Parx Hunt for India's best college bands launches 2018 edition; finalists to be mentored by leading musicians

A nationwide hunt for the best college bands in India will soon make its presence felt among student musicians here. A new edition of the Parx Hunt — India’s Best College Bands is scheduled to kick off soon, and musical acts from across the country have been invited to register for the competition. The ‘hunt’ itself will be divided across four zones (North, South, East, West), with the top-ranked band from each segment competing in a grand finale in the presence of actor-musician and former VJ Luke Kenny. [caption id=“attachment_4861321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Parx Hunt — India’s Best College Bands has announced its 2018 edition[/caption] The contest is open to bands that have anywhere between 3-5 members, all of whom must be enrolled in degree colleges in India. Bands must upload a video of them performing a track of their choice — an original or a cover, not longer than five minutes — to the Parx Hunt website before 31 August 2018 in order to be considered for the competition in their specific zone. Scans of student IDs must accompany the video upload, to verify the members’ affiliation to a college. The contest last year saw 150 bands from 60 colleges across India participate, and the number is expected to be much higher this year, with 80 cities being covered in the 2018 edition. Adding another level to the previous edition, the zonal winners will also be mentored by leading musicians before they take the stage for the final — to be held at the Hard Rock Café in Mumbai on 4 October 2018. “I have been associated with Parx Hunt since the past two years. In the days to come, I am looking forward to a fierce competition between college bands across the country. This year, the competition is tougher and has newer elements like mentoring sessions. This will see industry stalwarts mentor shortlisted college bands, before the run-up to the finals," said Luke Kenny, kicking off a new season of “this exciting musical journey”. “From 80 colleges last year, we are reaching out to 120 plus colleges this year, through the length and breadth of the country. Touching base with around five lakh college students, we look forward to a hyper-competitive music fest,” added Pragati Srivastava, the brand head for Parx. Mumbai’s Across Seconds (experimental/progressive rock), Lost Icons (punk/alternative rock) and Knight Shades (hard rock n’ roll) from Delhi, Yajnyavalkya (experimental/alternative/nu metal) from Kolkata, and Metallers Revival (metal) from Hyderabad were the regional finalists at the Parx Hunt 2017. The contest was eventually won by Across Seconds, members of which are students of Thakur College in Mumbai. For more details, visit parxhunt.com.