Girish and The Chronicles, Skrat, and specially curated sets by Swarathma and Bombay Metal Project, along with Nagaland band About Us round out the lineup for the 30th edition of the two-day festival in Mumbai this November
(Clockwise from top) Motherjane, Indus Creed and Grish and the Chronicles will perform at Mahindra Independence Rock 2024 in Mumbai this November. Photos: Courtesy of the artist
The upcoming 30th edition of Mahindra Independence Rock – taking place on Nov. 16 and 17 in Mumbai – will bring back Indian rock favorites like Indus Creed, Motherjane, the reunion of Kerala rock veterans 13AD, plus folk-metallers Bloodywood, Chennai trio Skrat, Bengaluru-based rock/metal powerhouses Girish and the Chronicles and Nagaland’s About Us.
The specially-curated sets for the festival include Bengaluru folk-fusion act Swarathma and Friends featuring members from Parvaaz, Bhayanak Maut, multi-instrumentalist Sidd Coutto and guitarist Sutej Singh. The Bombay Metal Project — comprising musicians from seasoned metal bands in Mumbai — will also take the stage at I-Rock.
Running with the theme of ‘Dirty 30’ for their 30th edition, Mahindra Independence Rock sees a few repeat performers who keep the rock and metal flag flying high in the country. Returning performers in the span of three editions now are Girish and The Chronicles (who performed in 2023), Bloodywood (performed in 2022), Indus Creed (also performing in 2022) and Swarathma (back from 2023). It’s telling of not just the smaller pool of preferred rock and metal bands in the country, but also the crowd-pulling status of these acts.
Barring that, I-Rock sees the return of 13AD after years of promising performances. The Kochi band was formed in the late Seventies and released albums like Ground Zero and Tough on the Streets in the Nineties. Working with the likes of Usha Uthup and A.R. Rahman over the decades, the band recently reunited in late 2023 and 2024 for shows. The band currently comprises Floyd Libera, George Peter, Deepak Dev, Pinson Correa, Eloy Isaacs and Paul K.
Also repping Kerala rock are Motherjane, which comprises vocalist Suraj Mani, guitarists Baiju Dharmajan and Deepu Sasidharan, plus bassist Alan Santosh and drummer Alloy Francis. The band arrive on the back of new releases like “Do Good, Don’t Be Nice” and the promise of an upcoming album from the same lineup that delivered albums like Maktub in 2008.
After selling tickets for ₹30 to mark their upcoming edition – just in the early bird category – the current prices for a two-day pass to Mahindra Independence Rock are ₹3,000, with a premium pass (inclusive of a ₹1,000 cover charge) priced at ₹4,250.
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