Twitter and Rolling Stone India partner up to curate live music gigs

Twitter India and music monthly Rolling Stone India have teamed up to kickstart a new bi-monthly partnership called #RollingWith, to bring music fans closer to the indie music scene and to international artists.

This partnership will see Indian indie musicians and visiting global acts perform live at the Twitter India #BlueRoom. The performances will be broadcast live through Periscope, via Rolling Stones India @RollingStoneIN to fans across the country and the world on Twitter.

Taking fan engagement from online to offline, a small set of fans, selected via Twitter, will also be invited to watch the gig live at the #BlueRoom.

These ‘music-and-conversation’ video sessions will give music fans a new way of enjoying live music - with a side of social media infused banter. The series will also allow discovery of new artists, and offer a space where musicians and fans meet, talk music, and enjoy a nonchalant listening session.

To make it a more inclusive experience for fans, artists will crowdsource lyrics, take a Twitter poll of their favourite tracks, make new album announcements, new tour announcements, share gig travel stories, or chat with fans live on Periscope while performing.

The very first performance of #RollingWith was conducted with British pop sensation, The Vamps at the Twitter India Blue Room on 29th August 2016. The lineups for September and October includes artists such as Urdu rapper Naezy, Sandunes, Mumbai rapper Divine, Nucleya and Dualist Inquiry.

In a time when an increasing number of artists have not only launched successful music careers through social media and digital platforms, but have also been discovered across these platforms, #RollingWith is a great platform for musicians from across genres to meet their fans both online and offline, and also perform on an online global stage.

“Twitter is your live connection to culture, and fans flock to Twitter to share and connect with their favourite artists and other fans. We are thrilled to bring new experiences for music fans exclusively on Twitter with #RollingWith in partnership with Rolling Stone India. Through this initiative, we will be hosting curated performances from Indian indie artists and visiting global acts both on Twitter and live at the #BlueRoom, and will also give fans an opportunity to engage with their favourite musicians in new and unique ways. #RollingWith will feature both known and emerging artists to support the growing local music industry,” says Pratiksha Rao, Head of Media Partnerships, Southeast Asia

Radhakrishnan Nair, Editor & Publisher, Rolling Stone India says, “Rolling Stone India is committed to the cause of supporting artists as well as providing them with a platform to interact with their fans directly. We are happy to join hands with Twitter India for #RollingWith, which is a unique and exciting project in today's social media-driven industry. We hope #RollingWith will go a long way in building and fostering an interactive community of musicians and fans.”

Twitter India urged users to tweet using the campaign hashtag #RollingWith, for a chance to watch The Vamps perform live at the Blue Room in Mumbai.

Indulging in a number of activities after their live performance, The Vamps and Rolling Stone India tweeted the proceedings from the Blue Room, answering questions from fans and The Vamps indulged into Indian snacks, had their reactions recorded and posted by Rolling Stones India.