New Delhi: Singer John Mayer’s debut solo show in India is special for more than one reason — it features, for the first time, a musician from India’s northeast opening for a Grammy-winning artist. Naga singer and songwriter Abdon Mech is set to create history at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course on 11 January.
Tejas Menon, who sang ‘Va Va Voom’ for the Netflix film The Archies, is the other opening act for the night. Both Mech and Tejas are rising indie musicians.
The reel shows a clip of his younger self, singing to Mayer’s 2006 hit ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’.
The visibly emotional Mech says, “This kid is opening for his absolute hero. Who would have thought this village boy from Thahekhu in Nagaland would be supporting one of the greatest musical artists of this generation? If anybody tells you your dreams are too big, please punch them in the face.”
Nagaland’s rising star
Abdon Mech has, in recent years, emerged as a prominent name in Nagaland’s music industry.
Tracks like ‘Taking My Heart’, ‘Always Be’, and ‘Dopamine’ catapulted Abdon into the spotlight, earning him multiple awards. He won the MG Music Awards for Best Indie Artist and Best Music Video in 2021 for ‘Give Me My Soul Back’. His music is a blend of pop, rock, and blues with touches of folk and soul.
Mech also takes pride in singing in Sumi Naga, a dialect from Nagaland. It can be heard in his latest bilingual album ‘Not Overthinking This’, which features three songs in English and one in Sumi Naga titled ‘Noye Lhokuthu Iwu.’
‘Noye Lhokuthu Iwu’ is also part of the set he will perform in Mumbai. Mech earlier represented India at the prestigious Artisjus Songbook Camp 2025 in Budapest.
“I just sent BookMyShow an email and pitched myself and shared details of my work. A normal hygiene check for any professional pitching,” said Mech in an interview with The Morung Express.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)