The four-hour event is the second chapter of Indie Sound Trail’s ‘Stories in Sound’ series and is being organised in association with Art Kanara Trust. Featuring four musical acts alongside an exhibition of historical photographs, publications and artworks, the programme aims to celebrate original music while reconnecting audiences with the language, art and cultural heritage of coastal Karnataka.
The event also comes shortly after World Tulu Script Day, observed on October 10, adding significance to the organisers’ efforts to showcase Tulu language and script through contemporary creative platforms.
Indie Sound Trail creates a platform for original music
Indie Sound Trail was founded by Carol Pinto, who works in experience design, brand strategy and curation, along with musician Joel Austin. The initiative aims to create platforms where independent musicians can present original compositions and connect with audiences beyond conventional performance spaces.
The idea developed following their first show in Bengaluru, which brought together around 20 people from their musician circles. That gathering eventually led to ‘Stories in Sound’, a series exploring the relationship between music, storytelling and personal experiences.
The series opened with ‘The Open Book’, a programme that explored lyrical storytelling through three musical acts reflecting on time, age and coming of age.
For its second chapter, the organisers decided to bring the experience to Mangaluru, creating what they describe as a homecoming for music and creative expression rooted in the coastal region.
Pinto said Mangaluru had considerable creative talent but needed more platforms and a supportive ecosystem to help artists sustain their work.
Many musicians, she observed, turn to cover performances because they believe there is limited demand for original compositions.
“A market doesn’t just happen, you have to create it,” she said, explaining the thinking behind Indie Sound Trail’s efforts to help musicians perform original music and develop a dedicated audience.
The response to the Mangaluru event has been encouraging. According to Pinto, tickets went on sale on Tuesday and sold out by Thursday night. The organisers hope to make the series an annual event, bringing together regional and outstation artists.
Four musical acts bring diverse sounds to the coast
The programme will feature four acts representing different musical styles, from contemporary Tulu music and acoustic harmonies to rock, blues and percussion-led electronic sounds.
Praveen Alva and Alva Kuuto
Mangaluru-born Praveen Alva will lead Alva Kuuto in a contemporary Tulu musical performance. The act will bring the language and cultural identity of Tulunadu into an independent music setting, highlighting the potential for regional-language compositions to reach new audiences.
The performance also aligns with the event’s wider emphasis on connecting contemporary artistic expression with the cultural traditions of the coast.
Joel Austin
Joel Austin, co-founder of Indie Sound Trail, will perform a mix of rock, country and blues. His set will include music from his debut EP, ‘The Colour of Water’, which he wrote during a stay in Mangaluru.
His participation reflects the personal connection behind the event, bringing the series back to a city that has influenced his musical journey.
Echoes in the Dusk
Acoustic duo Echoes in the Dusk will offer guitar-led performances built around the interplay of two guitars and their harmonies.
The duo’s acoustic approach will add a different dimension to the programme, complementing the other acts’ varied musical styles.
ToddyKats
ToddyKats will combine percussion with DJ-led live mixing, drawing inspiration from the toddy-tapping community.
The act brings a contemporary musical interpretation of a traditional coastal occupation, reflecting the event’s attempt to connect local cultural references with modern independent performance.
Together, the four acts will offer audiences a mix of original compositions and distinctive sounds in an unconventional setting.
The Floating Archive showcases Mangaluru’s past
Beyond the musical programme, the event will feature ‘The Floating Archive’, an exhibition presented in collaboration with Art Kanara Trust.
While the boat’s upper deck will host performances, food and conversations, the lower deck will be dedicated to the exhibition, bringing together photographs, paintings and publications documenting different aspects of Mangaluru’s history and cultural life.
Art Kanara Trust founder-trustee Nemiraj Shetty said the exhibition would include photographs by senior photographer Yagna, whose work from the 1970s to the 1990s captures changing times and places.
The collection will also feature images documenting Mangaluru’s early cricketing history, offering visitors a glimpse into the development of the sport in the city.
Photographs associated with the coffee-table book ‘Catholic Houses of Mangalore’ will provide another perspective on the region’s architectural and cultural heritage.
Rare photographs of veteran parliamentarian Ullal Srinivas Mallya will also be displayed, alongside paintings by popular artists.
By bringing these materials together, the exhibition aims to make historical and artistic records accessible in an informal setting, encouraging visitors to explore the stories behind the region’s people, places and traditions.
The collaboration with Art Kanara Trust gives the event a broader cultural dimension, allowing music and visual art to coexist within a shared experience.
Tulu script takes centre stage through creative lettering
The organisers have also partnered with Solmelu Studios to highlight Tulu script through specially created artwork.
Solmelu Studios, the event’s official lettering partner, has developed a hand-drawn Tulu-script design featuring the phrase ‘Kaḍala Kereta Pāḍdana’, meaning ‘Songs of the Coast’.
The artwork reflects the event’s central theme of celebrating the coastal region through music, language and artistic expression.
Solmelu Studios founder Nishant Ratnakar said the aim was to encourage people to engage with Tulu script as a living form of communication rather than something limited to cultural displays.
The initiative seeks to make the script something people can learn, use and carry forward, helping sustain interest in a distinctive part of Tulunadu’s linguistic heritage.
The timing, following World Tulu Script Day on October 10, also provides an opportunity to connect language preservation with contemporary cultural participation.
A floating venue for coastal creativity
The boat setting distinguishes ‘Chorus of the Coast’ from a conventional concert or gallery exhibition. By bringing live music, archival material, paintings, food and conversations together, the event creates a shared space for audiences to engage with different aspects of coastal culture.
The upper and lower decks will serve complementary purposes, with performances and social interaction taking place above while the archive exhibition offers a closer look at the region’s history and artistic heritage below.
For Indie Sound Trail, the Mangaluru edition is also an effort to demonstrate that original music can find an audience when musicians are given opportunities to perform and listeners are encouraged to discover new work.
The organisers’ hope of turning the series into an annual event points to a longer-term ambition: building connections among musicians, artists, cultural organisations and audiences in Mangaluru and beyond.
With its blend of independent music and regional heritage, ‘Chorus of the Coast — The Homecoming Show’ seeks to celebrate not only the creative talent of Tulunadu but also the stories, language and memories that give the coast its distinctive identity.