Music Malt | culture, festivals and more

— by Debjani Hazarika | Mumbai Mumbai based music company Bajaao is all set to celebrate International Guitar Month starting from April 1, 2016. Commenced in 1987, International Guitar Month is dedicated to guitarists all over the world. 4 PM onwards on April 30, BAJAAO will conduct a live webcast on YouTube featuring Mumbai’s young guitarist virtuoso Nishith Hegde (Demonic Resurrection, Albatross, The Minerva Conduct) and bassist Roop Thomas (Blakc, ATM) to conclude the International Guitar Month. The musicians will talk about their guitars and the tools they use before answering live questions from the viewers through Facebook and Twitter. Starting from April 25, the company will host ‘Lord of the Riffs’ contest for a whole month. The event invites young guitar players to send in short videos playing their favorite riff, solo or song on their guitars. The winners stand a chance to win signature guitars, effects pedals, etc. Bajaao’s online webzine will be focusing on guitars

The five most popular faces of "The Stage Tour" with Ehsaan Noorani Mumbai was left enthralled on April 22, 2016 when the artists from The Stage Tour flaunted their musical prowess at The Hard Rock Café, Worli. Out of an 8 city tour, COLORS Infinity’s The Stage Tour went into a grand conclusion in Mumbai, where the immensely talented, winner of The Stage Season 1, Yatharth Ratnum, along with popular Indie faces Soundarya Jayachandran, Kenishaa Francis, Anushka Shahane and Rupin Pahwa, enraptured audience and filled them with the best of popular English tracks. Excited by the overwhelming response received by the English music lovers, here’s hoping for an even better second season of The Stage on COLORS Infinity! Kenishaa Francis performing at The Stage Season 1 Soundarya Jayachandran performing at The Stage Season 1 The Stage Tour winner Yatharth Ratnum The five faces of "The Stage Tour" Edited by-Debjani Hazarika

WHAT? The Stage WHEN? 21st April, 2016 WHERE? Hard Rock Café, Worli, Mumbai The first ever homegrown English singing show, The Stage, which started as a pioneering step towards bringing English singing talent to Indian television, went on to take it to a whole new horizon with the first edition of The Stage Tour. The 8-city tour will see five of the top most contestants from the first season performing live for audiences across the country. The musical journey of the The Stage concludes in Mumbai on April 21st, after pit-stops at Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata and Pune. The five most popular names travelling ‘The Stage Tour’ wagon include winner Yatharth Ratnum, along with popular Indie faces Soundarya Jayachandran, Kenishaa Francis, Anushka Shahane and Rupin Pahwa. Embrace yourselves dear music lovers! The Stage artists are all set to enrapture your musical yearning through soulful melodies. For more information visit - facebook.com/ColorsInfinity

Dash Berlin, one of the most popular names in the EDM scene, took Mumbai by storm with a slew of eclectic tracks down his sleeves. In India for the Vh1 Supersonic Arcade, Dash was overwhelmed with the response he received from fans and as a token of appreciation, decided to meet with them, post his gig held at The Lalit, Mumbai on Friday, 15th April 2016. Not only did he mesmerize his fans with his mind-blowing, profoundly energetic mixes, Dash spent a lot of time after the gig to meet everyone. As he concluded his final mix set he declared on the mic, "I want to meet every one of you". Ear piercing screams, heightened excitement, and the evening was just getting started! Amongst the fans, was an ardent one who gifted him a Suzu Gong, keeping in mind his love for Bikram Yoga. Needless to mention, Dash loved every bit of the love and attention received from the huge fan-base in Mumbai thoroughly. "India always surpasses my expectation. The vibe that you get back fr

