Songs under the sky

They started with 50-75 people for their first gig and now have around 500 people attending

While Sunday mornings for most are for sleeping in till late, Soundrise - a community that creates a space for live music to thrive, has managed to get around 500 people to attend their gigs early in the morning. They curate open-air gigs at the amphitheatre, Dharya Garden, every Sunday. "The idea came after the second lockdown when I was finally able to take my son to the park. I noticed that there was an amphitheatre and it was never utilised. Having lived in New York for a long time, I have seen many musicians and artistes perform in the open. I was complaining about the lack of live performances to Raoul [Nanavati ] and he challenged me to do something about it," says Mohit Chhatrapati, an investment professional, who co-founded Soundrise with Founder of Networking Now India Shaan Khanna, actor, singer and voice artist Varun Narayan and technology entrepreneur Nanavati.

Latin pop band Desmadre Orkesta performed on February 13 in Alibaug

After approaching BMC corporators, Harshita Narwekar, Makarand Narwekar and MLA Rahul Narwekar of Cuffe Parade for support, they got in touch with the few artistes they knew and finally had their first open-air live park gig on November 14 last year. The gigs are scheduled every alternate Sunday, but they hope to go weekly soon. They started in November because the weather was pleasant, but in the coming months of summer and monsoons, they will look for indoor venues too. This not-for-profit community not just hopes to create experiences for families, it is also pet-friendly. "People are being really accepting of this concept and it is also free," adds Chhatrapati. However, they strongly encourage donations as the musicians perform at a voluntary basis. "We were pleasantly surprised by how generous the audience has been; people appreciate the art and are looking for live performances like this. They not only come in great numbers, but also contribute equally," adds Narayan.

For now, they are dependent on word of mouth and social media to reach more people. However, they are not constrained to just their Cuffe Parade garden. Last Sunday, on February 13, they hosted a gig at Sunny Side Market in Alibaug. "We are looking at other locations. Since we all have day jobs, we are expanding slowly," says Nanavati. The end goal is, "to make this something that anyone can replicate anywhere across the country." The team is aware of how difficult it is for an artiste to make money and so having them to rely on donations may not be enough, but Khanna says these gigs help give the artiste and their music a lot of recognition. "One musician who performed landed six gigs in the two months following the open-air show. More than the donations, they made a lot of connections and went on to different places where they might have not reached." When it comes to choosing the artiste, they try and pick the ones who haven't had the opportunity to perform during the pandemic in their bit to offer them exposure.

Soundrise was co-founded by Mohit Chhatrapati, Shaan Khanna, Varun Narayan and Raoul Nanavati

The gang now aims to create a platform for artistes to be able to engage with a live audience, and give them more avenues to play their music and build a community that not only enjoys listening to live music, but also engages with the artistes. "We want to make this into something that happens across every public garden in Mumbai," adds Chhatrapati.

They've received a lot of support from local authorities and the BMC, who initially helped split the costs to set up the infrastructure for their gigs, and hope to get similar support when they move to other suburbs like Bandra. "So many parks in Mumbai have an amphitheatre. But no one really knows who to approach if you wish to use them, or if permission, licences are needed," says Chhatrapati, adding, "We wouldn't have been able to pull this off without the help of the authorities."

WHAT: Soundrise open-air music gigs
WHERE: Amphitheatre at Dharya Garden, Cuffe Parade
WHEN: Every Sunday, 9.30 AM to 10.30 AM