American Alt Rock Band Young the Giant to Perform at SulaFest 2015

Young the Giant. Photo: Lauren Dukoff

Wine and music festival SulaFest are bringing the rock back into their two-day gig in their eighth edition, with American alt rock band Young the Giant confirmed as one of the international headliners to perform in February in Nashik.

Best known for chart-topping songs such as “Cough Syrup” and “My Body” from their 2011 self-titled debut album and “It’s About Time” from their 2014 album Mind Over Matter, Young the Giant will make their India debut early next year at SulaFest. Says vocalist Sameer Gadhia, “We’re excited to play for people who haven’t seen what we do and hoping to be inspired.”

The band, currently comprising the Indian-American Gadhia, guitarist Jacob Tilley, guitarist-keyboardist Eric Cannata, bassist Payam Doostzadeh and drummer François Comtois, formed in 2004 as the Jakes and took on their current moniker in 2009. Two US Gold-certified singles later, they’ve gone on to perform at festivals such as UK’s Sasquatch and Great Escape Festival and the main stage at American festival Lollapalooza.

Among the band’s big fans are actor Zach Braff and UK singer Morrissey. Says Gadhia about the time when Morrissey, usually known for his rants, proclaimed Young the Giant to be his new favorite band, “When we did our first record, we went to the UK and performed on [British music TV show] Jools Holland. I think at that show, we became good friends and Morrissey was one of them. That was one of the weirdest celebrity fans I think any of us would ever expect to have. We had email correspondence [with him] for a very long time, he’s a very funny guy.”

Gadhia, who was born to Gujarati and Bengali parents visits India often to meet relatives, says of his band’s debut in India, “The intention is to open the door and make this a place we can come to often and realize the potential in India for touring. Unfortunately, not too many bands make their way there.” Following their India show, the band heads out on another American tour, followed by an appearance at Lollapalooza Brazil in March 2015. Gadhia, who discovered the music of Mumbai electro rock band Sky Rabbit the last time he was in India, says he’s also keen to hear more Indian artists. Says Gadhia, “Hopefully with this trip, we’ll all get some bands we’ll root for.”

Young the Giant performs at SulaFest 2015 at Sula Vineyards, Nashik on February 7^th and 8^th, 2015. More event details TBA. 

Watch the video for “Mind Over Matter”