High Street Phoenix's AWESTRUNG returned on 25th September with stellar performances by Mikey McCleary and the Bartender and Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe

 
Mumbai, 25th September 2015: The cool September air of 25th was heavy with electric beats and soulful compositions as two stellar acts took to High Street Phoenix’s AWESTRUNG stage and gave the gathered audience an evening replete with memorable melodies. The evening started with Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe - a 5 piece band which turned the immortal words of Kabir into a Folk Rock experience like no other. The enthusiastic crowd piped in with claps to the high-energy folk numbers. This was followed by the night’s headlining act Mikey McCleary and The Bartenders, a collective of musicians who are known as some of the finest in the music scene of the country, taking centrestage.

Known names like actor Vivaan Shah, indie music poster boy Nikhil D’Souza and several other scenesters were spotted at High Street Phoenix’s AWESTRUNG enjoying the evening’s musical offerings with a tipple and the grub laid out.

Mikey McCleary and The Bartenders had Mikey himself on bass and vocals accompanied by the seductive voices of Rachel Varghese and Saba Azad, with Ramon Ibrahim on keys, trombone, Vinay Lobo on guitar, Kishore Sodha on trumpet, Aditya Ashok on drums and Titu on percussions. These super talented coterie of musicians a.k.a. The Bartenders served music lovers an intoxicating cocktail of tunes that ranged from songs like “Dhak dhak karne laga”, “Fifi”, “Eena meena deeka”, “Khoya khoya chand”, “Hawa hawaii” and “Aak ki raat” amongst others. The performance was moving and electrifying in equal measure.

The previous two editions of High Street Phoenix’s AWESTRUNG saw performances by the super talented Karsh Kale Collective SoundSystem, The Color Compound, Boombay Djembe Foolas, Sandunes and Nicholson. They were attended by faces like Anurag Kashyap, Anushka Manchanda, Tina Singh, Shahid Datawala, Amitabh Nanda, Kersi Khambatta, Izabelle Farias and other known personalities.

Mr. Rajendra Kalkar, President (West), The Phoenix Mills Ltd. enthused, “We have successfully launched our Courtyard as one of the best open air entertainment destination for the young music lovers in the city. We are glad to witness this overwhelming response to AWESTRUNG’s third edition. With AWESTRUNG, our aim is to bring diverse genres of music closer to the masses who otherwise might not have access to them. We also want AWESTRUNG to become a show which music lovers start to mark in their calendars and look forward to.”

About Mikey McCleary and The Bartender:

For the uninitiated, Mikey McCleary won the National Award earlier this year for composing the music for the critically acclaimed film Margarita With A Straw. The Bartender is Mikey's ode to classic Bollywood - paying homage to its golden era. The Bartender's remixes are a reminiscence of everything great about the classics while giving it an eclectic, modern touch that is unique. The upcoming months are times of fervent activity for Mikey. Eena Meena Deeka & Neend Na Mujko Aaye from the upcoming Bollywood film Shaandaar featuring Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are slated to release soon. The Bartender is off to play in Hong Kong and Singapore and will be seen at the Calcutta NH7. Mikey recently finished a film called 'Waiting' which features Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin where he has composed the score and all the songs. 

About Kabir Café:

Inspired heavily by the words of the Sufi bard Kabir, Kabir Cafe has taken the soul of the poetry left behind by Kabir and infused it with their own brand of fun, funk and a variety of musical stylings ranging from pop, rock, reggae to folk fusion- even dropping some carnatic beats on the way. With Neeraj Arya on Lead Vocals & Rhythm Guitars, Mukund Ramaswamy on Violin, Raman Iyer on Mandolin, Viren Solanki on Percussions and Poubuanpou Britto KC on Bass Guitar, Kabir Café have collaborations with Vishal Dadlani for The Dewarists Season 4 to their credit along with a performance on India’s Got Talent and sold-out performances at several shows across the country.

About High Street Phoenix:

High Street Phoenix (HSP), is the first retail led consumption centre developed in India over a sprawling 3.3 million square feet. It houses over 500 brands including a variety of F&B, entertainment, commercial and residential complexes.  Pioneered by The Phoenix Mills Co. Ltd., HSP is led by its young, dynamic Managing Director, Atul Ruia and his team of professionals. At HSP, each zone has been specifically conceptualized and designed to offer an international experience and as an answer to emerging urban agglomerations typically defined as 'mixed used developments'.

The centre houses 3 distinct shopping zones viz. Skyzone, Grand Galleria and High Street Units (HSU).The multi-leveled Skyzone boasts of anchor stores of leading national and international brand retail outlets. The Grand Galleria caters to impulse shoppers and is connected to PVR Cinema’s 2000 seater 7 digital screens multiplex. The HSU houses a variety of stores which cater to niche lifestyles consisting of artifacts, handicrafts, stylish accessories, apparel and jewelery stores including a gift store and an optician cum eye wear store. In a nutshell, HSU houses almost everything you can possibly desire to make a truly memorable retail experience.

Popularly known as the heart of HSP, ‘Courtyard’ - true to its name, presents the perfect platform for celebration and festivities. Completing this picture are an array of eateries that surround it. With a variety of first-of-its-kind retail stores, flagship stores and international brands under its umbrella is hard to resist. The centre today stands as testament to mixed used development and is a unique destination with a wide variety of choices to appeal to all segments of the consumer across the board. 

HSP has added one of Mumbai’s, first luxury and premium luxury retail and entertainment destination, appropriately christened, ‘Palladium’. Palladium has, in a short span of time become an iconic landmark not only for Mumbai but for the entire country and offers four levels of exclusive shopping in an atmosphere of extraordinary sophistication and refinement all under one elegant roof.

The centre also has an expanded car park area making it one of the biggest car pool areas in Mumbai clocking on average of nearly 6,000 vehicles each day.

Winner of the “Most Admired Shopping Centre of the Year – Socially Responsible” at the Asia Shopping Centre and Mall Awards 2014.