MUMBAI: Prime Circle is starting 2010 with two high-profile festival dates in India, proving once again that the five-piece is still more than capable of breaking barriers close to a decade since they first formed.

"We are very excited to be playing before such a big live audience," says Prime Circle front-man Ross Learmonth of his band's appearance on 20 February in Delhi and 21 February in Bangalore, where they will play the Rock 'N India festival alongside head-liners Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx. The festival was inaugurated in 2008 and has seen the likes of Megadeth and Iron Maiden perform to a growing audience with Prime Circle being the main international rock draw-card this year.

"We're also very proud to be part of the wave of bands who are representing Rock music in India, which is still a young market for the genre," Learmonth reveals. "Our tour to India last year showed us that there is a very appreciative audience for our music in the country and we're are looking to build on that with these two dates."

2009 saw Prime Circle play four dates in India in partnership with the Hard Rock Caf?© as well as a performance at the Umang Festival in Mumbai - earning strong reviews and an Indian fan base along the way. All Or Nothing is released in the territory via EMI India.

The connection with India had been made earlier in the year when Prime Circle performed at the Indian Premier League's closing event in May 2009, capturing the attention of a 12-million-strong global television audience, 10-million of which were in India alone.

The upcoming two festival dates were brokered by South Africa's leading entertainment promoters, Big Concerts who had worked with India's DNA Networks in securing the music acts used during the successful May 2009 sporting event. DNA Networks is the largest event and entertainment promoter in India.

Says Big Concerts' Chief Operating Officer, John Langford, "DNA Networks were very impressed with Prime Circle's performance at the finals of the IPL and the response from viewers in India was also very positive. They were very keen to get Prime Circle to India for these Rock 'N India dates and we're pleased to have worked with the band's management and label in getting it off the ground."

For Langford, Prime Circle's ability to play accessible Rock that's brought to life through memorable songs is what makes the group stand out. "I've seen the band play acoustic shows in a room of 20 people and in front of a stadium crowd and they pull both off very successfully. Big Concerts is not an agent by trade, but we are very proud to have been involved in setting these two dates up."

Learmonth says he and the rest of the band - Dale Schnettler on drums, Dirk Bisschoff on lead guitar, Neil Breytenbach on keyboards and Marco Gomes on bass concur Ross - are keeping an open mind as they prepare for the two shows.

"We've learnt not to have a preconceived idea of why to expect and so are keeping things flexible," the front-man says. "But I will say this: the fans in India can expect to rock out like never before when we hit that stage."

In the meantime, South African fans will be able to see their favourite band in a new light when a documentary of Prime Circle's 2009 Indian visit is made available later in 2010. The band is also working on new material for a studio album to follow-up their platinum-selling third release, All Or Nothing which has delivered a brace of radio hits for the band.