Prog Encounters: The Pulse Theory, Rainburn and More Set for Three-City Tour

Started off as a gig series in Bengaluru last year, Prog Encounters 2.0 gets wheels with bands like The Pulse Theory, Rainburn and Coshish performing in Mumbai (March 14th) and Pune (March 17th) next week.

The three-city tour kicks off on home ground on March 10th in Bengaluru, with The Pulse Theory and Rainburn joined by seasoned prog act Dark Light and rock band The Lucidwake. The headlining bands are both performing on the back of releasing albums – with The Pulse Theory putting out Coming Back Home and Rainburn releasing Vignettes last year. The Lucidwake, too, take the stage to promote “Bleed,” the second single from their upcoming four-track EP Whiteout.

While Rainburn are no strangers to touring in the past – they were part of the traveling gig series Progworks on Wheels as far back as 2016 – The Pulse Theory launched Prog Encounters in 2023 to mark the release of Coming Back Home in Bengaluru. Now, it’s in a “bigger avatar” as vocalist Avishek Dasgupta calls it. “The success of that show made us believe we could try something bigger, considering there is a dearth of prog oriented festivals yet so many amazing prog acts across the country,” he adds.

A DIY setup without any companies or brands sponsoring them, Dasgupta says putting together Prog Encounters 2.0 as a tour has taken a “considerable amount of planning and hustling.” He acknowledges that that’s the basis of most independent artists curating their own gigs, it was a new experience for The Pulse Theory to juggle tour planning alongside their own music. He adds, “The aim is also not just to curate an event but create a community, and along this journey we are glad to have collaborated with some amazing musicians, venues, curators and event partners.” Dasgupta gives a special shoutout to Pune rock trio Nemophilis’ Akarsh Singh who stepped in to help the band.

The inclusion Coshish – who are playing their first gigs in Mumbai and Pune since 2019 – is described by Dasgupta as a “show-stealer.” He adds, “Almost impulsively, I called their manager Ashwin and checked if they were planning on playing live any time soon. Through that same phone call, Ashwin confirmed their availability for Prog Encounters and there has been no looking back.”

With Rainburn, Dasgupta says they were an “obvious choice,” more so after the band’s vocalist-guitarist and songwriter Vats Iyengar guested on a song at the first Prog Encounters. In Mumbai, Prog Encounters 2.0 also includes rock band Sweetmint, while prog band ShredxXx are added to the Pune lineup.  

As for The Pulse Theory’s set, they’ll be performing largely from Coming Back Home and debuting at least two new songs live. Dasgupta says, “We have some special guest acts joining us in Bangalore for a couple of very interesting covers.” The band brings in singer-songwriter Aanchal Bordoloi and violinist Saurav S. Chandran as guest performers for their Bengaluru show this week.

Ideation for a third edition of Prog Encounters is also underway, with plans to host it again later this year.

Prog Encounters 2.0 Tour 2024 ft The Pulse Theory and Rainburn

March 10th – Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Bengaluru w/Dark Light, The Lucidwake

March 14th – The Stables, Mumbai w/Coshish, Sweetmint

March 17th – AntiSOCIAL, Pune w/Coshish, ShredxXx

Get tickets here.