It was fate that brought classical guitarist Matt Bacon to India. Such that he describes his move and the appointment as a teacher at AR Rahman's KM Music Conservatory in Chennai as a 'total freak accident', when we speak to him before his upcoming gig at a BKC venue. "My resume got forwarded around from a job in California, that my now-coworker Adam Grieg ended up seeing. We had a Skype call where I spoke about how I didn't exactly want to come to India, but ended up hopping on a plane bound for Chennai a week later. I've loved it since the moment I got off that flight, and into my first autorickshaw ride. Bit ironic, how that worked out," says Bacon.

Having spent four years in India now, Bacon, who grew up listening to his father play Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and picked up the instrument at the age of eight, has worked with AR Rahman on movies and projects. In fact, he has just wrapped up filming for a Netflix show at the conservatory. "AR Rahman is a guy who just doesn't stop working — he lives, eats and breathes music, and is constantly travelling. He's inspiring," says Bacon.