Photos: Rolling Stone Stage – Folk Rock Takeover At R-City

The crowd at RS Stage

After a successful first edition in April, Rolling Stone Stage was back at R-City Mall this weekend to introduce Mumbai to the city’s upcoming musical talent. This time around, the lineup featured solo artist Vernon Noronha and Hindi acoustic rock group Agazo, singer songwriter Alisha Pais and Hindi rock group Kashmeer.

Kicking off the first day of Rolling Stone Stage on May 2^nd, Noronha’s performance included covers of acoustic rock favorites like Jason Mraz’s “The Remedy” and John Mayer’s “Something Like Olivia” as well as his own original tunes. Noronha’s originals were heartfelt and personal. For instance, “You Come and Go” was a song about the room mates he’s had in college, his memories of Goa made it to the song “Scent of the Sea” and “Come Back Jack” is a track he wrote for his father. Hindi rock group Agazo followed with a setlist filled with Hindi film songs, which also had the audience singing along.

On the second day of RS Stage, Alisha Pais performed a fiery set. Her musical and vocal style was a nod to the angst-filled folk rock made popular by artists like Melissa Etheridge, and she even gave pop songs like Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” a folk rock makeover. Pais’s original “I am a Maniac” progressed in the same vein.

The last band for the weekend, Kashmeer, played an all-original set of songs like “Intezaar” and “Badte Jaana Hain.” Singer Swapnil Bhanushali’s classically-trained vocals were the highlight of their set that night, bringing the second edition of RS Stage to a close.

Photos: Sairaj R Kamath.

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