NH7 Weekender is a multi-city music festival in India. The first edition of the festival took place in 2010, spanning three days, from December 10–12 and was first held in the city of Pune, India.Organized by Only Much Louder, and sponsored by Bacardi, the first edition of the festival took place at Koregaon Park in Pune, in Maharashtra.[1] In its third edition, in the year 2012, the festival branched out to two more cities, New Delhi and Bangalore, apart from Pune. In 2013, in addition to the aforementioned three cities, the festival also started travelling to Kolkata. In 2015, NH7 Weekender will also make its debut in Shillong in Meghalaya.
History
The genesis of the festival dates back to 2009, when Stephen Budd met Vijay Nair for the Indian leg of the British Council’s Young Music Entrepreneur Awards, which was awarded that year to Nair. In 2010, when Nair was visiting the UK, he was introduced by Budd to Martin Elbourne, who is best-known for booking the Glastonbury Festival, who too then came on board to organize the first edition of the festival in Pune.[2][3]
The festival's debut edition mixed the best Indian acts with a number of international artists playing their first shows in the country. It had five stages and about 65 acts in all. Bands like Swarathma, Pentagram and Blackstratblues performed along with international acts such as Asian Dub Foundation and The Magic Numbers.[4]
The second edition of NH7 Weekender was held between 18–20 November 2011, and was bigger than its previous edition, in terms of both production and attendance. It took place at the Laxmi Lawns near Magarpatta City in Pune. The Pepsi Dub Station stage was a new addition to the second edition of the festival. Over 25,000 people attended the three-day event in Pune, as compared to 10,000 attendees in the first [5] outing. Grammy winner Imogen Heap and the British electronic music act Basement Jaxx along with BBC DJs Bobby Friction and DJ Nihal were part of the international artists’ lineup. Midival Punditz, The Raghu Dixit Project, Jalebee Cartel, Indian Ocean, Swarathma and other notable Indian acts also performed at the festival.[6] The second edition lived up to its billing as one of the must-visit Indian festivals for the year.[7][8]
In 2012 and in its third year, NH7 Weekender expanded to Delhi and Bangalore. The festival - now comprising 200 artists and 60 build-up gigs - took place in Delhi, on October 13–14, at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida; in Pune from November 2–4 at Amanora Park Town; and the final leg in Bangalore, at the Embassy International Riding School, on 15–16 December.[9] Another stage, called Fully Fantastic, was also added to the festival[10] this year. The biggest international acts included the likes of Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, Buraka Som Sistema, Megadeth, Bombay Bicycle Club performing a special acoustic set, Anoushka Shankar, Jinja Safari, Big Scary, and Fink among others.
In 2013, the festival travelled to four cities - Kolkata was added to the list, in addition to Pune, Bangalore and Delhi NCR.[11] The festival featured London electronic music act Chase and Status and hosted a range of other international and Indian musicians. While progressive metal outfit Textures headlined an all-new stage called the Bacardi Arena, British electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco headlined the Eristoff Wolves Den stage. MUTEMATH, Shankar Tucker, TesseracT, Skindred, Noisia, Benga, English folk rock act Dry the River and Irish post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar were some of the other international acts that performed in 2013.
For the 2014 edition, the festival travelled to four cities in the span of a month. Starting off with Kolkata (Nov 1-2), the festival moved to Bangalore (Nov 8-9), Pune (Nov 21-23) and finished its journey in Delhi NCR (Nov 29-30). English indie rockers The Vaccines, heavy-metal band Fear Factory, MUTEMATH, Cloud Control, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Motopony, Luke Sital-Singh, As Animals, Mr. Woodnote & Lil Rhys, Amit Trivedi, Fossils, and a lot more performed at the festival. Apart from the music, over the years, the festival has also hosted a vibrant flea market, live graffiti setups, an elaborate food court, and several interesting art installations. In the 2014 edition, artist Shilo Shiv Suleman’s Pulse And Bloom installation, which was also part of the Burning Man festival in the same year, was showcased on the festival grounds.[12]
The Aussie BBQ
