On October 30-31, a little corner of Goa will burst into song, for a cause. This is where the Goa Rhythm and Blues Festival comes in, to bring together some of the big names of the corporate world and many of the who’s who from across the country on one green lawn, and a host of India’s best blues, rock and fusion artistes on the stage. At the Vivanta by Taj in Aguada, the Goa Rhythm and Blues festival will not just two days of great entertainment and camaraderie but also do something that quite unusual. The festival is but a massive fund raiser, for underprivileged children suffering from different types of diseases and ailments. The Delhi-based Genesis Foundation are the organisers of the event and the kind souls who realise that all this fun and frolic can be used for a good cause.
They work constantly to provide healthcare services for underprivileged children across the country, with a focus on cancer, cardiac disorders, post organ transplant care, thalassemia and extreme physical deformities. Until now, the Genesis Foundation has saved the lives of more than 700 children in need of complex surgical and medical intervention. “While we have some incredible talent taking the stage, this event is much more than just another music festival. It is about a chance of life to 15 under-privileged, critically ill children. It warms our hearts to see our sponsors, supporters, musicians and attendees come together and pitch in for the cause,” says Prema Sagar, one of the founding members of the Genesis Foundation.
In order to raise awareness and resources to facilitate medical assistance to the GF Kids, Genesis Foundation has created unusual and unique participative fundraising events involving music, art and food. Some of these events are Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival, CEOs Cook for GF Kids, Music for Life events, among others. GF is also the beneficiary of CEO’s Got Talent, produced by FremantleMedia. The Goa Rhythm and Blues festival is a result of the success of the Kasauli event, where scores of attendees implored the organisers to organize something in Goa. The Kasauli Goa Rhythm and Blues festival has been on for four successful years now and now, Goa can be a part of that too.
With bands like Soulmate and the Doors of Perception, MoonArra from Bangalore, Divine Raga, Ministry of Blues as well as local rocker Aviv Pereira and his musician buddies that make up the Aviv Pereira Project, as well as the Herman Abreo Blues Band, fronted by a man who has epitomized the blues in Goa for years now, the event promises to be a pleasant riot of great music, conversation and of course, a humble social outlook. All the funds raised go to the cause with the organisers taking care of the overhead costs separately. In fact, Genesis Foundation have been also looking to extends their services to Goa too, so there will be children from the state who will benefit from their generosity in the future. Goa based Aviv Pereira, who will be performing on Day 1 of the festival puts is best, when he says, “I love the idea of us musicians giving back to the world and helping people out. I think the Genesis Foundation is doing a really good job and this is our way of making a difference. It’s a beautiful vibe!”
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Grey Goose is proud to continue its association with Genesis Foundation. The Goa Rhythm & Blues Festival embodies the spirit of creativity, optimism, and accomplishment...
- Vijay Subramaniam, Managing Director, India & South-East Asia, Bacardi India Pvt Ltd
Genesis Foundation does an extraordinary job of supporting under-privileged children who are critically ill and, we, at PepsiCo are proud to be associated with them in supporting this noble cause. We congratulate Genesis Foundation for putting together yet another exciting season of Rhythm & Blues Festival, which has now become a ‘must-attend’ event for music lovers
- Pradeep Wadhwa, Director Corporate Communications, PepsiCo India
Kingfisher is delighted to partner with the Genesis Foundation at the Goa Rhythm and Blues Festival. They have been doing exemplary work to improve lives in various fields of human endeavour and Kingfisher stands for the good times. We see a natural fit around this exciting property and look forward to its continued success
- Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President Marketing, United Breweries Limited
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Schedule
Friday, October 30
(4:30 pm)
Herman Abreo Blues Band
Aviv Pereira Project featuring Spencer ‘Maybe’ Pearce
Divine Raaga
Soulmate
Parekhit Bhattacharjee
Saturday, October 31
(3:30pm)
The Goan Serenaders
MoonArra
Ministry of Blues
The Doors of Perception
Shilpa Rao
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The Herman Abreo Blues band
Herman Abreo has been entertaining tourists in Goa with his brand of blues and blues infused rock for decades now. He’s been a solo project and jammed with many bands, but now with Lenon Pires on drums and Keith Viegas on drums, his new band will take you down a soulful bluesy journey.
MoonArra
Formed in 2006, MoonArra, which means ‘Three Streams’, has a collective upbringing in Carnatic and Hindustani classical, the rhythmic and harmonic quality of jazz and a thousand other songs that they have grown up with. Theirs is a journey to discover how sounds travelled from ancient India, through Persia and into Europe. By their meetings with diverse artists, languages and styles, a celebration of the human spirit “ it is a journey that has no destination.
Soulmate
Soulmate is a Shillong based blues band, which came together in February 2003 playing their first concert at the ‘Roots Festival' in Umiam, near Shillong. Since then the band has performed many concerts all over The Northeast as well as in different parts of India, Southeast Asia, Europe, The Middle East and The USA. It mainly consists of Rudy Wallang (guitar/vocals/songwriter) and Tipriti TIPS Kharbangar (vocals/guitar), although they frequently team up with session musicians when on tour.
Ministry of Blues
Ministry of Blues, Vinoo Matthew on bass, David Boon on drums, Philipe Haydon on guitar/vocals and Rauf on keyboards/vocals, has now become a revered band in India, especially in the underground music scne. The band came together to play traditional blues but with added modern arrangements.
Aviv Pereira Project featuring Spencer ‘Maybe’ Pearce
The Aviv Pereira Project with guest musician Pearce has been doing the rounds in Goa for a while now, dishing out great blues and rock music. They will play a set of covers that are steeped in blues with a rock infused twist, while their originals are a mix of indie music, courtesy Pearce, and upbeat grooves with Aviv Pereira.
The Doors of Perception
The Doors of Perception are a The Doors tribute band. That is saying more than enough, really!
Shilpa Rao
Shilpa is a singer who has done jingles, playback singing as well as other genres. She has sung for some of the best musicians in Bollywood and the ad jingle world as well as graced the stage at many a music concert in the country.
