Rockheads embark on their first-ever Nepal tour in 2023

By Mannu Shahi

Formed in 2010, Rockheads is a pop/indie rock group based in Kathmandu, who initiated their journey as a cover band in the Thamel music scene. The group went through a few line-up changes during their early stages but settled on their first stagnant incarnation comprising Bishesh Bhandari on vocals and guitars, Sanjay Aryal on bass, Nikesh Kc on guitars and Samyak Pakhrin Lama on drums.

With this stack of members, the quartet enrolled in the Pepsi Voice of Nepal 2013, landing a spot among the finalists in the competition for their debut single ‘For My Love’. This online original music competition featured a wide array of musicians articulating different artistic calibre yet Rockheads with their upbeat pop-rock ballad stood out as a refreshing and innovative entry. The band continued to write more original material while steadily performing in Thamel. 

However, shortly after singer Bishesh Bhandari parted ways to pursue his musical passion abroad, the remaining three members continued as a trio but withheld from publishing their original songs. The members were also busy with other projects then. Guitarist Nikesh KC was simultaneously involved with Sabin Rai And The Pharaoh and singer and bass player Sanjay Aryal was associated with Cobweb as the co-vocalist. Both the projects were highly demanding and consumed a majority of their time making room for Rockheads to only function as a side project.

Then, in 2020, as the world faced the global pandemic, the live music business, like every other sector, was disoriented. The members of Rockheads, in their quarantine period, decided to publish their older material and started working further on the project. The same year, in August, the group released their first official single ‘Sidha Kura’ via their YouTube handle featuring their founding member Sonam Pakhrin on additional guitars. The song garnered a positive reaction and rekindled their journey as a group. 

Sadly a year later, Nikesh KC also left the outfit and Arun Tandukar took over the guitars, while Dawa Sherpa was also recruited as the keyboard and synth player for the band. The quartet then went on to publish their massive hit song ‘Ranga’ in 2021, June. This indie pop anthem helped cement Rockheads as a formidable group; produced by guitarist Arun Tandukar, the song’s lyrics are credited to Swapnil Sharma of The Shadows Nepal. 

But after a brief period, Arun also parted ways with the outfit and entered Ridesh Pakhrin Tamang as their new guitar player.  This lineup remains constant to date and continues to perform and publish music under their arsenal such as their third single ‘Hajar Janma’ and ‘For My Love’ reprised. Both the songs were released in 2023, ‘Hajar Janma’ features Diwas Gurung on audio works and Shaurav Bhattarai on co-lyrics duties. ‘For My Love’ features Arun Tandukar on audio mix and master.    

And, this year, Rockheads has embarked on their first-ever Nepal tour starting at Omnia Club, Kathmandu, last Wednesday, October 11. They also performed at Galaxy Empire, Chitwan, on Friday, October 13 and at Nepal Dairies, Hetauda, on Saturday, October 14. The band has smoothly executed all concerts thus far. 

Their upcoming shows are scheduled at Illusion, Biratnagar, on October 20; D Square, Budhabare, on October 21; Paradiso, Pokhara, on October 27; The Concept, Butwal, on October 28; and the finale show at Mokshya, Birtamode, on October 30. 

For further info on the tour, follow Rockheads on their social media handles and support their music by attending this series of shows in the most convenient venue.