Times Celebrate Bandra festival: The queen of suburbs to provide a platform for Mumbai's musical acts

With more than 30 popular artists to choose from over nine days, the Times Celebrate Bandra festival could stand on its own against a premier music festival. And owing to the suburb's rich musical heritage, this makes perfect sense.
“Living in Bandra has definitely nudged me towards becoming a musician," said Rohan Mazumdar, who will be performing with the alt-rock band, The Colour Compound.
“Everyone here is so musically inclined.Without that foundation, I don't know what I'd be doing now." The sheer variety of the performances is noteworthy, covering genres like jazz, Marathi folk, rock, indie, blues, classical and retro. “We have tried to account for most musical sensibilities, barring heavy metal and electronica as those require loud, thumping beats which could disturb the residents in the neighbourhood," said festival director, Neale Murray who will also be performing classic motown hits at the closing ceremony, alongside Sharon Prabhakar and Shazahn Padamsee.
For Western music enthusiasts, look out for vocalist Shannon Don ald, who will be debuting her original music, featuring a mix of pop, jazz and funk. More novel acts include the Acoustic Dance Music Revival, a trio of acoustic gypsy-jazz guitarists; Bombay Djembe Folas, a pioneering West African drumming group from the city , and singer-songwriter Sidd Coutto who will perform a special improvised set by looping sounds, some of which will be produced by the audience. Other exciting acts include Blackstratblues, a blues-rock project by Warren Mendonsa; alt-rockers The Koniac Net, and The Other People, a pop-rock band who will be closing the festival with the launch of their debut single.

There's plenty on offer for Indian music buffs as well with renowned playback singer Sanjeevani Bhelande performing many of Gulzar's songs, which she will be dividing based on their prominent imagery. Accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra, she will be singing for Gulzar himself, who will be in attendance. Devotional music of sufi saints like Tulsidas, Kabir and Surdas is also showcased by singers Vivek and Roli Prakash and popular raags Ahir Bhairav and Todi will be per formed by visually impaired artists.
Later in the festival, the audience can join in the fun by partaking in the Hindi karaoke competition con ducted by Prashant Thackarey.
Adding to the music are the picturesque venues — Bandra's amphitheatre, Carter Road Promenade and Bandstand Promenade.