Museum Theatre to host Rewind’s retro music concert in Chennai

Would a chance encounter with a mystical door, opening into the past and blasting evergreen English songs, entice you to turn the knob and step inside? The Museum Theatre in Egmore will be a time-traveller’s paradise on September 6, as Rewind, a retro music band, will perform live taking music lovers on a nostalgic journey with pop, rock ’n’ roll and country classics.

“This is not just a concert; it is an interactive show where we expect the audience to sing along. Unless the audience participates, I believe the show is dead. We choose songs that they can sing along to. It’s a live band,” says Krishna Iyer, the organiser.

The concert will feature classics such as ‘Every Breath You Take’, ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Listen to the Music’, among others. The band will also perform a song by Dolly Parton as a tribute to the late singer.

Rewind, the brainchild of Krishna who runs the music school Vocalz, made its debut in 2009. “Back then, we had a show called Sing Along, where we sang children’s songs and got them to sing along with us. One of the children’s grandfathers suggested that we do something similar for people his age, with retro songs. That idea eventually led to the formation of Rewind,” says Krishna.

The live band comprises two keyboardists, two guitarists, a drummer and a percussionist, joined by 11 singers. Together, they will perform 29 songs, marking their 14th concert as a band.

“What makes us different is the range of music we cover. There are bands that perform songs from the 1950s or 1960s, but we cover everything from the 1950s to the 2000s. I think that gives us a different identity from the other bands in the city,” says Gerard Joseph, bassist of the band.

Their audiences are largely senior citizens, many of whom attend the concerts with their children and grandchildren. To bring younger listeners into the experience, the band has also put together songs from the 2000s.

Gerard says his favourite part of these concerts is watching the audience and knowing that they are having a good time, just by looking at their faces. The band often stays back after the performance to interact with the audience and hear their feedback and song suggestions.

Looking ahead, the band hopes to continue performing for as long as possible, with a dream of taking its shows to a much bigger scale.