for the bachcha party at Totem Pole This apart desi artistes like Raghu Dixit Best Kept Secret and Dharavi Rocks will do their thing We want to expose young people to all genres Hence we have handson workshops too ranging from Beat Boxing to Jazz says ManchandaThe second edition of Stage 42 will feature the likes of Nucleya Baba Sehgal and Naezy under one roof The idea is to capture a good mix of the best on the current music and comedy scene in India and internationally While fans get to enjoy their favourite acts they also get to discover new shows and artistes shares Nair Nariyal Paani will showcase talents like Prateek Kuhad Mavambo Brazil Ranjit amp The Ambassadors and Laxmi Bomb We pick the music we like and then listen to these bands live All this is then carefully curated to fix the line up adds KhannaLocation locationNariyal Paanis location is one of their biggest draws Both organisers Tanvi and Sid are active in Alibaug and spend a substantial part of the year there While Tanvi runs a cafeacute Sid moved there to start his design and development company Both realised that they shared a love for Indie music art and good food We took a risk and put Alibaug on Indias music map We are boutique and choose to stay that way Alibaug is highly underrated as a tourism and arts destination We discovered that there was a gap in the market and believe a festival will work here shares Khanna Festivals like ours bolster the local economy and are sustainable More than half our work force is trained by us and is hired from villages around We also have local carpenters and electricians working on production while residents supply food at stalls he addsOn the other hand Stage42 is a multicity festival Apart from Mumbai it will head to Pune Delhi Kolkata Bangalore Hyderabad Kochi Jaipur Ahmedabad and Vadodara Meanwhile Totem Pole will continue to be based out of Mumbai and hopes to become an annual featureThough we are not on par with other cities yet live music venues in Mumbai are growing The Race Course for instance has regular shows where music buffs are ready to pay R5000plus for a ticket Our shows at Phoenix Kurla and Lower Parel have seen a tremendous response shares Rajendra Kalkar President West The Phoenix Mills Ltd Mumbai is starved for good music gigs and all festivals should be welcomed concludes Barot