In celebration of International Haiku Poetry Day, Tinder, one of the world’s most popular apps for meeting new people, is partnering with HaikuJAM, the collaborative poetry-writing app based in London to crowdsource haiku poems about the magic of human connections. Over the course of the weekend, people around the world will create haiku poems together on themes ranging from Swiping Right, First Dates, Finding Love and everything in between. The 17th of April marks International Haiku Poetry Day and is celebrated to encourage people to get creative and try their hand at writing haiku poetry. Haiku is an ancient Japanese form of poetry. Traditionally, it consists of three lines that usually evoke a feeling or an image. HaikuJAM is a creative social network where people around the world write haiku poetry together, one line at a time. Users can also substitute words with images to create ‘Photo-Stories’. HaikuJAM provides an amazing platform for users to creatively collaborate and crea

What?   India by the Nile 2016 When?   23rd April, 2016 to 7th May, 2016 Where? Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia and Beni Suef in Egypt The Embassy of India in Egypt and Teamwork Arts present India by the Nile 2016 - a celebration of Indian contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, visual arts, food and well-being. The annual cultural festival is supported by title sponsors TCI Sanmar Chemicals, S.A.E. The Festival, which has been billed as the biggest international Festival in Egypt, provides audiences an avenue to immerse themselves in the diverse cultural experience of Indian arts. India by the Nile presents a spectrum of shows including the internationally acclaimed theatrical production Love Story – A Bollywood Musical, a Teamwork Arts production, celebrating the exuberance and opulence of the Indian film industry and the all time favorite Bollywood Dance Workshop by Artistic Director Gilles Chuyen. The world music band Indian Ocean which has toured the world

Times Music, one of India’s most progressive record labels has been appointed as a curator on Apple Music. A curator provides hand-picked recommendations and delivers a varied collection of music catalogues on Apple Music. Times Music will be one of the first few Indian labels to bring a diverse range of Indian music styles ranging from Fusion, Sufi and Electronica to Devotional, Pop, Rock and much more. Starting April 1st, 2016, Times Music will offer an exclusive range of hand-picked melodies and tunes from celebrated artistes as well as cutting-edge newcomers for listeners on Apple Music. The diverse catalogue will feature music from Indian Ocean, Haider, Midival Punditz, Singh is Kinng, Oopiri, Karsh Kale, Nannaku Prematho, Raja Natwarlal and many more renowned artistes and albums on the Times Music curated playlists. Weekly updates will ensure the best experience of the playlists on Apple Music. Mandar Thakur, COO, Times Music said, "This is a unique opportunity for Ti

What?  MAXBhp, Northeast, 2016 When? April 22 and 23 2016 Where? Mawlyndep, Umiam Lake, Shillong, Meghalaya  MAXBhp stands for Maximum Bhp! And that is what is going to happen when passionate bikers from all over North East India and other parts of the Country get together in one place! MAxBhp-cum-North East Bikers Brotherhood Mega Meet is an iniative by xBhp - India's biggest motorcycling community in India. This festival is meant for all bikers, irrespective of which brand, CC or type of motorcycle one rides. If riding is what gets your adrenaline running, be it when you carry that wheelie the extra mile, or when you're touring far away from home; when you are covered in dirt in the finish line or when you're trying to get that knee down perfecting your racing line; from any genre of motorcyling - MAXBHP is for you! The festival is being heartily supported by Northeast Bikers Brotherhood Community and various Motorcycle Clubs/Organisations existing in India

The multi-talented Dutch trio is all set to perform at Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore on 15th to 17 th  April as part of Vh1 Supersonic Arcade~ What?      Supersonic 2016 When?     Mumbai- April 15th                  Pune- April 16th                  Bangalore- April 17th Where?    Mumbai- The Lalit, Mumbai                  Pune- JW Marriot, Pune                  Bangalore- Royal Orchid, Bangalore After the whopping success of Vh1 Supersonic Goa in 2015, LIVE Viacom18 is back with their very first musical extravaganza this year, the Vh1 Supersonic Arcade with Dash Berlin. The dynamic Dutch trio is all set to set the stage on fire, and get their fans elated with joy and super energetic electronic dance music beats. Held as a series of city concert tours in the run up to the main ‘Supersonic’ festival, Vh1 Supersonic Arcade will see an electrifying performance by Dash Berlin on April 15th, 16th and 17th across cities Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore. Conceptualized by LIVE Viacom1