The soft notes of the violin blended with the rising drum beats. The melodious humming of Bollywood numbers filled the morning air. Scores of morning walkers on Sunday were greeted to this new sight and sound on the Beach Road as a band of musicians sat engrossed in their musical notes.
This was the third ‘Beach Jam’ organised by city-based startup Bead Music involving two city-based bands - The Infinites and Revelations. Founded by three youngsters Vijai Kanth, Vinod Krishna and Shiva Shyam, Bead Music is an endeavour to create a music eco-system in Visakhapatnam and other cities by bringing the local musicians under one platform.
The Beach Jam will be a regular feature every Sunday wherein the city-based artistes and bands will get a chance to showcase their music in a public space. “The idea is to create a trend of listening to new genres of music in the city. The beach road was the ideal location. And who doesn’t want to wake up to good music!” said Vijai Kanth, one of the co-founders of Bead Music. The Beach Jams have already become popular with the public who crowd around to take videos of the performances and clap along with the musicians.
It is every musician’s dream to be appreciated by an audience that knows its music and the jamming sessions seem to provide the ideal platform to the young artistes. “The public enthusiasm was amazing. This initiative by Bead Music is a boon for city bands. We have so far done four shows with the music startup at city restaurants and cafes and at present play at Hotel Rockdale every Sunday evening,” said G. Surya Teja Reddy, a B.Tech graduate who has been part of the five-member band Revelations from the past four years.
“This concept of jamming sessions at public spaces is new to the city and we are thrilled to get an encouraging response. The platform gives us the chance to interact with the public much more than stage performances,” said Vivek Loyola of The Infinites band. The band has so far done 36 shows in the past two years in city hotels, cafes and college campuses.
