Musical trends change, genres fade, but some people refuse to go with the trend and stick to what they truly enjoy doing. Classic rock musician Nandakumar, known popularly as Nandu Leo, is one of those. It takes a lot of commitment to continue to stick to a genre, the heydays of which passed a few decades ago. Even more difficult is the task of organising concerts to celebrate classic rock and attract the younger generation to it.
For the past twelve years, Nandu Leo has been doing just that. His annual concert, scheduled usually around the Republic Day, has been the one event that veteran rockers as well as youngsters have looked forward to. In recent years, his daughter Cindy Nandakumar has also joined the band on stage, belting out some popular numbers.
The annual concert this year to be held on January 26 at the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan from 6.30 p.m. onwards has been titled Memory Lane, a nod to the first song of Bahn Kruger, one of the earliest rock bands to be formed in Thiruvananthapuram, in which Nandu Leo was a member.
“In 1978, our band had made about 10-12 songs. Memory Lane was the first song that we composed. Ajith Pillai, our lyricist, wrote the lines which went Memory lane, in a trance....I can see more than the eye can, memory lane.. I keep changing the set-list of songs for the annual concerts. This time we have a few mellow songs too. Also, we are playing our own versions of popular songs,” says Nandu Leo.
After several years of performing in hotels, Nandu Leo got together with his old gang of friends in 2014 to organise ‘Music for Peace – All those years ago’, a classic rock concert. The massive success of the show led to it becoming an annual affair.
The band, which also includes bassist Binny Issac, guitarist Sunil Silvester, keyboardist Gary, and drummer Shibu, will have just three days of practise ahead of the concert as high jam room rentals have made it unaffordable for them to rent a space for more days. The entry to the concert is free.
