Why popular international bands are heading to India?

In the years following the COVID-19 lockdown, new records are being set in India’s live music space. The demand for live concerts has increased so much that it led Coldplay to perform the biggest show of their storied career in Ahmedabad in late January this year, packing the Narendra Modi Stadium with over 2,22,000 attendees across two days.

More recently, the producer and promoter of the shows, BookMyShow Live, brought down Guns N’ Roses to play for a reported 35,000 audience at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse on May 17. Sure, Axl Rose was off-key and no longer at his best, but what has been driving audiences to catch the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Bryan Adams and soon, Enrique Iglesias is the nostalgia factor. The rush for tickets is also driven by social media and the FoMO it can quickly induce in anyone scrolling through their feeds. Never mind that you may not know more than a handful of songs out of the average 90-120 minute setlist. What further adds to the hysteria is the fact one never knows when these artistes will be in the country again.

In December 2024, Canadian rock favourite Bryan Adams performed across seven cities in India including Shillong, Goa and Kolkata
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The Hindu

In December last, Canadian rock favourite Bryan Adams took on his most extensive India tour yet, performing in seven cities including Shillong, Goa and Kolkata. He told me in an interview ahead of the tour kickoff, “I’ve been banging on to everybody to get back to India for a couple of years now. And so we finally organised it and I really, honestly didn’t know what to expect because I haven’t been here for a few years and, times change… but my goodness, the tickets have virtually sold out.”

The tour – Bryan’s sixth visit to the country – was put together by EVA Live and SG Live. A representative for EVA Live confirms that the nine-day, seven-city tour brought in over 1.5 lakh fans. The company’s marketing manager Pallavi Maloo says, “The primary advantage of multi-city tours lies in shared marketing costs and increased sponsor interest. While artistes are generally inclined towards more shows, the financial benefit of a multi-city arrangement typically ranges from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.”

Ed Sheeran returned to India to perform in cities such as Chennai, Shillong, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru for the first time between January and February this year.
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Special Arrangement

Larger bands such as Guns N’ Roses may have only performed one show – as did the likes of Deep Purple (although they were originally slated for two) – which points to how touring with a leaner live setup can obviously help reach more cities. Case in point, Ed Sheeran returned to India within a year of his 2024 show, performing in cities such as Chennai, Shillong, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru for the first time between January and February 2025.

It was just Sheeran, his guitar and his trusty Loopstation to devise catchy, groovy loops of rhythms and layers to keep the crowd engaged. While BookMyShow clearly has processes in place to be the go-to promoter or organiser for artistes represented globally by companies such as AEG and Live Nation, the likes of EVA Live, District By Zomato and Skillbox are scaling up to keep the competition healthy.

Just one rung below are more promoters who see the strong attachment and nostalgia evoked by the likes of Enrique, Backstreet Boys and others. In fact, Backstreet Boys’ member Nick Carter was in town for a solo tour for the first time early this year.

Backstreet Boys’ member Nick Carter was in Bengaluru early this year for a solo tour.
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Special Arrangement

He said in a media interaction in Bengaluru, “I’ve been dying to get over to India for so long. We’ve come a couple of times with the Backstreet Boys, but I just felt like it was never enough. And so it was the perfect opportunity for me, because I have a little more control over where I go as an individual. It’s a little harder with the Backstreet Boys, because it was a bigger show. Mine’s a bit smaller, and I can take it to certain places that we necessarily could not go.”

EVA Live breaks down how cities are gauged as viable markets for international acts. Tier 1 includes Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Tier 2 cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Shillong, and Pune definitely possess what they term “a viable market.” Tier 3 cities, including Jaipur and Indore, along with other large capital cities, “have a somewhat smaller market.” Below that, it doesn’t get significant, but what promoters do count on while planning international shows, is that tier 3 and 4 city fans will travel to attend shows. Coldplay’s shows in Ahmedabad drew visitors from over 500 cities spanning all 28 states and five union territories, according to a report made by EY-Parthenon.

Out in Kolkata, Aveek Chatterjee, who runs a local label, Free School Street Records, is an avid fan of classic rock and blues. Catching the likes of Guns N’ Roses in Mumbai, Aveek is the kind of fan who invests in travelling abroad to catch his favourite bands, in case they don’t come to India.

Over the years, this is the shift taking place — that Indians may not need to travel overseas to catch artistes. “I was absolutely thrilled to watch Deep Purple, Extreme, Sting, Greta Van Fleet and Mr Big live in India,” says Aveek. It means that he has been zipping across Bengaluru, Shillong and Mumbai, among other cities for concerts. Considering himself a “rock n roll pilgrim,” Aveek has been happy to travel outside his home city, but also notes that more needs to be done to put a city like Kolkata on the map for international artistes.

International artistes like Steve Vai have played in Kolkata in recent years.
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Special Arrangement

“The reason is Kolkata lacks the right infrastructure and sponsors, coupled with low ticket sales due to affordability and economic issues. However, it’s great to see that things are improving now as at least tier B and C international artistes such as Aristocrats, Steve Vai, Karnivool have played in Kolkata in recent years and Steven Wilson is slated to play this November .”

A recent surge of events in Meghalaya also points to the involvement of government authorities, with Bryan Adams and Ed Sheeran’s gig getting support from Meghalaya Tourism. EVA Live hails them as “fantastic.” Since Coldplay’s ₹392 crore impact on Ahmedabad was highlighted by Prime Minister Narenda Modi himself, Assam Government has made a move to crack concert economy in December, bringing in hip-hop and pop star Post Malone.

It’s not so much about nostalgia as it is about artistes mounting much more expansive tours. That way, everyone’s a winner. Aveek rightly sums up, “The live music industry is emerging as a new economy booster and India is poised to have exponential growth in this sector.”