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The Bootleg Browns at Big Gig Exclusive

The Big Gig Exclusive to be Held in April

The festival announces its date and prepares its mountains for a new set of sonorous musicians for its upcoming third edition.

When every hill station is getting a music festival to its name from Naukuchiatal and Kasauli in the north to Ooty in the south, a clutter starts to form in the minds of frequenters. So what’s new about The Big Gig Exclusive festival in the hills you ask? A claim that takes pride in the resplendence of the Himalayas and offers a folksy one-day festival that demands from music junkies only one day of the weekend to relax and submit to the treat that is ‘of music and mountains’. On April 19 this year, which is a Saturday, The Big Gig Exclusive will pack performances, following which one can set off to roam the valleys of Landour, Mussoorie that’s set 7500 feet above sea level.

This year, like its last two editions, The Big Gig Exclusive will see performances of international and local acts of varied varieties ranging from one of the earliest types of Delta blues to South American folk. After a successful series of two editions, this year is set to take place at The Rokeby Highlands of Landour like its previous editions.

In the past, Big Gig Exclusive has seen performances by the likes of Atlanta-based folk musicians The Okies, Delhi-based alternate rock band Barefaced Liar, Delhi-based band Gravy Train and blues-based rock band The Bootleg Browns among others. Most interestingly, the artists that will be performing for this year’s edition will be picked belonging to different genres therefore bringing about a balance. Thus, in its sense of world music lies The Big Gig’s exclusivity.

Additionally, to show support to the lives of residents in the hills each year the festival hosts program or exhibitions, parts of whose proceeds are directed at organizations that work towards betterment of its people. This year, Purkal Stree Shakti or PSS, a social-improvement community that works out of Dehradun (watch here) aims to empower the women of Purkal, as a literal translation of the name. Basic level of education and developing specific skill sets for women of Purkal remains paramount to the agenda of PSS to combat poverty and the travails borne out of social and cultural orthodoxies.

For more details on the festival, visit their Facebook page here. 

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