Bands Jam Out At TNL Onstage Knockout Rounds 

TNL Onstage, one of Sri Lanka’s biggest music festivals is back with many talented performers who are ready to make their mark in the local music scene. Having come a long way since its inception 16 years ago, TNL Onstage has introduced a platform for upcoming garage bands to show what they have and go to the next level. This time, six bands performed at the Knockout Rounds including Mainstream, V3, Scintillate, South West Jam, Farenheight and Kingdom Life. ‘Kingdom Life’ had much demand and won the encore performance. 

At the end of the performances a few spectators had this to say: 

“We are backing South West Jam but all the bands did really well.” – Sanduni 

“I have been a regular visitor at Onstage shows and I am enjoying all the entertainment.” – Hansika 

“Quite excited about this event and I should say that all bands are really talented.” – Rajitha 

“I am a very big fan of TNL Onstage and I’m here to support the band ‘Kingdom Life’.” – Thenuka 

“We see that the crowd is enjoying and it’s nice to see all these youngsters entertaining the crowd. We wish them all the best.” – Onstage fans 

“All bands did extremely well. This show has come a long way and we are happy to see them giving a hand to these youngsters.” – Chrismal 

“I loved the performance by ‘Scintillate’.” – Manujith 

“The bands did a good job and there is a big competition.” – Hasara 

“The last two bands were really good and I support ‘South West Jam’.” – Kasun 

A few members of the bands too shared their thoughts with us: 

“Today’s performance was one of the best we ever had. We were able to pull it up brilliantly. But I should also say that the other bands too did a great job.” – Suboda representing ‘Kingdom Life’ 

“This is the first time we are performing at TNL Onstage but we have participated in few other band competitions. Quite excited and we are positive about the results.” – Udara representing ‘South West Jam’ 

“It was about fun and I think our band as well as the crowd had a good time during the show. Also the organizing is awesome.” – Minro representing ‘Farenheight’ 

“This show is quite challenging because we are competing against 5 other bands and it’s the first time that we are performing at a TNL Onstage session. We are from St. Lawrence’s college, Colombo 6 and from school days we have been singing together in the school choir. We are the first female acapella group and it’s somewhat challenging to sing without music but we have an awesome beat boxer with us.” – Ruwini representing ‘Scintillate’ 

Photographs by Waruna Wanniarachchi