No Indian wedding is complete without a memorable sangeet ceremony. While Bollywood actors, singers and choreographers have always been popular choices for the sangeet, one is spotting a new trend with a shift towards unconventional performers.

The latest entrant into this market seem to be singers who have gained popularity via social media platforms. These independent artistes have been performing at various festive occasions, marriages and events all over the country.

“Digitalisation has opened a whole new world of opportunities for today’s artists. Despite the paucity of major breakthroughs, artists carve a niche and create opportunities for themselves. Spaces are not just limited to albums or movies, with a change in trends, opportunities like Youtube channels, intimate gatherings, and Instagram lives have seen a great boost,” says Suryaveer Hooja, whose latest wedding song Baage Vich, has crossed 2 million views on Youtube. It is one of the popular numbers he regularly performs at functions.

Delhi based Kamakshi Khanna is a singer and songwriter whose music blends both the old and new has performed at the NH7 Weekender Pune, Shillong, Sofar Sounds Delhi and New York.

“Each performance is an experience of its own and I think the best part is connecting with strangers through your music and your stories,” says Kamakshi, who has also performed at The Piano Man Jazz Club, Hard Rock Cafe amongst other venues.

Vipin Aneja, who sung Jaane Tere Shehar Ka in the movie Jazbaa (2015), also agrees on how Youtube and Instagram have emerged as a huge platform to showcase one’s talent to a wider range of audience.

“It has broadened the scope of experimentation with music and helped setting variable trends. Also, it has helped generating a fairer share of revenue for artists,” says Vipin, who has performed at various weddings in Hong Kong, Thailand, Dubai and India.

First Published: Jan 04, 2019 10:09 IST