Mahindra Percussion Festival: Lineup, Dates and Venue Announced

Mahindra Percussion Festival returns to Bengaluru for a second edition, this time scaling up to a two-day edition and moving indoors to the Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre for Performing Arts auditorium on March 23rd and 24th.

Originally announced as a day-long festival celebrating Indian and global percussion and rhythm exponents, the two-day edition now features a fully homegrown lineup bringing specially curated performances.

Veteran artist Vikku Vinayakram’s Ghatam Symphony with family members and artists V. Selvaganesh, Swaminathan Selvaganesh and V. Umashankar will perform at the festival, as will Taufiq Qureshi’s Surya, an act that blends Afro, Latin, Indian and contemporary music. Joining Qureshi are Carnatic guitarist Abhay Nayampally, sarod artist Sarang Kulkarni, harmonium artist Kaushiki Joglekar and percussionist Shikhar Naad.

Mridangam experimentalists Anantha R Krishana and Viveick Rajagopalan’s Two Summ plan to combine mridangam with electronic, drum and bass, jazz, and folk. Another new performance comes with Ashtanayika – Kal Aur Aaj, which brings about a fusion of poetry, rap, and dance, featuring vocalist Shivangini Yeashu Yuvraj, rappers Krantinaari and Pratika, among other artists.

The Rhythms of India ensemble will also take the stage at Mahindra Percussion Festival, led konnakol and mridangam artist BC Manjunath, drummer Darshan Doshi, percussionist-producer SG Pramath Kiran, and vocalist Varijashree Venugopal. Also repping Bengaluru are folk-rock heroes Swarathma, who are planning a collaboration with Thavil Raja and Beat Gurus. The festival is rounded out by singer-percussionist Charu Hariharan’s collaboration with Kerala percussive groups Kattunaykkar Jenukuruba and Kozhikode Nanthalakootam, which will bring folk and tribal artists to highlight the diversity and richness of Indian percussion.

Tickets for each day of the festival are currently priced at ₹750 and ₹1,000 for different seating zones.

Mahindra Group’s vice president of cultural outreach Jay Shah said in his statement about the return of the festival, “Building on the phenomenal success of its debut edition, this year, the Mahindra Percussion Festival promises to be an even more electrifying celebration of rhythm and community. Our carefully curated line-up transcends genres and borders, uniting established maestros with rising stars pushing percussion music’s boundaries. Our objective is to bolster the power of percussion, especially in India where this art form is so widely appreciated but is yet to find its foothold.”

Get tickets for Mahindra Percussion Festival here.