There’s a peculiar kind of magic in hearing Peter Cat Recording Co. live. Their music lingers, soaking into the spaces between memory and emotion, blurring time. It was five years ago when I first heard them — right when my parents separated. The house felt emptier, silences stretched longer, and somewhere between late-night YouTube recommendations and existential teenage angst, I stumbled upon Portrait of a Time. Suryakant Sawhney’s voice — equal parts aching nostalgia and untethered dreamscape — felt like a balm. For years, PCRC’s music became my private refuge.
This February, Peter Cat Recording Co. returns to the stage at The Homegrown Festival — their first festival show in two years. The moment feels significant, marking another milestone in their legacy. In an industry where bands flicker out before they can truly shine, PCRC has lasted. They haven’t just survived but have evolved, thrived, and rewritten the rulebook. From Delhi’s underground scene to a 77-date international tour, they have set a precedent for what an independent Indian band can be.
For years, the refrain, "Indian bands don’t last", was an unspoken truth. The ecosystem was weak, audiences were fragmented, and making a living outside Bollywood felt laughably impossible. PCRC defied the odds. With their 2019 album, Bismillah, they transitioned from a best-kept secret to an international cult sensation. Their mix of gypsy jazz, psychedelia, disco, and wistful crooning turned into a new language, resonating far beyond South Asian borders. They weren't just making music for India, they were making music for the world.
Their recent international tour has been nothing short of revolutionary. They have played to packed venues across Europe and North America, opened for Khruangbin, and cultivated a following that stretches from Berlin to Brooklyn. Unlike many Indian artists who make it big internationally through Bollywood soundtracks, PCRC did it on their own terms. Gig by gig and city by city, they let the music speak for itself. This journey has opened the door for other homegrown artists to dream bigger, tour further, and build careers beyond their home turf.
Returning to an Indian festival stage after two years is more than nostalgia. It signifies the endurance and the tenacity of homegrown independent music, a movement that's growing stronger each year, despite the sudden onslaught of global acts. PCRC has spent the last few years proving their mettle on the world stage, and this performance will reconnect them with the audience that first championed them. For fans who have followed them since their Sinema days, this is a rare moment. We can finally say that we have an Indian band that has definitively 'made it'. The experience of years on the road has shaped their sound into something richer, more complex, and more confident.
If you’ve ever loved a niche indie band, you know the familiar heartbreak — watching them fade, break apart, disappear. PCRC’s story is different. Their endurance is almost mythical. They’ve proven that Indian music doesn’t have to be a side note across global indie — it can be a fundamental part of its evolution.
So when they take the stage soon, it won’t just be about the music. It’ll be about resilience; about defying expectations; about the fact that Indian bands can make it — and remain relevant. And for me? It’ll be about that night five years ago, when I needed a song to make sense of things — and found a band that still does.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
Here's The Full Music Artist Lineup For The Homegrown Festival 2025
Calling All Women Musicians: Participate In Our Talent Hunt & Perform At The Homegrown Festival 2025
Mumbai, The Homegrown Festival Is Coming Back In February 2025: Buy Tickets Now