Beauty of indie music often overlooked: Luke Kenny

Multi-talented Luke Kenny, an actor, musician and a former video jockey, says amid the hype around mainstream artistes, it is important to recognise those who dare to go off the beaten track.

'Radio City Freedom Awards 5.0' will award independent music artistes, and it will take a tour across the country with 13 live gigs in 10 languages across 8 cities. The jury for the awards includes the likes of Luke, Ritnika Nayan, Vehrnon Ibrahim, Atul Churamani and Yotam Agam.

"The beauty of indie music is often overlooked with all the hype around the mainstream artists. Radio City Freedom Awards is a great initiative to recognize the vast pool of creative talent of this country.

"It is an honour and a privilege to be a part of this unique platform that gives a voice to artistes who dare to go off the beaten track. I look forward to a great season full of exciting and entertaining performances from the passionate musicians of this gifted country," Luke said in a statement.

The event promotes new sounds of the new generation with a perfect amalgamation of modern music with a traditional touch through their songs with the theme of 'Sounds of the Soil'. Musicians and bands range across genres such as hip-hop, folk fusion, pop, rock, metal and electronica, and the winner from every category will be crowned the country's top independent artist.

It began with the first gig in Chennai on Thursday. The grand finale and gala award night is scheduled to be held in Mumbai in March.