Unless you keep a keen eye on all the environmental events being held in the valley, you probably wouldn’t know of the band Solar Punch. With no record labels and producers to back them or a large YouTube following, the band is unbeknownst to Nepali music lovers. However, at an age where the need for alternative sources of energy is increasing by the year, the band is fast becoming a very relevant act. 

“Well, if we can power a full throttle gig solely on solar energy, then you can surely run your household and your lives through solar”.This is a message the American environmentalist band Solar Punch wants to convey. Solar Punch, an ensemble found in 2007 in New York, has now become the first band to perform mini-gigs around the world, their instrument powered solely by solar panels.

A team of filmmakers, a physicist, and an ex-accountant—Solar Punch was founded with one objective: “to become irrelevant in the next few years.” The band believes that their mission will be accomplished once renewable energy and green technologies are commercialised. 

The band was founded by NewYork based physicist Alan Bigelow, and James Dean Conklin, a filmmaker. After touring the Middle East during 2003 and 2006 on Cultural Bridge Building projects,the members came up with the idea of infusing environmental activism in their future initiatives. In the fall of 2007, at a farmers market in Hastings, New York, Solar Punch was born.

 “There, actually, are instances in the States and in Europe where not just shows but entire music festivals—like the Clear Water Festival in Hudson River—and villages are powered by solar technologies,” Vocalist Alan Bigelow says. “Solar energy can very well be a reliable source of energy for a country like Nepal which gets a fair amount of sun all year”.

The band then went through a transformation by abandoning Rock and Roll’s heavy instruments to adopting more easy and light technologies which are easier to lug around. The band pawned off their heavy guitars and bought instruments like the Irish Bouzouki, Turkish Cümbüs, Ukelele, and Tabla, among others. Alan, the physicist even managed to make a Cümbüsout of a cooking pot. 

While attending their gig, one becomes instantly fascinated by their versions of Buddhist chants, Sanskrit verses, and particularly Nepali folk songs like Resham Firiri and Simsime Pani Ma. The motivation behind their drive to learn local songs relates with their desire to connect with the local society. That makes it easier to build cultural bridges and make their message more relatable.   

Fascinatingly, however, this ensemble wishes to be extinct and irrelevant in the near future when communities adopt a sustainable lifestyle and renewable energy sources. Bassist Andrew says, “We are probably the only band driven by the desire to become irrelevant someday.”

The band is not selling any merchandise or advertising themselves. All they have is some ideas on making the world better and greener, and they all plan on going the distance with their personal investments. 

Their only album, Saurya Yatra, was recorded to raise funds for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal. The album includes chants taught by Tibetan Buddhist monks near Tibet, Nepali folk songs and songs paying reverence to the Sun and the Earth. 

The band is currently touring Nepal and will be performing at different venues around the Kathmandu Valley