Despite warnings of thunderstorms, the Beenz Drive-In saw a full house for a performance of Capricio, a Hyderabad-based Telugu medley band known for its covers of contemporary and classic songs from the Telugu film industry.
“My friends from Hyderabad insisted I shouldn’t miss Capricio’s live performance. This is the first time I’m attending a Telugu music concert,” said Harshita T, a college student. Over 300 people came together for the band’s first live performance in Visakhapatnam. Phani Dhar, a medical student said, “I got to know about the event from their Instagram page. I have come with my mother because she likes Telugu music and I wanted to show her that the youth is also keeping Telugu music alive.”
The two-year-old band comprises Eknath Goparaju as the vocalist, Sai Teja on the cajon, Sam on the bass guitar and Shravan Pakalapati on the keyboard. While they also play covers of Hindi songs, it is reviving Telugu music through live performances and that has given them considerable fame. “Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rehman’s musicis close to our hearts. Performing Telugu songs has given us an unique identity,” said Eknath.
There was much chemistry between the band and the audience. There were lots of cheers as ver the course of two hours, Capricio performed more than 20 songs. Some the songs which got the loudest welcome were — ‘Telusa Manasa’ from Criminal , ‘Poovullo Daagunna’ from Jeans and ‘Prema Oprema’ from Valayam . “I like their unpredictable song selection,” said Abhishek P, who has been following the band since their beginning.
Capricio has performed for private events and done live shows intensively in the last one year. “This year we have been performing at least 20 shows per month. Our success has taken the pressure off us and our parents. They are now convinced that we are committed musicians,” said Sai. . They have given performances at Warangal, Vijayawada, Suryapet and Tirupati. Later this year, the band aims to release their original songs.
