At their recent stop in Bengaluru, guitarist and composer Sutej Singh and his band had one of the most unusual welcomes one can expect for a progressive rock fan. Although not low on emotive content by any means, prog is often cerebral and Sutej’s music being entirely instrumental and guitar-led adds a layer of dexterity.
So when the artiste from Solan in Himachal Pradesh and his five-member band came out to play the first song, confetti canons went off and fireworks rose onstage, making it a puzzling sight. Sutej was, however, unfazed. After the show, he recalls his state of mind in that moment, “It was unplanned. No one told us about the timing of that confetti, it was funny.”
Often a resolute player on stage, Sutej kept calm. “Normally, I am like that,” he says with a laugh. “But especially for these moments, you need to just focus on your instrument. In the end, that can’t go wrong,” he adds. The show was not without its share of technical difficulties on stage, causing the band to re-check instruments and restart songs, but fans did not mind.
Running through songs off his new album Restless | Relentless and his debut album The Emerging (2018), Sutej and the band comprising bassist Aditya Negi, drummer Paarth Koser, violinist Disha Goswami and guitarist John Jeenu, performed songs like ‘Comeback Trail’, ‘Mayflower’, ‘Land of Gold’ (his 2023 single), ‘Oceans Apart’ and a tribute to Pink Floyd and guitarist David Gilmour.
Sutej had a special show planned for Bengaluru in addition to the five-member setup (usually Sutej’s band is a trio), calling on guitar great Baiju Dharmajan from rock veterans Motherjane for a solo on ‘Kadambari’ and ‘Heart of Tomorrow’.
He says the original idea was to have Baiju’s inimitable Carnatic guitar style take the place of the track’s vocals by Nandini Srikar. “Baiju was so humble about it, and right now, we’re hanging out like buddies. It’s been a dream come true for me,” the guitarist says.
Sutej is perhaps the only artiste in India playing guitar music on the level that he is — with keen fans, two albums and millions of streams. Earlier this year, his live performance video of ‘Oceans Apart’ at the Bandland festival blew up, garnering over 100,000 streams in 10 days. It currently stands at over a million views, which few other guitarists in India can claim with original music.
“We were putting out this video for content on YouTube; there was never any intention of going viral. If that were the case, you could probably do the cover of a famous band. I couldn’t have imagined ‘Oceans Apart’ getting so many views,” Sutej says with a smile. Even at the Bengaluru show, when ‘Oceans Apart’ was announced, a cheer went up in the crowd. “What else do you want as an artiste?” he asks.
Whether it’s Bandland or bringing a five-piece troupe to the city, Sutej acknowledges that Bengaluru has been there for him “since day one.” “It’s been great fun coming to Bengaluru time and again; my favourite place to play, and it is a good start to the tour.”
Up next, the final leg of the Restless Relentless tour stops by on home ground in Shimla on December 7 and ends in Chandigarh on December 28.
Only select shows have the five-member band, with the others getting the trio act which Sutej chalks down to budgets and logistics. The smaller the group, the easier it is to tour as compared to a five-piece act, which Singh says has in the past seen them “bear a lot of losses.” Over the years, however, the audience pull has allowed him to bring a “fuller set” due to popular demand.
“Fans want a rhythm guitarist playing with the lead. I can’t bring in a full string section, but at least I have a violin player now that can represent them. It has been fun, and it feels more satisfying to me as well,” he says. In the process of playing as a quintet, Sutej says they have also “upped their game” and evolved as a band. “It might be a seven-piece setup in the future, you never know,” he adds.
With the India tour coming to a close with 2025, Sutej is shifting his sights to a more global outlook in 2026, something he and his management are doing based on streaming data from various countries. Talking about his most-streamed cities in the world, he says, “I’m seeing London, Chicago, and then Bengaluru. We’re always keeping in touch with the data and seeing where the audience is coming from.”
He adds that international touring is his priority now. “With this music, we can only go so far in the Indian industry. Now, we really want to push ourselves and travel abroad. Let’s see how things go,” he signs off.
Published – November 17, 2025 02:10 pm IST
