Hard Rock Cafe India 'constantly exploring' rock music

Globally popular Hard Rock Cafe (HRC), which celebrates its 45th anniversary on Sunday, is constantly exploring the rock music genre and giving opportunity to fresh talent across its restaurants in India, a company official has said.

"Innovation is key for us and we are constantly exploring the rock music genre and giving opportunity to fresh talent across all our restaurants," Vikram Varma, associate vice president, marketing of JSM Corporation, the company which runs Hard Rock Cafe in India, told IANS.

Since its inception in 1971, the globally acclaimed rock-themed restaurant brand has developed an enviavble following among music aficionados. With its concept of in-house live music, Hard Rock Cafe India is "upbeat and buzzing even on Thursdays", Varma said

Although rock music-driven live performances may be seen as HRC India's forte, the restaurant chain has "extended big time among diners" and witnesses impressive footfall even on Monday evenings, he added.

In a country like India, where Hindi film and pop music attracts a large chunk of the population, promoting independent music is a Herculean task. However, HRC India has motivated budding bands to showcase their talent on a bigger platform.

"The bands that we play are a mix of Indie, local and more popular ones like Parikrama and Swarathma. While we are helping these bands to become popular, we are also providing a platform to young and budding musicians to perform at our band nights that take place on Thursdays," Varma said.

In 2010, Hard Rock Cafe teamed with online music platform ReverbNation to strengthen their mission of promoting young bands with the concept of Hard Rock Rising - a unique battle of the bands competition giving local groups a shot at stardom.

"Hard Rock Rising is the world's most far-reaching battle of the bands competition giving local groups a shot at stardom with an all-expenses paid trip to an international destination to compete," shared Varma.

At present, Hard Rock Cafe has its presence in India's major cities - New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Asked about HRC's expansion plans in tier-II cities, Varma said: "These cities will have to wait for a while before they see a Hard Rock Cafe. We will expand slowly, but profitably".