Freedom Jam back in Bengaluru to celebrate Independence Day with desi rock

Baja at a previous edition of Freedom Jam
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

One of Bengaluru’s most beloved music mainstays, Freedom Jam, returns to the stage on August 14 at Bangalore International Centre in Domlur. Keeping with their ethos of a free gig (“no bread!” as the concert series is subtitled), Freedom Jam is built on the back of 26 years of live music, with the band being sformally active since 1997.

Often holding performances on Independence Day and Republic Day, this year the long-running series will host four bands across generations and genres for a mid-week jam like no other.

Part of the lineup are Sarjapur Blues Band with founders Dr. Shekhar Seshadri (also a renowned psychologist at NIMHANS) on vocals and guitars alongside guitarist Vinoo Mathews. They call themselves the “workingman’s, underground, back-street, original, eclectic, rhythm and blues kind of band.”

Expect songs like ‘Don’t Drop Your Ego,’ ‘Bounce It’ and ‘Lady Nicotine,’ all of which align with Freedom Jam’s theme for this edition of performing original music.

The Sarjapur Blues Bandwill be joined by seasoned rock band The Unknowns, whose set will pay tribute to their late guitarist Stephen Joseph aka Steve. According to the organisers, The Unknowns will perform songs off Steve’s Carnatic fusion album Welcome To The Journey at Freedom Jam this week.

Giddy Hoo
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Steve had not only made The Unknowns the city’s finest classic rock band, but he also pioneered many innovations to make the electric guitar sound like veena, mridangam and violin. Now the next generation, Steve’s multitalented sons and nephews continue the tradition with Sunil Steven adept at all the fusion techniques,” the event description adds.

Alongside a celebration of Steve’s life at Freedom Jam is equal amounts of fun, courtesy Baja, which counts Freedom Jam founder Siddhartha Patnaik among its band members. In their own words, Baja “cannot play a cover to save their lives”. They instead offer up remixes of songs such as ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Surangani’ as well as their long-running numbers ‘Money Runnin Out,’ ‘AlooGobi Rhythm’ and more. Baja’s style includes “a blend of desi ‘tapankuthu’ rhythms with rock blues chord patterns.”

Just as Baja have been regulars at pretty much every edition of Freedom Jam, a recent addition to lineups at the concert series has been local rock band Giddy Hoo. With four tracks out so far, the band is likely to play songs like ‘Why Should I Scare,’ ‘Mount Rock,’ ‘Fatus’ and ‘Pilgrim and the Creed.’ They are now immersed in recording their debut album as well. The event description adds, “Two brothers from the South and two from the Northeast, the band has this ability to sway rock audiences with their energetic performances and catchy arena rock.”

Freedom Jam has, in the past, presented live music in public spaces as well as local pubs, sometimes setting up in a multi-venue, multi-day format. Hosting everyone from Raghu Dixit to Thermal And A Quarter, prog rock band Rainburn and more, Freedom Jam remains loved and lauded for being all about fun and promoting independent music from the city.

RSVP for free entry to Freedom Jam on August 14 at Bangalore International Centre, via freedomjam.in