The Score Magazine - Archive October 2016 issue! | Page 38

The Music
Never Stops in
Goa
Over the years, Goa has undergone tremendous
change. What has remained unchanged, however, is its
synonymy with being ‘the’ place to be for fun, frolic,
good food and great music. Goa has always taken pride
in being the country’s most popular destination to usher
in the new year and finds itself packed to the brim
during the peak season months, i.e. from November to
February, tapering off in April. The monsoon, however,
is a different story altogether, as Goa adopts its most
naturally beautiful form and the rain-gods paint the state
in varied hues of green and wash the entire place clean.
Quite literally even, as the streets that are otherwise
packed with people, find themselves deserted as the state
slips into its ‘off-season’ mode. Or, so was the case until
about 4 years ago. Not anymore!
One of the most significant alterations to have shaped
Goa is the way the hospitality sector has dealt with
the monsoons. For the past few years, Goa has been
welcoming tourists throughout the year and has
gradually earned the repute of being a 365-day tourist
destination. This change has had a direct effect on one
of the stakeholder segments of this industry – the live
bands that entertain the audiences in restaurants,
clubs, pubs and other business establishments, and they
don’t mind it one bit, for the effect has been extremely
positive.
In 2009, Lester Rodrigues, a local lad and guitarist,
founded a band and named it after his house number that
the band started to, and still continues to, practice in –
A26. Rodrigues now manages the band (apart from being
its lead singer) which has grown to become one of the
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finest, not only in Goa but the country too. Although the
band relies heavily on corporate events and weddings,
A26 has now given in to the temptation of playing at a
restaurant and seems to be enjoying juggling this added
gig with their usual corporate shows in Goa and across
India.
Rodrigues says, “During the monsoons, tourists are
flocking to Goa every weekend; especially on the
occasional long weekend. It does tend to slow down a
little bit, in the first few days of the week. But this also
happens during the peak season. The monsoons can no
longer be called off-season. I feel that the season has
spread itself across the year. The venue that we play
at – Cohiba Bar and Kitchen, is always packed on a
Wednesday, with about 60 - 70% of the clientele being
tourists.”
At a time when most restaurants slip into hibernation
during the monsoons, Cohiba dared to be an exception
to the rule and threw its doors open in September 2014.
It hasn’t shut ever since, and runs to a packed house
on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; riding on
the massive popularity of its live music acts. Gautam
Bakhale, Partner, Cohiba says, “The monsoon months
are increasingly gaining popularity among holiday
makers, which augurs well for Goa. Everyone who lives
here knows that this is the best time of the year to be in
Goa, and tourists are slowly realising it too. This has had
a positive impact on local businesses.”
Apart from the heavy influx of tourists, restaurant
owners are motivated by the push from sponsors who are
taking keen interest in live music. Contrary to the scene