Back to the mic

Harshdeep Kaur

Harshdeep Kaur returns to the stage after a two-year lull with a city-based concert that will see her celebrate the work of Lata Mangeshkar, and perform her best Sufi scores. "A city mall is organising an event, a music festival of sorts that will run for three days and see [top] artistes perform for their fans. This is a nice way to get people together again and spread the love for music. People have been telling me that they want to hear me perform live, and want to hear my Sufi songs. I will sing them and will also pay tribute to Lata ji."

In the aftermath of the lockdown, Kaur, who welcomed her son last year, finds that people are more eager to return to celebration than apprehensive about interaction. "People were waiting for things to open up, [and for] weddings to occur. In the lockdown, I did a lot of concerts online, but the experience cannot match that of a live concert. It isn't the way people perceive it. When you perform live, and watch the audience clap for you, you realise how much you were missing."

Kaur admits that with the boom of streaming platforms in the lockdown, the shift in music consumers' tastes is noticeable. "Streaming apps are [promoting] new artistes. The phase has given wings to indie musicians who found an audience in the absence of film music. As artistes, we work hard towards creating fresh renditions of our popular songs so that listeners can enjoy consuming them at live concerts. It is time to promote the culture of live music again."

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May 16, 1983: Michael Jackson introduced the Moonwalk for the first time on TV when he displayed the move on the Motown 25th anniversary TV special