LANE 8 – THIS NEVER HAPPENED INDIA TOUR

The concept of “This Never Happened” tour seems to be one of quite an esoteric nature. How has the responses been so far?

The response has been terrific, we’ve been pleasantly surprised how much the concept has resonated with our fans. It feels like something that the music community wants and is ready for, so I’m really glad that we decided to take the plunge.

Do you find the response from the audience matching your initial idea of the same or were there some surprises along the way?

What has been really cool to see is that people are enjoying the shows so much more when there are no phones allowed. It’s letting people get much more lost in the music, and allowing them to connect with their friends and even make new friends around the communal experience of going to a club. It’s exactly how we dreamed it up, but perhaps a bit better because it’s real!

As we all know this is your very first performance in India. Do you have any expectations from this tour?

I’ve heard that the crowds in India are really responsive and up for a good time, so I have high expectations for this tour for sure – I’m also really curious how the response will be since it is my first time here.

As you’ve mentioned on your page that “This Never Happened” is solely about the music and the experience in itself. How do you and your team go about achieving the same through the night?

I think the most important thing we do is communicate with the fans ahead of time, so that people know what they are getting into when they buy a ticket. We don’t want people to show up the night of the show and be surprised that they can’t use their phone. So we focus a lot on communicating the message of the concept beforehand, because we want people to be ready and excited for a phone free experience where they can really get into the music on a new level. The night of the show, we tape over fans’ phone cameras, hand out little cards outlining our principles and politely police phone usage inside the club. Luckily most people buy into the concept and just keep their phones in their pockets.

Was there a particular instance that inspired the concept?

There wasn’t one particular instance that inspired the concept – it was a realization that phones and cameras had infiltrated the live music scene to the point where people weren’t connecting with music anymore. Music had become a spectacle to capture on your phone to post to snapchat or instagram, not an experience to immerse yourself in. I have always found comfort in that immersion in music in a club, and I want people to be able to get that feeling at my shows.