The city’s hotels and restaurants are not just whipping up sumptuous feasts, but are also dishing out music on a platter. Whether you fancy spending the evening sipping cocktails to the tunes of a resident guitarist, heading to a restobar for an evening of dining and dancing, or immersing yourself in lilting old classics, Visakhapatnam has it all.
Welcome to the city’s booming live music scene that is ready to take charge of your evenings. Hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafés are moving towards the live music culture, providing a platform to musicians from different genres to entertain guests.
While star hotels have led the concept of live music and dining for a while now, the mushrooming of standalone restaurants and restobars has further augmented the trend.
About two decades ago, the first hotel to draw crowds in large numbers was Hotel Dolphin and its music was as popular as its food. “When we started off, we played western music. By the mid-1990s, people started asking for more Bollywood music and that trend continued,” says Mohammed Pervez, who was part of a band that played for over 25 years. Recollecting the early days of live music culture in the city, Pervez adds, “There were times when we played till 2 in the night. People would travel all the way from Anakapalle with their families on weekends only for the live band in the hotel.” Actors Raghuvaran and Bhanu Chander were regulars at the hotel and jammed with Pervez and his band members on several occasions.
Strong comeback
Over the years, a change swept in. Live orchestras gave way karaoke and DJ consoles. It also seemed like a beginning of the end for the guitarist and bands. But the six-string stars did not stop and in fact have made a strong comeback in recent years.
“There are far more avenues in the city for live music today than ever before and people are loving it,” says Pervez, who now plays at the newly-opened Somaa Restobar.
City bands say that there were no regular performance spaces till about four years ago.
“Now hotels and restaurants are realising that there is a crowd that comes just to enjoy the music while dining,” says Samuel J Benaiah of Kairoz, a four-piece band. Music, too, has moved from just Bollywood to other genres, adding new dimensions.
From blues and rock ‘n’ roll to producing rock versions of old classics, Kairoz has been wooing the people in the city with a new style. “We play Rahman and Ilaiyaraaja’s music in rock versions and have got great feedback from people,” says Benaiah, who plays with his band at Hotel Novotel and Somaa Restobar.
Last year, Kairoz won the Battle of the Bands contest held at CMR Central. Recalling the moment, Benaiah says, “It was particularly special for us because the late Jeffory Kirk, one of the finest musicians of Visakhapatnam, was the judge and compared our band with The Doors.”
Where hotels like The Park and Palm Beach have sustained the live music concept for a while now, cafés like Moksha Restocafe and Gluttons Garage are entering the fray providing a platform to amateur talent.
More avenues
But how fulfilling can it be to entertain diners rather than a music concert? “Since a restaurant is more compact, you get to have a better engagement with the crowd. Many times they come up to you and appreciate you. And then there are song requests pouring in,” says Rin Hlui Pialeu, a part of the Go Go Girls band that performs pop, hip-hop and country music at Aqua, The Park. “We can communicate better with the audience. It’s also a way to understand the culture and musical inclinations of the people in the city,” she says.
Hailing from Mizoram, she has performed in cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai before coming to Visakhapatnam six months ago and says that the city has been more than welcoming to the concept of live music.
While other musical genres are making their way to restaurants, Bollywood still seems to be a preferred choice. “It’s a genre you never can go wrong with in this city. The Bollywood classics are an instant hit with the family crowds,” says Srinivas Tiwari who performs at the poolside restaurant of Palm Beach Hotel.
The singer, who had worked in some Odia films, had aspirations to get into Bollywood. He also participated in the first music reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa , before he met with an accident affecting his spinal cord.
He travelled from his hometown in Odisha to Visakhapatnam for treatment and it was in this city that the singer got a new lease of life.
He got to share the stage with SP Balasubramanyam during his visit to the city and eventually got a break at the Palm Beach hotel.
“People are very encouraging. They come up with song requests and I am more than happy to oblige,” says Tiwari.
Musicians, however, insist that hosting regular music festivals will go a long way to welcome more musical genres in the city and also help create a non-intrusive live music space that will increase footfalls in eating-out places.
