Indie-(an) musici : an ethnography of a rock music venue in Delhi

Local English-language adaptations of western rock are performed in India primarily for consumption by young, western-influenced, and English-speaking middle-class Indians. As Delhi rock is predominantly a live rather than a recorded practice, venues are of particular import within the Delhi rock scene. This article uses an ethnographic approach to investigate and contextualize the music-culture of a music venue, Café 27, within the Delhi rock scene. The venue in question has a two-fold purpose: it provides a space for performance of local adaptations of popular music genres permitting Delhiite musicians to earn a living, and it provides a space for the western-influenced middle- and upper-classes to define their identity.