The debut concert of the Quarantine From Reality (QFR) High 5 Tour captivated an audience of over 800 Tamil community members at its unique event on May 24, 2025, in Vienna, Virginia. 

Attendees from the DMV area, as well as neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Delaware, were immersed in a powerful wave of nostalgia during the three-hour showcase featuring iconic Tamil songs by legendary composers such as M.S. Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, Ilayaraja, and A.R. Rahman.

The event doubled as a fundraiser for the World Tamil Music Development Center (WTMDC), established in April 2022. The center aims to serve as a comprehensive platform for Tamil music resources worldwide, offering educational material, literary compositions, and access to curated musical content.

Launched during the pandemic, QFR quickly gained popularity for its unique ability to transport listeners through the golden eras of Tamil cinema music. Despite the end of global lockdowns, its appeal has remained strong, with the show gathering a global following and surpassing 700 episodes over the past five years. Known for its carefully curated performances, QFR offers audiences not just music but also behind-the-scenes insights into legendary songs, composers, musicians, and traditional instruments.

At the DMV concert, the QFR ensemble performed a repertoire that included classics such as Madhavi Pon Mayilal; Thee Thee Thithikkum Thee; Aayiram Thamarai Mottukale; Germaniyin Senthen Malare; Rasathi Unna Kanatha Nenju; Madura Marikolunthu Vaasam; Poonkadhavey Thaal Thiravai; Poove Ilaiya Poove; Kannan Vandhu Paaduginraan; Aattama Therottama; and En Kanmani Un Kadhali, among others. Several medleys added to the musical richness of the evening.

Innovative elements introduced during the concert included a QFR Live segment, in which Thanikachalam’s team re-recorded background music for an old movie clip in perfect synchronization. Another highlight showcased a live collaboration between musicians across geographies – featuring a singer in Chennai, and a guitarist in Mumbai – performing in harmony with onstage musicians in Virginia.

Following the performance, Founder of QFR, Subhasree Thanikachalam, described the event as “fantastic.”

“I am very happy that the show was houseful on a Saturday evening that too on the Memorial Day weekend. And I’m so honored to be performing for such a prestigious organization. The audience really enjoyed throughout the concert and cheered us all along. It was so heartwarming. I will never forget this concert for a long time,” Thanikachalam told South Asian Herald.

Founder of WTMDC, Babu Vinayagam, who partnered with multiple organizations to promote the concert in the DMV area, told South Asian Herald, “WTMDC was pleased to organize the QFR event as their mission to give opportunity to the musicians worldwide aligns with ours.”

Vinayagam described QFR’s live music quality as “unparalleled,” and expressed his excitement at seeing the traditional Tamil instrument, Veena featured in the performance. He noted that the funds raised will support ongoing projects to build a comprehensive Tamil music content library for WTMDC members.

Kishore Singh, a core member of the organizing team, called the concert a “success” and commended Thanikachalam and her ensemble for their exceptional performance of songs and medleys by revered composers. 

Arthi Srinivasan, another key member of the organizing team, joined Vinayagam in introducing WTMDC’s mission and future initiatives to the audience.

Among the evening’s standout performers was Sai Vignesh, Filmfare Award-winning vocalist for “Varaha Roopam,” from Kantara.

Vignesh told South Asian Herald, “This is my first time in DC, and it was lovely to be performing in front of these amazing people who were glued to their seats today,” expressing gratitude to Thanikachalam for the opportunity. 

He highlighted how QFR differs from traditional light music concerts by showcasing Indian classical instruments like the veena, flute, violin, shehnai, and sitar. “This will be a memorable show,” he added.

Keerthana Shriram, a lead vocalist and saxophonist from Pittsburgh, echoed the sentiment. “I really enjoyed the concert. Especially, I really enjoyed the vibe of the audience – they really interacted with us, which is always a really big source of energy and motivation for the concert,” Shriram told South Asian Herald.

Having performed on alto and soprano saxophone and melodica during the concert, Shriram reflected on the demanding nature of managing vocals and instruments simultaneously.

“It’s a lot about keeping track of everything,” she said, while thanking Thanikachalam and her fellow musicians for their support.

Shradha Ganesh, another lead vocalist, talking about the energy of the crowd, told South Asian Herald,“We were just blown away by how amazing the audience were. They enjoyed every single song that we performed. They gave us their energy, which in turn helped us bring our energy for them. So, we had a great time on stage, and very happy that the audience enjoyed the concert.”

Santhosh Subramanian, also a lead singer, praised the audience’s emotional connection to the classics. 

Subramanian told South Asian Herald, “We were really excited to see the full house of audience and their encouragement to old Tamil film classics. So, whenever we played any BGM piece of Ilayaraja Sir or MS Viswanathan Sir, they immediately started clapping. That gave me goosebumps and encouragement at the concert.”

Kannan Thiyagarajan from the TML Karaoke Singers Group in the DMV area, who attended the event, told South Asian Herald “It was a soul stirring performance by the QFR group. I wholeheartedly support WTMDC’s mission of digitizing the timeless Tamil music composed and created by legends in the pre-digital era.”

“The QFR team has transported us from reality into a completely different stage. And this is the genre of music that I grew up with. So, I am just enjoying every moment of it,” said Kavita Govindarajan, Executive Vice President of Plateau Group and a Platinum sponsor.

Other sponsors included Balagan Business and Tax Service, Fintech Enterprise, and realtors Vijay Anand and Prithvi Vijayanand among others.

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