Kolkata : A soulful beginning to the year and the grandest celebration of Kolkata’s vibrant spirit – the fifth edition of The Soul Local took the city by storm on January 18 and 19 at the Aquatica Grounds with a footfall of 14,000+ attendees over 2 days. West Bengal’s biggest And only homegrown music festival, The Soul Local has established itself as a premier music festival from the East and Northeast. Arko Mukhaerjee, Lakkhichhara, Mame Khan, Seedhe Maut, Papon – the list gets bigger and better – while Oaff & Savera performed for the first time ever in Kolkata.
The presence of popular food outlets like Fluffys, Chowman, Urban Tandoor, among others promises to leave a delightful aftertaste. The Soul Local is the brainchild of Ankita Chakraborty and Rishi Raj Ghosh, who also co-founded Calcutta Cacophony way back in 2014. Then, as college students, they aimed to celebrate and elevate Kolkata, and thus created a community page to highlight the city’s culture. CC, as it’s popularly called, has since grown into a collective of young dreamers striving to keep Kolkata’s charm alive. The Soul Local emerged from this shared dream, starting on a humble terrace and growing into something uniquely Kolkata. This fifth edition has been extra sweet, exactly how the city likes it. It coincides with the 10th anniversary of CC, took a bold leap in making it the biggest homegrown music festival, representing the vibrant cultures of the East.
Ankita, speaking about CC completing 10 years, said: “Back in 2014 when we came you
with the idea of Calcutta Cacophony, we thought of making it a platform to showcase talents
from across the city. But now that we look at CC, I realise that it has grown by leaps and
bounds. This dream was not only Rishi’s and mine but of everyone who have been a part of this journey both past and present and we owe this success to all of them. I hope we continue to create more memories for the City of Joy to cherish.”
Rishi, shedding light on eastern India having a homegrown music festival of their own,
said: “The very first conversation of The Soul Local happened very vaguely in a cafe in
Vivekananda Park. The transition from that to this has been immense. From a central Kolkata
rooftop to Aquatica, over the last 4 editions we have gradually scaled to create the biggest
homegrown music festival from Eastern India. A lot of excellent work and dedication from a lot of people over the years has helped TSL reach where it is now. I hope there is no stopping now
and we can keep on giving back to the city that gives us so much.”
