“The Global Citizen Festival was one of its kind and such a thrilling experience. To see such great talent come to India and perform for an audience of 80,000 was so amazing. Coldplay stole the show, obviously, and the highlight was A.R. Rahman and Chris Martin belting out ‘Vande Mataram’”, says Garima, a music enthusiast from Mumbai. “2017 has been amazing. And looking at the immense response of Indian audiences to such events, 2018 is likely to be even better.” So here are a few music festivals that you should look out for in the first few weeks of the New Year.
Bollywood Music Project
27-28 January
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,
New Delhi
The Bollywood Music Project is back with its second season. The festival is being held in three cities—in New Delhi (27-28 Janury); Mumbai (13-14 January); and Hyderabad (10-11 February). Its previous editions have hosted performances by well-known Bollywood musicians, like Arijit Singh, Amit Trivedi, Vishal Shekhar, Rekha Bharadwaj, Badshah( pictured here), and Raftaar among others.
This is a multi-genre, multilingual fest that is billed to be Asia’s largest Bollywood Music Festival.
The line-up for this year includes Papon, Guru Randhawa, Benny Dayal, Kutle Khan, Sachin Jigar and many more. Euphoria and Horn Flakes, too, will take the stage by storm.
Mahindra Blues Festival 2018
10-11 February
Mehboob Studios, Bandra, Mumbai
The Mahindra Blues festival is back with its eighth edition, featuring the biggest acts from across the globe. Blues fans of all stripes would find something valuable at this two-day celebration in Mumbai. The music extravaganza celebrates food and wine, too, and offers an incredible array of international performers. This year’s artistes include the godfather of British blues, John Mayall; the original Wolfman who combines rhythm and blues, Walter Wolfman Washington; astounding blues-rock guitar virtuoso, Coco Montaya; magical powerhouse,Layla Zoe; and local Mumbai-bred band, Blackstratblues.
The Lighthouse Festival
7 January
SRPF Ground, Mumbai
With the aspiration of being a visionary in the music festival sector, EB21, an entertainment company,is introducing Lighthouse—a medium to celebrate music for all age groups. The Lighthouse Music Festival aims to promote music that fits the contemporary scenario, and to showcase popular as well as emerging artistes. EB21 came up with this concept of a new-age, family-friendly music festival with an aim to add something new to Mumbai’s already vibrant gig circuit.
Rohan J. Battise, festival director, tells Guardian20, “The festival team has worked on an extremely entertaining, age-friendly event with an even more amazing musical lineup which consists of Jonita Gandhi, Clinton Cerejo, Sharvi Yadav, Raaga Trippin’, Prince Mulla and DJ Lloyd. There is something for everyone, a lavish food court, poolside BBQ grills, funky flea market, an adventure area for kids and multiple whacky photo ops.”
Besides, the Lighthouse Music Festival is the only all-age friendly event in town. This basically means there something on offer for everyone at venue, Mumbai’s SRPF Ground, including adventure zones and play areas for kids, as well as a poolside setting for adults looking to take some time out
from music.
Battise is also planning to take Lighthouse beyond Mumbai. He says, “We wish to extend our attempt to bring back the culture of pure-play-music by taking this festival to three other metro cities within 2018.” The tickets of the festivals are available at bookmyshow.com.
Nariyal Paani Festival 2018
26-28 January
Alibaug, Maharashtra
Nariyal Paani Festival is all set to hosts its fourth edition in January. Also known as “Festival by The Sea”, the two-day event has music as its centre piece, from jazz to electro-pop to hip-hop. The fest has managed to grab attention of most Mumbaikars due to the location of its venue, and its robustly environment friendly credentials. Keeping in mind the eco-friendly ethos, the festival boasts décor made out of biodegradable materials only. The Nariyal Paani Festival has previously hosted many renowned musicians from all over the globe, like Bellatrix, beatboxing champion from the UK; Jordan Johnson, indie-folk rock singer from New Zealand; Karim Ellaboudi London-based pianist; rappers Manmeet Kaur and Scorpion Boys from India, and so on. Aside from music, visitors can participate in activities ranging from stargazing, bangle making and archery, to live art on boats and bonfire jam sessions.
utospace:none;vertical-align:middle’>Rohan J. Battise, festival director, tells Guardian20, “The festival team has worked on an extremely entertaining, age-friendly event with an even more amazing musical lineup which consists of Jonita Gandhi, Clinton Cerejo, Sharvi Yadav, Raaga Trippin’, Prince Mulla and DJ Lloyd. There is something for everyone, a lavish food court, poolside BBQ grills, funky flea market, an adventure area for kids and multiple whacky photo ops.”