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Adi Uppal is an aspiring recording and touring artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Although he mainly identifies as a singer and songwriter, he has ventured into several other aspects of the music industry including music production and music business. Currently studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Adi is majoring in Professional Music with minors in Recording & Production and Business of Live Music.
Having studied Indian Classical music for around 10 years, Adi switched to Western Rock and Pop vocals in 2019 as he found his true passion therein. His favourite genres are Classic Rock and Pop but he explores different genres and styles of music for his singing and songwriting endeavours. As he says, his songs tend to borrow and break mainstream rules to provide a fresh sound for the music industry. Being inspired by artists like Queen, Bruno Mars, Sting and Patti Smith, Adi aims to emulate deeply emotional messages with his lyrics.
Some notable achievements of Adi’s career include leading and fronting a Queen tribute band at Berklee College, along with having performed background and lead vocals at nearly every campus venue. Also, he is motivated to make the world a better place which drove him to volunteer at the Cambridge Jazz Festival and be recognized for his help in 2023. In addition to this, with strong interests in concert production and event planning, Adi started the very successful Berklee Female Artist Showcase initiative to promote women in music, a show which he has organized twice already.
While at Berklee College, Adi has acquired considerable work experience which has equipped him with several skills including good communication, critical thinking, problem solving, graphic design, good organization, leadership and advocacy. Some of his notable job positions include Professional Music Project Assistant, Berklee Online Student Finance Assistant and Summer Programs Support Assistant. In addition to this, Adi Uppal has served as a Student Ambassador at Berklee College for two years.
Currently, Adi is working on writing and releasing his debut album titled ‘The Real World is…’ which tackles several socio-political issues and talks about some of his personal journey as a musician. He is also working actively on developing two business plans - ‘The Hidden Gem’ (an exclusive space for unsigned artists to connect with A&Rs) and ‘School of Live’ (a school and organization based on offering concert production/event planning services). Finally, Adi is looking forward to having two more notable shows in the coming months - ‘A Tribute to Led Zeppelin’ and ‘A Tribute to Sting.’
In his own words...
I consider myself to be a person driven by curiosity and a sense of adventure. My music reflects these qualities with unique sounds and deeply meaningful lyrics written based on my own experiences, global issues or references to other people. Being inspired by the likes of Freddie Mercury, Bruno Mars and Chris Cornell, my stage persona is very different from my off-stage personality. Naturally, I am an ambivert who flourishes with a group of people I can trust. I am a little shy, sensitive at times, but I am determined to succeed. On stage, I tend to play a better version of myself - someone that I truly long to be like and someone whose voice can really move people. When I am on stage, I am the happiest person in this world, and when I am off-stage, I am longing to be on stage.
Of course, being curious has made me dive into many different things, beyond music even. I admire stand-up comedians and actors because they are some of the most intellectual and adaptable people respectively. My final goal as a musician and person is to be the best of all three worlds really. I have tried to transfer over my acting skills and comic personality to my music persona and it has only brought my great success. So I do not really consider myself a musician solely. I am whatever and whoever I want to be whenever I want to be. At least that’s what I want to achieve in this life.
I also fill needs, sometimes entrepreneurially and sometimes by being an advocate. It is my pleasure to give back to the community that has shaped me into the person I have become and continues to help me grow. I conjure up business plans hoping to disrupt and improve our music industry. I advocate for and celebrate women role models and rising women acts. And it brings me immense joy to see actual change from my efforts.
In the end, even if I do not accomplish most of what I want, I will be content because I will chase my dream to the finish line. If there is only one thing I can do, I want to go on stage and perform. Whether it is music or acting or stand-up comedy, I am an entertainer and I always will be.