While planning her Jaipur concert, at one point, Neha Bhasin toyed with the idea of entering the stage in a pink coffin. The act was to symbolise killing the ‘old version’ of herself. The team vetoed the idea. But to the singer and songwriter, it represented what I Believe, her concert, is all about—a new chapter in her two-decade-plus career.  

On April 26 evening, Bhasin took to the stage for her first solo ticketed concert. As she spoke to mid-day in the run-up to the gig, the singer began with how India’s live music scene took a beating after the pandemic. “Post-COVID, we’ve finally started seeing a surge in ticketed concerts now. Even the biggest artistes once gave in to free-pass culture. We were all stuck in the loop of corporate and wedding shows, which don’t appeal to me,” she said.