Plan B (above) and Los Amigos will now be playing weekly at Marrakesh. Pictures by Pabitra Das and Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

If Princeton Club seems too far off and you’re bored of head-banging at Someplace Else, Park Street now boasts a new haunt for live gigs — Marrakesh. The action begins at the Moroccan lounge bar, tucked inside Cinnamon Restaurant and Lounge, from Saturday, with music from Plan B.

“We opened Marrakesh almost a year back with plans of hosting concerts where people could just sit back and listen to good music. After a year of looking around, we have been able to pin down Plan B and Los Amigos. The music we have in mind for our guests won’t be too loud, but lively,” says Ashish Chakraborty, one of the directors of Cinnamon Restaurant and Lounge. Marrakesh can accommodate around 100 guests.

Kicking off the live sessions is Plan B, which includes vocalists Rila Banerjee and Rajiv Sunam, Sumith Ramachandran on guitar, Dominic Saldanha on keyboard, William Walters on bass and drummer and vocalist Jeffrey Rikh. With Marrakesh in mind, Plan B has decided to move away from new-age and classic rock and opt for a different sound. “What we’ll be performing will be completely different from our previous sound. We’ll do a bit of Eagles and Pink Floyd, but we’ll play more music from the 80s and early 90s,” says Rila. She feels their fresh repertoire will “probably appeal more to those above 25”. The band hopes to find music enthusiasts coming in for a feel of their new sound on Saturdays between 8.30pm and 10.30pm, which was a problem with their post-midnight slot at Someplace Else. “We’re passionate about the music we do but weren’t getting the right crowd. Now we can experiment and perform at prime time, which is going to be more challenging,” explains Rila.

Wednesdays will be set aside for the Latin jazz quartet Los Amigos, which will divide their act into alternate weeks of instrumental and vocal performances. “We have chosen popular pieces that suit our ensemble of four musicians and cover all moods. We also plan to perform some of our own compositions,” says Monojit Dutta, happy about a regular platform in addition to the band’s monthly stint at Princeton Club. The line-up includes Mainak ‘Bumpy’ NagChowdhury on bass, Sanjay Gupta on drums and Pradyumna ‘Paddy’ Singh Manot on the keyboard, apart from percussionist Dutta (who is also the band-leader of Orient Express). “The city needs a change in the ambience and the sounds that it is exposed to. Promoting live music will help us better the quality of music and presentation,” adds Dutta.

Sundays will feature solo vocalist Krysten belting out hits from the 50s to the 70s, including some Elvis Presley and Cliff Richards.

As far as the live-music-lover is concerned, the more the merrier.

Mohua Das
Do you want more live music venues in Calcutta? Tell t2@abpmail.com