Campus Rock Idols National Finals
held at Hyderabad
‘Abraxas’
rock band wins ‘Campus
Rock Idols’ title
To
open for Rock n India, India’s first and only
international rock music festival
Hyderabad|India|February'2009:
The national finals of the "Nokia Hero Honda Campus Rock Idols" in its 5th
year were held for the first time in Hyderabad here at Treasure Island,
Gandipet. Thousands of youth and rock music lovers cheered the eight bands
as they competed against each other for the coveted title of ‘Campus Rock
Idols’. ‘Abraxas’ rock band was adjudged the winner of Campus Rock Idols,
India’s biggest inter-college rock music competition which continued till
late night yesterday. Apart from the title of ‘Campus Rock Idols’, the
winning band was awarded a cash prize of Rs.75.000/-, Abraxas will open
for the Rock n India, India’s first and only international rock music
festival to be held in Bangalore on 14th & 15th February 2009 and will
perform alongside international rock icon "Iron Maiden". The gathering
also got an enthralling musical treat with the performance of India’s
famous rock band - Euphoria. Dr. Palash Sen and his bands performance of
Dhoom Pichuck and other songs had the audience singing along with them
song after song.
A Judges panel comprising of Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa (of the
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composing team) and Luke Kenny (of ‘Rock On’ movie
fame) judged the participating bands. Rock bands ‘Melodrama’ and ‘Jester’
were adjudged as First Runner-up and Second Runner-up respectively. The
First Runner-up and Second Runner-up were awarded cash prizes of
Rs.50,000/- and Rs.25,000/-. Apart from the prizes all the winning bands
also got hampers from "On Stage", a musical instrument retails store which
consists of brands like Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez, Remo, Dean Markley, Tama,
Ernie Ball, Dunlop and many more.
The competition saw eager young talented contestants from various cities
in India viz., Shillong, Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh, Indore, Pune, Manipal,
Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The eight bands which competed against
each other in the national finals were Jester, Seize Her, Melodrama,
Digital Suicide, Abraxas, Rosemary, Crimson Wood and Skrat.
Campus Rock Idols (CRI) provides, a unique opportunity for amateur rock
bands at the college level to compete on a national platform. It has come
a long way since its inception in 2004. This annual competition travels
nationally to Metros as well as other cities across four zones of the
country. The competition has seen eager young talented contestants from
both small as well as big towns in droves for the regional events and
quite a few of them have made it big in the world of rock music. Campus
Rock Idols over the years has produced a number of extremely talented rock
bands that have gone on to achieve national as well as international
exposure. Winning bands in earlier series of CRI have had the unique
distinction of performing alongside international rock icons such as the "Rasmus",
"Bryan Adams" and more recently "Iron Maiden".
Images: India’s biggest
inter-college rock music competition held in Hyderabad
Reachout's News Bureau
February'
2009
