The Boston rock legends arrived in Imphal for the state-initiated music festival aimed at promoting the conversation of Manipur's endangered state flower. In a press conference ahead of the show, the band communicated their excitement to be performing for such a cause and their opinions on a variety of topics ranging from the music industry at large to some experiences they have had in their thirty-year long career.

When questioned about their expectations for the show, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt spoke about how it is still a new experience to play in a country for the first time and the reception of a new crowd, "We don't know if they're going to love us, hate us, cheer us on… one thing's for sure, for the people who have missed out on us for so long, I think it's lucky that they're seeing us now. I think we're better now, the band's as hungry as it's ever been, we're better on stage… it's going to be a good show."

The band also expanded on how their song 'More Than Words' has evolved beyond what it meant when it was first written. Frontman Gary Cherone explained, "At the time, I wrote it about my girlfriend, who was saying I was saying I loved her but didn't show her." Nuno further expanded, "It does have a whole new meaning today, with all the things that are happening… we call them #rebels, where you can just grab a coffee, hashtag a movement and then we're part of that, and then we did our part for the human race. But the truth is that it's not working." The band then spoke about new blood in the music scene that they're keeping track of; the band mentioned new bands and musicians they're listening to these days. Bands like Rival Sons and The Struts were mentioned by Gary and bass player Pat Badger, while Nuno mentioned Mateus Asato to be a guitarist he had recently got into. The band also shared a story about when Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones walked into a green room just before a show and how experiences like that where they met their heroes were beyond memorable.

The band will play the closing set of the 4-day event at Bakshi Grounds, Ukhrul Headqaurters, Ukhrul, Manipur tonight, before which the winners of the festival's band competition will perform a set after being announced.