Pineapple Express to Parikrama: Mahindra Independence Rock music festival showcases India's unique diversity

A year after Mumbai's iconic music festival returned to the stage, I-Rock 2023 was no different. While last year celebrated India's iconic rock bands with an interesting mix, this not only showcased India's musical journey with familiar names like Bhayanak Maut, Agam and Parikrama but also the likes of Pineapple Express, Swarathma and Tough on Tobacco celebrating Indian music

Updated On: 2023-11-06 06:32 PM IST

Compiled by : Nascimento Pinto

The two-day music festival saw a variety of performances that have been associated with Indian rock music over the years come together in Mumbai for their fans.

The festival started on a high with performances from Nemophilis and Sutej Singh, who performed at the Jawa Yezdi stage to start off the Mahindra I-Rock music festival. With the audience grooving to the beats, it did not take long for them to play some of their favourites

With the setting sun, five-member Bengaluru-based Pineapple Express started by entertaining fans with a power-packed performance. It even made others who hadn't heard them before take note of their multilingual music. With high-energy Karthik Chennoji Rao and Yogeendra Hariprasad on vocals, and the latter on keyboard it was nothing short of a party, as they were joined by Arjun M P N on the flute, Jyothish Mani on the guitar and Ujwal K S on the drums. 

If Pineapple Express had turned up the heat, then Bhayanak Maut were no less. They brought their classic style of heavy metal to the stage and that brought metalheads immediately to the mosh pit

Bringing in some 80s rock, Girish Pradhan's Girish and the Chronicles gave festival attendees a taste of 80s-inspired music with a touch of their own blues and rock. The Sikkim band based in Bengaluru played some of their favourites that immediately made people headbang

Ending Day 1 on a high, Nepal band Underside known for their hypnotic tunes made sure that people did not leave without having a good time. It was also an indication of the bands to come on Day 2, which not only included Agam and Swarathma but also Tough on Tobacco and Parikrama.

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