CHENNAI: A tea shop tucked away on a pavement in Tirumangalam is busy all day serving tea, coffee, and snacks. But when the sun sets, something shifts at Purple Tea. As the mixer whirs in the background rustling up a milkshake, Brito David and his friends, regulars at the shop, pull out a clapbox, guitar and kazoo, and fill the air with Tamil melodies. And suddenly, the tea shop has become a place for youngsters to unwind to music and relax after a day at work.
One evening, after band practice, Brito — an IT professional — casually picked up his guitar and began to play. Seeing the crowd singing along, the owner told the band members they could play there regularly. One year later, the five members, all IT professionals with a love for music, perform there every day.
Across Chennai, different neighbourhoods are building their own kind of rhythm. From mellow mashups in Tirumangalam to spontaneous melodies in Pondy Bazaar, from people swaying their mobiles with flashlights on at Anna Nagar Tower Park to chorus-style crowd singing in Akkarai — each spot is tuning into its own soundscape.
“On Sunday evenings, Tower Park turns into a mini concert zone with people dancing and singing long in between their walks,” says Nivedha B of Dhoom Tha Tha, a band that plays at the park.
Known for their mashups, Brito and band choose a composer based on public demand and perform that composer’s songs. At other times they blend classic hooks of the songs that have a similar tempo, often pulling together hits by Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Pradeep Kumar. “We have attendees who regularly travel from Velachery and Nungambakkam to listen to us perform,” says Brito.
While some bands like Brito’s have stumbled into music spaces by chance, others like On the Streets (OTS) Chennai have spent years turning sidewalks into stages. Having been in the street music scene for more than 10 years and becoming synonymous with Pondy Bazaar, OTS started with 10 musicians as a band and has now grown into a music community with more than 1,000 musicians and 400 bands. The community organises multiple shows across the city on the same day, their most recent being 190 shows in two days four months ago.
Martin Jayakumar, one of the earliest members of OTS, says, “When we started out, it took some time for people to warm up to the concept of live street performances. Now, it’s become part of our city,” he says. “Greater Chennai Corporation officials have helped us do performances in public spaces that helped us showcase ourselves.” The bands are known for their on-the-spot compositions.
Once, while performing in T Nagar, Martin noticed a man in the audience with a distraught expression. “It was clear he was upset about a break-up,” he adds. “On the spot, we wove in lines about how a girl walked into his life and made things better only to leave.” The man later told Martin his girlfriend had died four days ago and that he was grieving.
But not every group needs a stage or a massive following to create impact. In another corner of the city, Siddharth V C did not plan to start a music community; he just wanted to test out his friend’s new speaker. “I played a song and started singing,” he says, thinking back to the evening in Nov 2024 at Kathipara Urban Square.
“Then everyone there asked if we could sing together. The connection was instant.” That spontaneous jam session turned into a weekly ritual. A simple setup with a small speaker, a few songs, and sometimes a guitarist to hold the rhythm.
What makes Siddharth’s Sing Along Chennai unique is the audience. “The idea is to make people sing when they come. Many are hesitant at first. But we set the vibe, give them a push, and soon everyone’s singing,” he says.
Their format is simple: no stage, no spotlight, just a circle of people sitting together and singing in chorus. Siddharth and his team curate a setlist based on the crowd, often leaning into themes. “For the heartbroken, there are songs like ‘Loosu penne’, ‘Vaadi pulla vaadi’ and ‘Anjaley’. For children, crowd favourites include ‘Sawadeeka’ and ‘Golden sparrow’.”
But the group ran into trouble, as Urban Square did not give them permission to perform, even when they offered to pay. Soon, they moved to French Village in Akkarai, a quieter space by the sea, and kept the music going. Brito adds that though their band is received well by the shop owner and the public, police show up every now and tell them to shut it down. “Since we are doing it in front of the shop with the support of the shop owner, we are able to get through another day without trouble.”
One evening, after band practice, Brito — an IT professional — casually picked up his guitar and began to play. Seeing the crowd singing along, the owner told the band members they could play there regularly. One year later, the five members, all IT professionals with a love for music, perform there every day.
Across Chennai, different neighbourhoods are building their own kind of rhythm. From mellow mashups in Tirumangalam to spontaneous melodies in Pondy Bazaar, from people swaying their mobiles with flashlights on at Anna Nagar Tower Park to chorus-style crowd singing in Akkarai — each spot is tuning into its own soundscape.
“On Sunday evenings, Tower Park turns into a mini concert zone with people dancing and singing long in between their walks,” says Nivedha B of Dhoom Tha Tha, a band that plays at the park.
Known for their mashups, Brito and band choose a composer based on public demand and perform that composer’s songs. At other times they blend classic hooks of the songs that have a similar tempo, often pulling together hits by Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Pradeep Kumar. “We have attendees who regularly travel from Velachery and Nungambakkam to listen to us perform,” says Brito.
While some bands like Brito’s have stumbled into music spaces by chance, others like On the Streets (OTS) Chennai have spent years turning sidewalks into stages. Having been in the street music scene for more than 10 years and becoming synonymous with Pondy Bazaar, OTS started with 10 musicians as a band and has now grown into a music community with more than 1,000 musicians and 400 bands. The community organises multiple shows across the city on the same day, their most recent being 190 shows in two days four months ago.
Martin Jayakumar, one of the earliest members of OTS, says, “When we started out, it took some time for people to warm up to the concept of live street performances. Now, it’s become part of our city,” he says. “Greater Chennai Corporation officials have helped us do performances in public spaces that helped us showcase ourselves.” The bands are known for their on-the-spot compositions.
Once, while performing in T Nagar, Martin noticed a man in the audience with a distraught expression. “It was clear he was upset about a break-up,” he adds. “On the spot, we wove in lines about how a girl walked into his life and made things better only to leave.” The man later told Martin his girlfriend had died four days ago and that he was grieving.
But not every group needs a stage or a massive following to create impact. In another corner of the city, Siddharth V C did not plan to start a music community; he just wanted to test out his friend’s new speaker. “I played a song and started singing,” he says, thinking back to the evening in Nov 2024 at Kathipara Urban Square.
“Then everyone there asked if we could sing together. The connection was instant.” That spontaneous jam session turned into a weekly ritual. A simple setup with a small speaker, a few songs, and sometimes a guitarist to hold the rhythm.
What makes Siddharth’s Sing Along Chennai unique is the audience. “The idea is to make people sing when they come. Many are hesitant at first. But we set the vibe, give them a push, and soon everyone’s singing,” he says.
Their format is simple: no stage, no spotlight, just a circle of people sitting together and singing in chorus. Siddharth and his team curate a setlist based on the crowd, often leaning into themes. “For the heartbroken, there are songs like ‘Loosu penne’, ‘Vaadi pulla vaadi’ and ‘Anjaley’. For children, crowd favourites include ‘Sawadeeka’ and ‘Golden sparrow’.”
But the group ran into trouble, as Urban Square did not give them permission to perform, even when they offered to pay. Soon, they moved to French Village in Akkarai, a quieter space by the sea, and kept the music going. Brito adds that though their band is received well by the shop owner and the public, police show up every now and tell them to shut it down. “Since we are doing it in front of the shop with the support of the shop owner, we are able to get through another day without trouble.”
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