Young Surat singer wins Blues Hunt

Over the last five years, the Mahindra Blues Festival has witnessed the convergence of blues greats from the national and international community. It has helped refocus attention on the blues, whose pervasive influence cannot be discounted, forming the bedrock of rock & roll, soul, jazz and R&B. And in an effort to further nourish the blues community, this year’s festival also highlights an emerging local blues musician, Aayushi Karnik, who beat 23 others to win the Mahindra Blues Hunt.
The 20-year-old musician from Surat took up the guitar at 12, inspired to play rock by the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Led Zeppelin. Fittingly, it was the Mahindra Blues Festival three years ago that led her to the blues, and she’s been hooked ever since. “It was while watching Buddy Guy and Robert Randolph perform that I began to embrace the genre. I went home and looked online for other guitar players, listening to all the people who had ever played with Buddy Guy.” Since then, her influences have grown to include old-school blues favourites Robert Johnson, Son House, Little Walter and Muddy Waters.
Besides being a regular at the Mahindra Blues Festival, she has performed at NH7 Weekender and An Ode to the Blues in Bengaluru, as well as with the Saturday Night Blues Band in Kolkata. She also spent a year as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Surat-based band, Red Blues. “Guitar-wise and vocally, she’s proficient,” said Warren Mendonsa of Blackstratblues, one of the judges at the contest.
Karnik posted a video of her performing solo on the Mahindra Blues Facebook page, alongside video submissions from other musicians from Chennai, Delhi, Nepal and Philippines. The winner of the Blues Hunt was picked based on the number of likes the video garnered, as well as the judges’ opinion. So while Karnik’s video, with 485 likes, was outnumbered by Filipino blues band, Bleu Rascals, the judges saw something special in her. “I like that she added her own personality into the blues idiom,” said Ashutosh Phatak, founder of the True School of Music, and another judge.
She has been experimenting to find her own sound, having recently taken to soul music, especially Erykah Badu. “My music is a mixture of blues, rock and soul, while keeping blues at the centre,” said Karnik. She will perform on the first day of the Mahindra Blues Festival to be held on February 14 and 15. “Expect to hear some originals as well as some rearranged versions of old songs. There might be some Sam Cooke and Bill Withers with a dash of soul.”
Mahindra Blues Festival, in association with The Times of India, will take place at Mehboob Studios. Aayushi Karnik will perform at 7.30pm on February 14. The festival is promoted and produced by Oranjuice Entertainment.
(Tickets are available at bookmyshow.com)