Indie music flourishes in Gujarat

India has always been dominated by Bollywood when it comes to music and indie music has always struggled to find a foothold. But that seems to be changing as the young musicians are showing interest in various other genre of music than just the popular Bollywood songs.
And Gujarat is taking giant leaps following the trend as well. In the recent times, various indie acts have come together and taken music as means of expressing themselves.And the best part is that these young musicians are experimenting with various genres. While rock was the predominant force only till a few years back, now genres like jazz and blues are also being explored.
"When we started playing blues and jazz initially, we hardly found any listeners," says Saaz, who is a jazz and blues enthusiast from Ahmedabad. He adds, "But now things are different. Even though the numbers are still very small, there has been a definite increase."
City youngsters are now open to organizing small gigs with that are open to music enthusiasts. Such initiatives are spreading music to a wider audience. Even though the process is still in its nascent stage, but these young musicians are hopeful. Saaz adds, "We still find it difficult to find sponsors, so we look for neutral venues where we can perform for free."
And not just Ahmedabad, but cities like Vadodara and Surat have seen some positive signs as well. With Vadodara being a huge cultural space, indie musicians from the city have gone on to explore various genres like folk fusion, Hindi rock, sufi pop and much more.