Gingerfeet Kick Off New Run of Shows This Weekend
Drummer of the Kolkata origin funk/hard rock band Abhinandan Mukherjee talks about the risks of touring in the time of a pandemic
Kolkata/Mumbai funk/rock band Gingerfeet. Photo: Satish Gurung
Starting today, Kolkata funk/hard rock band Gingerfeet kick off their Accession tour in Pune, followed by a studio recording for Doordarshan’s live performance show Rock the Night (March 18th) and shows in Gurugram (March 20th) and Mumbai (March 21st). While a Bengaluru show was on the cards, the gig was canceled after city authorities ordered pubs to stay shut in a bid to contain the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
Drummer Abhinandan Mukherjee says the Accession tour was intended to mark Gingerfeet’s arrival on streaming platforms and they’re not ones to back down. The drummer and manager of the band admits it’s risky to tour in the current atmosphere. Vocalist Abhishek Gurung however adds, “It’s the love for music and mostly it’s our passion that has surpassed the fear and anxiety that has engulfed the masses.” With an eye on regular updates about the coronavirus pandemic, Gingerfeet will cautiously move through the tour.
Understandably, before global health concerns affected their tour, Gingerfeet were pumped up about heading back on the road, especially to perform in Mumbai for the first time after about five years, when they opened for guitar legend Slash at MTV Indies Xtreme. Dates in North East and Nepal were originally part of the billing but have now been dropped. The tour will nevertheless include new material like “Free,” as well as songs off their 2013 album High and Above. Mukherjee adds that they’re keeping the spirit going. “We’re expecting an absolute slammer of a tour this time.”
Once they safely return to their respective bases in Kolkata and Mumbai, the members have a second album on the cards. Mukherjee says, “2020 has started out rough globally but from our camp it’s all about going all guns blazing. We’ve got a very productive year ahead of us and we are excited to share it to the world, hoping it will neutralize all the negatives which the world is going through at this juncture.”
Gingerfeet Accession 2020 Tour
March 15th – Pune
March 18th – Doordarshan Studio, New Delhi
March 20th – Hard Rock Café, Gurugram
March 21st – Hard Rock Café Andheri, Mumbai
