Antara Nandy Talks ‘Phenomenal’ Debut U.S. Concert Tour

It has been a very hectic October for Antara Nandy, the older of the Nandy Sisters, best known for their balcony concerts. She has been on the move constantly the past month for her very first solo U.S. tour. The hectic schedules and long travels don’t bother her, though, because she’s living her dream life. Nandy says, “To be able to wake up and to do what I want to do—to travel, sing, perform, and record—I absolutely love this life.”

Seasoned New York-based concert curator and promoter Jonai Singh put together Nandy’s five-city tour, which ran from October 20th to 29th. She was also the creative director and producer of Nandy’s first original Bengali song “Chandni Raate” in January this year. Singh says, “Antara traveled to some of the biggest Durga Pujas of the U.S. to perform; pujas who have hosted many celebrated names over the years. What impressed me the most was that the Prabashi (non-residential) Bengalis were closely following the music of this young artist. Requests of Antara’s original songs were a constant in each city.”

Nandy’s five-city tour spanned across Virginia, Boston, Dallas, and Atlanta and came to a close in New Jersey. Talking about her experiences with the houseful shows, the artist says, ‘My first international concert tour was phenomenal. It was so well-curated by Jonai Singh. Right from the playlist to outfits to be worn on stage, she worked with me on every minute detail and well-prepared me for the tour. Traveling to a foreign country for the first time can be nerve-racking. You are anxious about being accepted and, of course, meeting the expectations.” She adds that after the conclusion of her concerts, local hosts would take time out to show her around the city on her free days. “It really made us feel special,” Nandy says.  

The Bengali Puja songs of 2023 “Nakku Nakur” and “Ailo Uma Barite” became the highlight of Nandy’s performances at U.S. Pujas. While Nandy had already done playback for A.R. Rahman for the Mani Ratnam-directed epic films Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 and Part 2 in three different South Indian languages, 2023 marked her debut as a Bengali playback singer for films and independent productions like “Chandni Raate.”

For the film Raktabeej, Nandy and her sister Ankita recorded the Bengali song “Nakku Nakur,” working with music composer Anindya Chatterjee. The singer says, “Being a Bengali, it’s a different kind of thrill to be able to sing in your mother tongue. We couldn’t have asked for a better debut in the Bengali film industry. But the most pleasant surprise was the audience’s love for ‘Ailo Uma Barite’ which was an independent production for Monami Ghosh’s YouTube Channel.” The song, composed by Mak-Mallar and written by Akash Chakraborty, was released on October 9th and soon started trending on social media platforms. Nandy adds, “I was receiving requests for ‘Ailo Uma Barite’ at every concert while on the U.S. tour. Members of the audience even knew the hookstep of the song. It is unbelievable to receive such love for a song in a different country.” 

When asked about the difference in audiences in India and the U.S., Nandy has a point to make. As a professional singer touring across the country from a young age, she had already experienced live audiences much before she started her playback journey. The audience in the U.S., she observes, are “keen listeners.” The artist adds, “How your show will go depends a great deal on the audience. How your performance will go on stage depends on the vibe you receive from the audience. The audience in the U.S. mesmerized me with their understanding of music. I had very mindfully created a very diverse playlist to entertain. The audience wanted to simply sit and listen to me. My forte being Hindustani classical, that came as a blessing.” 

Among the personal highlights outside of the performances was hitting a salon in Atlanta to get her hair braided. Coupled with Indian outfits, Nandy made quite a fashion statement during her performances in Atlanta and New Jersey. Pune-based Nandy spent her last day in the U.S. around Manhattan and also did a photoshoot at Times Square. She got a rush out of hearing a passerby call her Beyonce during the photoshoot. According to Singh, the artist later pointed at a big ad for Spotify and said, “I want to be on that billboard one day!” Singh, for her part, is fully behind Nandy. “Sky is the beginning for an artist like Antara.” 

Nandy also thinks that she has just started. Even though her childhood dream of working with Rahman came true last year, there’s a list of music directors she wants to work with, including Shankar Mahadevan, Pritam, Salim-Sulaiman, and more. The advice that she gives to younger artists is one that she arguably follows herself. She adds, just as she’s preparing to enter a recording, “Consistency is key, but so is the quality of the content. It’s a 24/7 job, but still, you have to start with the acceptance that not everybody will be satisfied and that’s okay. Find your own USP but please don’t copy. It’s so not cool.”