Freedom Jam
Freedom Jam is an event that is held in Bangalore City, Karnataka, India every year on August 15 (India's Independence Day).
Overview
The Freedom Jam is a musical gathering. It is the continuation of an old musical tradition in Bangalore, where for a few years in the early eighties at Cubbon Park but is held now at Palace Grounds, musicians used to get together and perform free on Sunday evenings and still continue to do so.
This spirit was revived during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indian Independence - 1997 when musicians of all styles gathered together behind Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bangalore to celebrate fifty years of freedom and independence as well as celebrate the freedom of expression through art and music.
It proved to be extremely successful and was continued in the form of monthly jams regularly held on the first Sunday of every month (called the Sunday Jam) and a night-long free music festival - The Freedom Jam Festival - on the eve of Independence Day.
Performances have included Bangalore's legends like Human Bondage, Konarak Reddy, K.C.P., and an eclectic contemporary mix of music from the likes of Lucky Ali, David Rothenberg (New York), Sarjapur Blues Band, Baja, Steve Tallis (Australia), Vasundhara Das, Esperanto, Threnody, Kryptos, Bhoomi, Thermal and a Quarter and many others- a long list featuring the huge amount of local talent for whom Freedom Jam has become the place to express themselves, share their music, and even build a following. Over the last nine years that this festival has been happening it has grown exponentially and attracts audiences of over 10000.
The Freedom Jam Festival is a 12-hour non-stop pulsating musical event reverberating through the night by over 40 bands of various hues vying to play over multiple stages to commemorate the freedom of music.
Freedom Jam and Sunday Jam have become eagerly anticipated events in Bangalore today. In 2005, the organisers of the Freedom Jam had planned for a night-long event on August 15 but had to abandon it due to terrorist activities which took place in a nearby city resulting in Bangalore being put on high alert. The Freedom Jam of 2006 has been postponed to November.
The two events have served as a launchpad for many amateur artistes (particularly rock and metal bands) as well as a sort of comeback stage for established singers from Bangalore.
Freedom Jam has been started recently in neighbouring Metropolitan city of Chennai also.This year it happens in buck's theatre YMCA nandanam on August 19.Similar to the Freedom Jam in Bangalore, this is also a free entry event.
Pondy Freedom Jam
The Freedom Jam—Pondy Music Festival has been held in Puducherry, on the Bay of Bengal coast 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Chennai, for the last six years[when?] supported by the Dept. of Tourism. It is now held on the Republic Day weekend in January, the 'tourist season' when the weather is pleasant at several different venues showcasing music simultaneously on the beachfront. Generally speaking compared to the Bangalore version the Pondy edition offers a more eclectic world music feel with a lot of various styles, even though contemporary Indian rock is well represented. In 2010 artistes like Ministry of Blues, Matt Littlewood Group, BAJA, Inside Out, Alan Rego and many more bands including a host of ethnic performers regaled the crowd over two evenings and a 'morning raga' recital at sunrise.
The movement has also spread to Chennai and has been held twice; once at Bucks open-air theatre, YMCA and last year[when?] at Spaces, Elliots Beach & Musee Musicale.
