No Joke: Four Killer Gigs You Can Attend on April Fool’s Day

Every time we forget to glance at a calendar or forget to see the timestamp on a ”˜news’ article, we become that much more gullible for an April fool’s joke. We’ve seen entire festivals and best artists in the world announced to perform in India on April 1st, and thankfully gained a more discerning eye and a sense of humor (and a resigned acceptance that Eminem is probably never coming to Mumbai).

This April 1st has (so far) been conspicuously avoiding any hoaxes, so we decided to round up the best shows that are taking place for real on Sunday. Here’s where you can head:

Bira91 April Fools Fest

NSIC Exhibition Ground, New Delhi.

Positioned as a comedy and music festival, the two-day gathering in the capital features the best in the business of beats making their appearance alongside top comedians in the circuit. While March 31st’s top draws include Philadelphian rapper-producer Raj Haldar aka Lushlife and rapper-singer Raja Kumari, April Fool’s day will feature DJ Uri, DJ MoCity, Punjabi rapper Prabh Deep, Mumbai’s Divine and his Gully Gang and a closing set by desi bass producer Nucleya. Will he drop a jokey sample of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”? We’d like that very much.

Event details here.

Metal Mania ft Plague Throat, KillKount, Killibrium

Hard Rock Café, Worli, Mumbai.

Shillong death metal unit Plague Throat’s Decimation tour wraps up in Mumbai, and they’ve been good at bringing the fury even though they’ve been performing as a duo with a bass guitar in the backing track. They’ll be joined by Indore’s self-described “neck breaking” death metal outfit KillKount and a special set by Mumbai’s Killibrium, who are debuting with new vocalist Afaque Azad (from death metal band Infernal Wrath). If you’ve ever seen Azad in action on stage (it’s been three years since his performance with the Bombay Metal Project at metal festival BIG69), then you know he’s not joking when he says he’ll get into the crowd to mosh and growl at the same time.

Event details here.

Ranjit Barot’s Superphonic

The Quarter, Mumbai

If you dig jazz fusion then you know the name Ranjit Barot. Part of pioneer guitarist John McLaughlin’s band 4th Dimension, Barot also regularly sits behind the drum throne for the likes composer A.R. Rahman. Barot keeps it familial this time around at the cozy venue The Quarter, joined by daughter and vocalist Mallika Barot, keyboardist Gulraj Singh and ace guitar whiz Rhythm Shaw. In a video promo for the gig, Barot senior is sharp to add, “And it’s not April’s fool!” An electro-funk one-off set led by a drummer like him? Damn right.

Event details here.

Djuma Soundsystem, Robby

Kitty Ko, The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru

A regular and bona fide Indophile, Danish DJ Mikkas Skuldstad aka Djuma Soundsystem was first popular as a house music producer, but eventually gained footing in techno and is now firmly in the realm of electronic music with plenty of crossover appeal. He’s checked off appearances at the likes of SulaFest in Nashik and previous India tours back in 2014, so he’s arriving with new ammo this time around, joined by Bengaluru-based deep house, tech and nu-disco DJ Robby.

Event details here.