Nandu Leo performing with his daughter Cindy Nandakumar at a concert in the city
Music is not immune to the vagaries of time. Classic rock musician Nandakumar, known popularly as Nandu Leo, has been a witness to the rise, fall and re-emergence of the capital city’s independent music scene, as well as the constant reshaping of tastes of the listeners. Yet, he has stuck to the genre of music he had fallen in love with in his younger days.
At 66, he continues to soldier on, doing his bit to attract more listeners to classic rock, with his annual free concert, an event which is much looked forward to among the rock aficionados in the city. Though the concert usually takes place on Republic Day annually, this year, it will be organised on February 8 from 7 p.m. onwards at the Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan. The Goethe Zentrum will be supporting the show titled ‘Another Night’, which will be the 13th edition of the annual classic rock concert.
Nandu will be joined by his daughter and vocalist Cindy Nandakumar, guitarist Sunil Silvester, keyboarding Garry Lobo, drummer Shibu Samuel and bassist Balu.
“It has become harder to organise these concerts, as I have to do everything from the promotion of the show and taking care of all the nitty gritty. Hardly any classic rock concerts take place in the city now, compared to some years ago when we had a thriving music scene. This time, we are planning to perform popular as well as lesser known songs by Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd and others,” says Nandu, who was a member of Bahn Kruger, one of the earliest rock bands to be formed in the late 1970s in Thiruvananthapuram.
After several years of performing in hotels, Nandu 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
Published – February 02, 2025 06:58 pm IST