Burn It Up

The Sunburn Music Fest is twice as big this year with 90 EDM artistes,five after-parties and an eco-friendly campaign

Two venues. Seven stages. One lakh attendees. Music lovers scattered all across the country have blocked their dates from December 27 – 29. It’s Sunburn time in Goa. Like for the last four years,electronic dance music (EDM) will rule the party,the only difference being that Asia’s biggest music festival is bigger and better this time around. Be it the artiste line-up or the festival fillers,there’s lots to look forward to.

Candolim Beach is still the venue but there are two grounds connected by a short pathway. Each separated by a 30-second walk. “Usually we have two main stages. This year,there are seven stages in all,two main stages at both the venues. Last year,we were so packed (read: 50,000 people) that we realised it would be impossible to go further without adding to the festival,” says Karan Singh,Global CEO,Sunburn. Till now,90 international and national artistes and DJs have been confirmed. “We’re still adding to the list,” Singh says.

Three of the world’s best – Axwell,Infected Mushroom and Above and Beyond – are in this year’s favourites list. Three women DJs – Pearl,Nadia Ali and Pune’s Ma Faiza – will also spin their signature music. Among other artistes are Markus Schulz,Nic Fanciulli,Moguai,Michael Woods,Mad Maxx,Clement,Janux,Sashanti,Ajit Pai,Boombaba,V-Society,Praveen Acharaya,Vipul Angrish,Vik and Anish Sood,Jalebee Cartel,Funkagenda,John 00 Fleming,Skazi,Anil Chawla & Dale Anderson,Liquid Soul,Sanjay Dutta,Lost Stories,Nawed Khan and Shaan. “We’ve already booked our tickets for the three days. Ninety artistes – that’s just amazing!,” says Atul Poharkar,co-founder iCrave Events,Pune. This 20-something and his friends have attended the festival for the last three years. The artistes will be spread over the four main stages of trance,house,techno and psychedelic. The other stages are for live/experimental music and bands. The fest will also have five after-parties in Goa.

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If the girls are wondering about security issues at the venue,the organisers – Percept – have already looked into it. An all-women’s bar will be their private zone. Another new and interesting aspect is the tie-up with the NGO United. Environmental responsibility will be promoted through all the three days with Sunburn’s ‘Leave No Trace’ campaign. “It’s a massive event and we don’t want to leave a trace with used glasses,plastic cups,etc. A team of 40-50 youngsters will clean up the venues to keep the beauty of the beach intact,” informs Singh. Garbage cans will be put up,all the lights will be switched off for five minutes and a Leave No Trace Library will promote the reuse of paper.

The investment for the festival this year is a whopping Rs 24-29 crores. “It’s twice as big. We don’t compromise on any of the services,be it lights,sound or even our bouncers who are from abroad,” Singh reasons. Next year,this home-grown brand might travel to Bali. “We are in talks with other international locations as well (Dubai,Sri Lanka) but the deals have to be finalised. Goa will always remain our prime December venue,” Singh says.

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