The Songs of Shillong

Soutik Biswas, writes about the music of Shillong - 'India's little rock and roll town' - in BBC News:

Shillong is a place where the music stopped - in no other city in India does rock and roll, blues and country music rule so strongly. Even hard metal. There are almost no DJs scratching records and playing hip hop, and there are no 50 Cent and Snoop Dog clones.

It's also a place where people take to the floor listening to peppier 12-bar blues. Where a politician and ex-minister is an ace blues harp player. Shillong is also home to ageing Elvis Presley imitators, and two music festivals to celebrate the music of Bob Dylan and Bob Marley.

Cabbies play Deep Purple and Jethro Tull on stereo as they weave in and out of diesel fume-spewing traffic, muscled bikers roam around town in AC/DC tee shirts. The place teems with bands with names like Mojo, Meghalaya Love Project, Ace of Spades, The Honey Drippers, Euphonic Trance.

And they all take their music seriously...

The Times of India headlines the same article as 'Caught in a Time Warp.'