“Smoke on the water…Fire in the sky…” “Nobody gonna take my car I’m gonna race it to the ground…” Several Nepali bands have played these songs for years unknown and they still do. From small/big concerts to school/college functions to /bhailo, they’ve always been on the playlist. Till now, we’ve been hearing its different covers but we, the Nepalese, will finally (hopefully) be getting to catch the very songs by its rightful artiste! Yes, it is now official! Legendary English rock band Deep Purple will be heading to Nepal for a live concert! They are set to perform in Kathmandu at the Dashrath Rangasala, Tripureshwore on March 15, 2013.

The mega event is a joint collaboration of Jet Set PR Entertainment and ODC Entertainment and being promoted by Utsav Events. At a press meet held at Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat on Friday (February 15), Director of ODC Simanta Gurung informed that the band is currently touring the world and will be arriving to Kathmandu via Dubai once they finish their concert in Singapore. The band was to play in New Delhi, India before coming to Kathmandu but the concert there has been cancelled.

Considered the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, the band, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, has been referred to as the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid 70’s”. Deep Purple have sold over 100 million albums worldwide, including 7.5 million certified units in the US alone.

Tickets for the concert are priced at Rs 500, Rs 1000, Rs 2000 and Rs 10,000 for VVIP tickets, which will be available on limited number. “We have considered the price for students this time, hence it’s affordable,” said Gurung, adding, “15,000 to 20,000 people attended Bryan Adams’ concert but we hope more people will attend this time.”

The tickets are to go on sale from February 20 and will be available at all The Bakery Café outlets and via www.esewa.com.np.