There is a great deal of truth when city-based stand-up comedian Kaushik Balasubramanian jokes that a handful of other comics, including him, make up the entire stand up community of the city. After all, names like his and that of Hari Mukesh have now become permanent fixtures at all open mics in the city. Hoping to shake things up, Kaushik along with Mumbai-based musician Arjit Sahai are set to launch the first edition of Traffik Jam as a platform to support indie talent—music, stand- up and the spoken word—in Coimbatore.
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“I launched Traffik Jam in Mumbai almost a year and a half ago to help independent artistes get their material out to the public. And since I was born and raised in Coimbatore, I thought it would be a good time to launch a city chapter now,” says Arjit.
Attempting to showcase performers from across the city, Kovai Jam (Traffik Jam’s city chapter) will see a mix of music—from fusion rock band to a gaana folk troupe — and stand up sets as part of the debut show. “We have curated the list of musicians based on the original content that they perform,” explains Kaushik.
Hosted by Arjit, who will be presenting songs from his recent EP titled Tell Me Everything, each of the six acts will be given a stage time of 15 minutes. “While the artistes are encouraged to perform their own pieces, there is always some room for covers. We have tried to maintain a balance of the two,” shares Arjit.
Curated to showcase different musical genres, Coimbatore-based rap duo Dhivakar x Surya will open the show with three originals and a couple of tunes from Gully Boy, while college band High on Octaves tells us to look forward to a rock rendition of Thumbi Vaa alongside an untitled band composition.
Rs 150. On April 27. At Eatalley. From 6.30 pm onwards.