Beyond Pizza, Pasta, and Piazzas: Ars Nova Napoli

After their vibrant performance at Jodhpur RIFF in 2023, the exceptional sextet Ars Nova Napoli returns to India, to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Italian city Naples. In association with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Mumbai, Royal Opera House, Mumbai and Avid Learning, they presented the concert Neapolis 2500.

Going Retro with Matt Bianco

Matt Bianco first came on the scene in the 80s and while many thought Matt Bianco was the name of a person in the band, it was Mark Reilly who founded the British band that came to be known as Matt Bianco. “We were into spy movie theme tunes of the 50s, 60s, 70s which had a Latin, Jazz, Film noir influences and so for the concept of the first album we invented our own fictitious character called Matt Bianco”, states Reilly in an email interview.

The scale of the Beatles legacy is just too big: Oliver Murray

Following his 2023 short film ‘Now and Then’, The Last Beatles Song’, made in collaboration with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and the Harrison Estate to celebrate the release of the Beatles’ final single - acclaimed writer and director Oliver Murray is proud to continue his relationship with the band by directing the new and final (nine) episode of the Beatles’ legendary Anthology Series.

I want OutStation to be India’s band: Savan Kotecha

For those who grew up on a slew of international boy bands in the 1990s and early 2000s, the trend hasn’t changed much in India either. India has had boybands like A Band of Boys (ABOB), more recently First5, to a mix group band AASMA, an all girl band VIVA and W.I.S.H. While the boy band format is a bit different here when it comes to music and dance, there have been many Indian boy bands that have come and gone and left their imprint.

Swiss Talk - BombayMami

With her unique sound and style, BombayMami is an emerging artist to watch out for. The Swiss – Indian singer burst into the spotlight when we saw her dashing down the Swiss Alps wearing a traditional lehenga outfit in her song Fire in Delhi that has taken the internet by storm, racked up over 6 million views and won praise from all over.

“When people come to see me play, they are not seeing me, they are seeing the gift that God has given me”: Jesus Molina

In June 2023, Colombian jazz pianist Jesús Molina walked onto the NCPA stage, mesmerized one and all with his music and walked straight into our hearts. Now two years later, he was back on the same stage, with a brand new crew, bringing on guitarist Rock Choi, bassist Alex Polydoroff and drummer Cain Daniel.

Thai Spice - Pang

Banyan Tree’s World Jazz Festival was back for its 5th Edition, this time visiting 5 cities in India, bringing in a fusion of jazz influences from Brazil, Thailand, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and South Africa, where borders blur and jazz takes over.

The variety of sounds of the santoor is like traveling the world: Dawda Jobarteh

Banyan Tree’s ‘Shivji – The Journey Continues’ returned for its third consecutive year - as an ode to the memory of Padma Vibhushan Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. This year like always you had Shivkumarji’s son and disciple Rahul Sharma collaborate with Gambian musician Dawda Jobarteh for an Indo - African Fusion presentation. Dawda plays the 21 stringed Kora, an indigenous West African instrument.

You can get better at making music, if you demand more: Sir Mark Elder

The final concert of the Spring 2025 season of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) culminated with a performance on 15th February by Sir Mark Elder, one of Britain’s most acclaimed conductors, performing the works of Weber, Schumann and Beethoven.

The Blues Man = Alvon Johnson

The NCPA Soulful Blues Festival back for its third edition and promised to bring in the crowds to watch three great performers. The three day all American lineup featured Detroit’s ‘Queen of the Blues’ – Thornetta Davis, award winning singer Tia Carroll, and Alvon Johnson regarded as the ‘King of the Blues’ and the ‘Ambassador of the Blues’ in Russia.