October Octaves back with 11th edition this weekend

October Octaves, the music festival by 5M, which made a name for itself in South Bengaluru, is back with its 11th edition this weekend. To be held at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts on October 11, the line up of artistes this year includes Staccato from Chennai and ChaRitha, the musical duo of Chandana and Supreetha.

According to Ramesh M, founder and organiser of 5M, the team strives to make every concert unique. “Last year, we celebrated our tenth anniversary with two different types of concerts, so this time round, we will be presenting music in two different segments,” says Ramesh, adding, “We try our best to cater to the expectations of our growing audience base.”

He continues, “The first segment is in keeping with the current trend of bhajan jamming, but with professional, well-trained singers. To deliver this experience, we have identified artistes with a unique style — the duo ChaRita, who will be followed by Chennai-based Staccato with their signature sound.”

Ramesh says this will be the second time Staccato will be performing at October Octaves, having performed for them in 2021. “This will be a multilingual offering. The transition from ChaRita to Staccato has been planned keeping in mind a performance that will be appreciated by all age groups — both youngsters and the family crowd.”

Chandana and Supreetha of ChaRitha
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

5M is also iterating their Ragini series following its success, says Ramesh. “Around two years ago, it began as outdoor morning raga sessions, and was renamed Ragini last October. With a limited capacity of 110, these concerts present an intimate setting where audiences can interact with artistes and have their queries answered after the program.”

With vocalists such as the Akkarai Sisters, S Subhalakshmi and S Sornalatha, Sikkil Gurucharan, Ramakrishnan Murthy, and violinist Charumathi Raghuraman part of the line up last year, expectations are high for this year’s series, which begin from October 25, he says.

Veena artiste Ramana Balachander will open this year’s series, which will see six concerts held on the third Sunday of every month, till March. “The duration of the concerts will be from 8am and 9.30am and will be followed by breakfast. We chose this format where tickets are inclusive of breakfast to benefit elderly members of the audience as well as those who stay back to engage with the artistes. This way, they have the rest of the day to themselves.”

This year will see Kanchana Sisters, Ambi Subramaniam and Aniruddh Aithal, among others perform for the Ragini series.

The series is solely to promote pure Carnatic and classical music, says Ramesh, adding the curators attempt to balance out the event with a combination of instrumental and vocal music.

A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Ananya Foundation, which focuses on mental health issues.

October Octaves ‘26 will be held at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts on October 11, from 6pm. Tickets from ₹499 available on BookMyShow.