The touring season seems to arrive a few months later than usual for folk singer Raghu Dixit and The Raghu Dixit Project. While Raghu has been giving his booming voice (and comedy routine between songs) a good trial every summer, the Bengaluru band will head out on an international tour of the US, Canada, UK and Belfast starting August 5, much closer to autumn.
Manager and bassist Gaurav Vaz says it was a conscious decision to tour North America and Europe in August. He says, “This is our first proper tour, in a way. Everything before was kind of ad hoc. And we have always gone in June. We took a conscious decision to play different festivals, to a different audience as well.”
Although they have been working with tour booking agencies since 2010, this is only their third US and Canada tour. The band, which currently extends to include guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal and drummer Joe Jacob and violinist Narayan Sharma, have about eight shows confirmed across coasts in the US and a show in Ottawa, followed by five shows in UK and Belfast. The stages for the tour range from festivals to indoor clubs. Vaz says, “There are Indian promoters, mainstream promoters, who are targeting an Indian audience in their city who have booked us.”
Still, he maintains that no matter how much in advance they plot tours, “it’s going to be tough”. With the Masterplan for Happiness Tour, Vaz found support from property firm The Embassy Group and music app Saavn. While the Embassy Group will sponsor travel costs, Saavn is promoting the band’s music and tour across to its millions-strong listener base. “Once we’re in the US, we become a band local to that country. We just added a date in Boston, so new promoters don’t have to worry about visas or stay,” Vaz adds.
There’s a parallel there, between brands and sponsors trusting musicians the same way a musician would have enough conviction that his song would connect with listeners. Vaz adds, “It is all about trust until the right people see us and take a leap of faith with us.”
