Under the open sky, as the leaves danced to the tunes of the wind, beer cans were popped open and soaring spirits head banged to some good music, at Fireflies Ashram on Sunday. Bands across India, blessed the city, with some mind-blowing talent at the Fireflies Festival of Music.
The stage was set up under a Banyan Tree at the amphitheater which was surrounded by greenery making it the perfect getaway. Many renowned artistes and bands took the gathering on a journey away from reality and opened doors of heavenly music from
various instruments.
The line-up was outstanding and ranged from good old rock and roll to jazz and blues and Carnatic Classical merged with rock created a fusion which was magical to both a Led Zeppelin fan and Dr Balamuralikrishna fan.
The festival could be termed as the ‘brother of Woodstock’, because of it ambiance, musicians, genres and for the undying love for music shown
by the gathering.
Fireflies Festival of Music (FFM) is an annual event in the city and is usually considered as ‘music heaven’ by the youth of Bangalore. Initially, the festival would begin after sunset and go on till sunrise.
People would gathered at the ashram and make it a home away from home, by bringing dinner, bed spreads and even lay-back chairs to chill to some soothing music. Even though the Government can put a bar on quantity, they can never bar the quality of music.
This year the festival was cut down to half-a-day. It began at noon by the band Filter Coffee which was followed by Agam. The band created a unique concert feel at the festival, with their fusion of violin with regional languages and melodic guitar tunes. The concert was then carried on by few Indian artists such as Vaiyali, La Pongal, Safia Gharbi and Shabnam Virmani.
Enjoying the music festival, Swamy from Agam said, “We had a fantastic time playing and the impromptu collaboration with the Kerala folk band Vaiyali was an exhilarating experience. That is the kind of stuff we are always looking forward to and Fireflies festival gave us
an opportunity to do so.”
As darkness gradually crept in, something irrelevant happened. A band was seen on stage with two drum kits, one guitarist, a keyboardist, one bassist, one on the saxophone, and all the six members were vocalists. The band was called Something Relevant, who stole the show with their wacky original numbers that spoke about various
little things in life.
The band brought the energy back to the crowd and kept them wanting for more. The band was enjoyed for humourous lyrics, talented guitar solos and for their friendly attitude on stage. Before calling it a day, the festival had one last
act for the crowd.
Saving the best the for the last, the festival witnessed Talavya a group from Gujarat. The five-piece band which included four musicians on tabla and one lovely lady on harmonium was the highlight of the festival. The group played their performance in four parts. Each part being faster and more technical than the others. This was just the perfect
end to the festival.
The organisers said, “We too wanted to have an all night festival, but due to various legal issues, we are forced to cut it short. But, next year with the support of the city, we will fight our best and have an all night concert.” The bands too, have got a positive vibe
from the festival.
When Agam was asked about their experience at the Fireflies festival, they said, “ The festival always does a fantastic job of supporting independent and indigenous acts and gives both artistes and the audiences a platform to listen to new and unheard acts alongside more established acts.”