Week-long contest for amateur musicians debuts

From amateur bands jamming in their garages or hostel rooms to professional artists trying to make it big, all roads now lead to the Capital, where Indian Band League (IBL), a week-long competition, has made its debut this year.

The contest, which will conclude on June 7, has been conceptualised by Delhi-based Musical Dreams Academy, and the main aim is to provide platform to hidden talent and upcoming artistes.

Bands from across the country are participating in IBL. The winners will be selected in two categories — People's Choice and Critics' Choice. Shortlisted 10 bands will slug it out in the final leg, when they will have perform songs originally composed by them. The style can vary from sufi, rock, fusion, to choir and contemporary.

The IBL videos of participating bands will be uploaded on YouTube, and the competition will be live till June 7. The band with maximum number of views will be declared the winner. For the Jury Award, panel of judges will include singers Harish Moyal, Gurdeep Mehndi, and Priyanka Negi.

Speaking about the event, Founder Meeta Nagpal said: "We wanted to promote new talent in an innovative way, and felt that this would be an ideal platform to reach out to the upcoming bands. This event will let their music be heard without the restrictions of time and place. This is not a competition but a way of sharing and popularising independent music and applauding it beyond the jam rooms."