Shelton goes solo : Timeline

1980 - Attends almost every concert or live show in and around his village. 1982 - Dreams of becoming a famous, popular singer and musician. 1984 - Is pressurized to learn violin and notation by grandfather, Maestro Fernando Francisco Simplicio Afonso who completed 100 yrs on 2nd March 2004. He was the 'mestri' (parish music teacher) in Caranzalem, St. Cruz and Taleigao. Read more about Maestro Fernando and Shelton's ancestral musical heritage here. During his childhood days Shelton shows no interest in learning musical notation and the violin. Instead prefers to sneak out to play games with friends. Was interested in pop music during school days but lacked sufficient motivation. 1985 - Joins violin classes at Kala Academy but soon drops out, the reason being village friends teasing him mestri. Shelton dislikes this word at this time but many years later he understands that it was actually a compliment. 1990 - Starts singing in public and wins several prizes in competitions with the then hit song Gimme Hope Joanna. 1990 - Begins learning guitar at St. Cecilia Music School. 1991- Enthusiastically starts his first band Tomorrow's People. Plays the bass and is also the main vocalist. 1992 - Starts classical guitar studies. 1993 - Begins teaching guitar at St. Cecilia Music School. 1993 - Joins folkdance troupe Alegria as guitarist and vocalist. 1994 - Founder member of beat group The Cream. 1994 - First band-trip abroad, to Singapore, to purchase musical instruments and equipment. 1995 - Secures distinctions at the Inter-mediate level in Music Literacy (TCL - U.K.). 1996 - Along with The Cream plays at the comeback (after 25 years) performance for Lorna, Goa's iconic and popular singer. 1996 - Performs at The Taj International-Mumbai. 1997 - Starts preparing for a one-man-band while continuing to play with The Cream. 1998 - Performs in Singapore. 1999 - Start of two year stint in Dubai. 2000 - Returns to Goa and rechristens himself as Shelton goes solo, The One-Man-Mega-Band. 2001 - Performs every Sunday, for three months, with an unique act in the pool at Angel's Resort in Porvorim. 2001 - Starts playing for The Sunday Brunch at Goa Marriott Resort and continues for a decade. 2001 - Starts playing at Hotel Cidade de Goa on a regular basis and continues for a decade and a half. 2002 - Starts playing at Souza Lobo restaurant in Calangute and continues for the next six years. 2002 till present - Performs at almost every major hotel in Goa - Park Hyatt, Taj Holiday Village, Fort Aguada Beach Resort, Vivanta etc etc. Has also been playing for major corporate events for companies such as Swiss Air, Sri Lankan Airlines, Nestle etc and providing entertainment for the British Council, NRI Goans Convention, ITM- (International Travel Mart) and the Indo- German Oktoberfest. 2003 - Achieves a personal peak of playing a hectic 33 shows in the 28 days of February. 2003 - Starts Maestro Fernando Music Academy, named in memory of his grandfather. 2003 - Performs in Seychelles, Mauritius and Zimbabwe. 2004 – By now Shelton-goes-Solo has become a household name in Goa, synonymous with the term ‘one-man-band’. 2005 - Performs in Spain, Germany and London. 2006 - Performs in Germany. 2007 - Performs in New York. 2007 - First one-man-band to play for the traditional and prestigious Goa Medical Ball and continues playing for the next seven years. 2007 - Performs for a ladies-only Carnival themed event in Delhi for about 500 women. 2007 - Performs for Goan Carnival in Calcutta. 2008 - Develops an addiction to binge eating chocolates. 2009 - Spends most of his time innovating performance styles and perfecting his craft. 2010 - Performs at the I.T.M.(International Travel Mart) 2011 - Performs in Mauritius. 2012 - Performs at the re-opening of Quorum at Sayaji Hotels, Indore. 2012 - Coordinates a musical jam session with fellow Goans in Rome, Italy. 2014 - Performs in France and Switzerland. 2015 - Performs with a musical ensemble in Germany. 2015 - Went to London to further explore possibilities in music- production and acoustics. He also conducted music tuitions, performed at functions and entertained at old age homes. 2016 - Performs at the WTM in London 2017 - Returns to his roots in Goa with a bag full of new ideas to be implemented while bringing along a diploma, securing distinctions in EDM composition. 2018 - Performs in Dubai

Timeline