A Round-the-Clock Festival Overload

Mumbai’s Independence Rock Festival that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010 was one of the first music festivals that gathered crowds. But, predominantly rock-loving crowds flocked the festival. Like this, a lot of other rock-oriented festivals took form in pockets of other cities like Kolkata (Great Indian Rock Festival), Bangalore (Rock ‘N India) and Chennai (June Rock Out) in the years to come. The vision towards these was however still myopic. A small percentage of audiences went to swing their heads reckless for music. The ‘experience’ factor wasn’t yet an attraction.

With the advent of Goa’s Sunburn in 2007 and Pune’s NH7 Weekender in 2010, crowds jumped onto the chest-beating ‘I-love-music’ bandwagon and the fire thus spread. Whether you looked left or right, there was a festival around the corner waiting to be attended. It was as though someone realized an audience is listening to indie/international musicians, so why not bring it to them. Tables turned overnight and attending festivals became a head rush that could not be compromised. It was simply an opportunity to travel to a new city, listen to music, have a crazy time with friends and return back to the grind of life.

Festivals sprung up from every corner of India. From Rajasthan to Ooty and from Goa to Arunachal Pradesh – they each had a festival or two to their name. Festivals even mushroomed on the basis of genre. Some stuck with folk and regional flavours while others resorted to EDM. Finally, indie music was being acknowledged and delivered.

soundplunge_test puts together a list of summer and winter festivals that spoil you for choice.

Ragasthan, one of the options for winters

5 Winter Festivals You Must Shiver To

Go Mad Festival, Fernhills Palace, Ooty – October

Set in the verdant hills of Ooty, the Go Mad Festival is a platform that sees a proportional inflow of virgin bands as well as veteran bands. Spread across 3 days, the festival is a melange of music, arts, dance and a chance to engage with nature. The festival welcomes a motley set of genres from pop to electronica and features dance shows and imaginative art installations as part of the roster. This year, celebrating its second birthday, the festival looks like a promising one to catch before the winter sets in in earnest.

Magnetic Fields Festival, Jaipur – December

With a  name like Magnetic Fields and a line up comprising big indie names like Robot Koch, Shaair + Func, Midival Punditz, Vivek, and Shiva Soundsystem, how can one not be magnetically pulled towards Jaipur in December. Surrounded by pink, the exact location of the festival is Alsisar Palace, which is four hours away from Jaipur. Drawing people with its rustic charm and fusing Rajasthani culture with contemporary beliefs, the festival has only one message for you – “Immerse Yourself”.

Ragasthan, Rajasthan – February

Known as the ultimate desert festival, Ragasthan offers you an experience during the receding chill of the winters in February and an ample set of musical experiences to indulge in. From folk ragas to modern day jazz, the music ranges a spectrum almost as wide as the Thar Desert.  Advaita, Menwhopause, Sky Rabbit, Spud in the Box and the list of veteran bands goes on who grace the event with their musical presence.

Fireflies Festival of Music, Dinnepalya, Bangalore – February

Started by a bunch of boys in their early 20s, the Fireflies festival is ideal for those who want to see the manifestation of a gurukul-style music festival that takes place under a banyan tree, in an open air space. Priced at a very reasonable figure of Rs. 500 and located in an ashram 40 kms off the garden city of Bengaluru, the festival aims to place Indian traditional bands and international acts in one scabbard. What’s catchy is, they believe in the BYOB policy so there’s no war while queuing up at a bar.

Storm, Coorg – February

Come 2014, Shankar Mahadevan will be the face of the camp-out Storm Festival that takes place in Coorg. Ready for take-off in February for the coming year, the festival believes in a musical storm that’s “brewing”, and rightly so, considering that it’s flanked by Coorg’s marvellous coffee estates on all sides. Indian Ocean, The Raghu Dixit Project and Leslie Lewis are on the list of storm adopters who will play at the festival.

Ziro Festival, the summer getaway for city dwellers

5 Summer Festivals You Cannot Miss

An aromatic charm lingers about so swiftly around a music festival that takes place in the hills. Is it because the hills are often associated with the light-headed kind of intoxication (which no one here is advocating)? Regardless, one cannot evade its correspondence with the intake of music. Here’s a list of 5 festivals that attract crowds not only for the music but for its picturesque locales.

Escape Festival, Naukuchiatal – May 

Nuzzled in the hills of Uttarakhand’s Naukuchiatal is the vibrant Escape Festival that aims to explore concepts of art, music and culture melting into one location. They believe salvation can only be attained by an involvement with a form of art. Since their inception in 2009, they’ve played host to bands like Thermal and a Quarter, Blackstratblues, Fuzzculture, so on and so forth.

Shiva Squad Festival, Kullu – May 

Dedicated strictly to the principles of Shiva, or should we rather say “smoking” principles, the Shiva Squad is an all-trance festival where you can camp in your sleeping bags, unwind and trip, if you may, not on stones of course! This 3-day festival is located at the Tirthan Valley and sees international Psy-trance artists spinning tracks of the illusory kind.

Indrasan Festival, Manali – August

Born in 2009, the Indrasan Festival located in the Parvati Valley off Manali, is a 2-day festival that loves the idea of magnetically pulling people together by means of electronica music, art and culture. The festival has predominantly played host to British, Israeli and Indian artists last year.

Arudra Festival, Manali – June 

Three days of a typical festival set in the hills of Manali, the Arudra Festival is nothing short of a pandora’s box of surprises for psy-trance aficionados. Astral Projections from Israel, Israeli artist Psysex, Twisted Kala from France and many others who contribute to a list that rolls open for miles.

Ziro Festival of Music, Arunachal Pradesh – September

The Ziro Festival, that takes place in the hills of Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, usually presents itself in the month of September. This is one fest that has to literally fight political opposition to sustain itself year after year. That’s not it. The climb to Ziro is challenge in itself after reaching the nearest Guwahati airport. But what makes it worse is the water-logged stony road leading to the venue. Despite the challenges, what’s amazing is, formed in 2012, the festival has never seen artists or fans complain. They’re all there to bask in festivity of the music.