2012 onward, Sounds Australia, in partnership with OML, brought down The Aussie BBQ to NH7 Weekender. 2012 saw Australian acts such as indie outfit Big Scary, DJ duo The Aston Shuffle, afro-pop rhythms Jinja Safari and indie pop bands Sheppard, headlined by rockers Karnivool.[13] Glitch-hop producer Spoonbill, indie pop band Hey Geronimo, audio-visual DJ Sampology, and alternative pop singer Kate Miller-Heidke performed in Bangalore and Delhi editions of the festival in 2013 as part of the BBQ,[14] and 2014 hosted alt-rock act Cloud Control, singer-songwriter Appleonia, garage rockers Money For Rope, and electronic dance music producers Peking Duk.[15]
Past Lineups
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2010
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2011
| Bacardi Black Rock Arena | The Dewarists Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | The Dewarists - The Other Stage | Bacardi Together Stage | Pepsi Dub Station |
| Bhayanak Maut | Advaita | Ash Roy (Jalebee Cartel) | Alisha Batth | Together Set | Bay Beat Collective |
| Blackstratblues | Ankur Tewari & The Ghalat Family | B.R.E.E.D. | Alisha Pais | | Big Daddy Klein |
| Blakc | Dhruv | Basement Jaxx (DJ Set) | Ayush Shreshta | | Blessed Love Soundsystem |
| Demonic Resurrection | Hipnotribe | BASSFoundation | Fire Exit | | DJ Swaggamuffin |
| Goddess Gagged | Imogen Heap | Bay Beat Collective | Imphal Talkies | | DJ Wild City |
| Menwhopause | Indian Ocean | Bobby Friction | Nigel Rajaratnam | | Gumnaam |
| Motherjane | King Creosote | DJ Jayant | Sid Basrur | | Humble The Poet |
| Pentagram | Papon & The East India Company | Dualist Inquiry | Tara Priya | | Illbilly HiTec + Longfingah |
| Scribe | Soulmate | Midival Punditz | The Pictish Trail | | Jatin Puri |
| Skyharbor | Swarathma | Nihal | | | Microphon3 |
| The Circus | The Raghu Dixit Project | Reggae Rajahs | | | Monkey Sound System |
| Tough On Tobacco | | Riz MC | | | NZ Selector |
| | | Shaa'ir + Func | | | Ox7gen |
| | | Sky Rabbit | | | Reggae Rajahs |
| | | | | | Sound Clash |
| | | | | | Su-Real |
| | | | | | Taal Inc. |
| | | | | | The Ska Vengers |
| | | | | | Zero |
|
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2012
Delhi
| Bacardi Black Rock Arena | The Dewarists Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | The Other Stage | Pepsi Dub Station | Fully Fantastic Stage |
| The Circus | Adi Suhail Tarun | Kohra | Dhruv Visvanath | East Stepper | Caesars Of The Green |
| Vir Das' Alien Chutney | Hari & Sukhmani | Jitter | Parvati & Mawkin | Swaggamuffin | Peter Cat Recording Co. |
| Indus Creed | Advaita | Ashvin Mani Sharma | Barefaced Liar | DJ Dale | Bombay Bassment |
| Zero | The Raghu Dixit Project | BLOT! | Your Chin | EZ Riser | Gandu Circus |
| Pentagram | Karsh Kale Collective | Kaiserdisco | Music Basti Project | Moniker | menwhopause |
| Parikrama | Anoushka Shankar | Nucleya | Prateek Kuhad | DJ Uri + MC Ri$k + SlumGods HipHop Crew | Shaa'ir + Func |
| Solstice Coil | | Bobby Friction Soundsystem | Avi & The Uprising | Dakta Dub | Ankur Tewari & The Ghalat Family |
| Scribe | Papon & The East India Co. | Hexstatic Presents Holotronics | Akhu | BassFoundation Roots | Them Clones |
| Undying Inc | Midival Punditz | | SAGA | NZ Selector | Soulmate |
| Delhi Metal Project | Shafqat Amanat Ali | | | Reggae Rajahs | Blackstratblues and Friends |
| Bhayanak Maut | Indian Ocean | | | Soom T | |
| Megadeth | | | | Jstar | |
Pune
Bangalore
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2013
Pune
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Other Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | Breezer Dub Station |
| Chase & Status DJ Set | A Mutual Question | Blackstratblues | Ankur Tewari | BLOT vs. Kohra | Big City Harmonics |
| Devoid | Bone Broke | Indian Ocean | Carlton & The Saints | Donn Bhat + Passenger Revelator | Castles In The Sky |
| Karsh Kale Collective + The NH7 All Stars | Modern Mafia | Maati Baani | Dhruv Visvanath | Dualist Inquiry | Deadly Hunta |
| Pentagram | Party Scribe | Midival Punditz (Live) | Nischay Parekh | Krunk All-Stars | DJ Sa |
| Scribe | Tajdar Junaid | Papon and The East India Company | Shantanu Pandit | Madboy/Mink | Frame/Frame |
| Skindred | The Mavyns | Parvaaz | Siddharth Basrur | Nucleya | Func |
| Sky Rabbit | The Supersonics | Prateek Kuhad Collective | Suman Sridhar featuring Jiver | Simian Mobile Disco | Humble The Poet |
| Textures | The Vinyl Records | Shankar Tucker | The Colour Compound | Vachan | Johnny B |
| | | Slow Club | The Koniac Net | | OX7GEN |
| | | The Raghu Dixit Project | Vir Das' Alien Chutney | | Paralights |
| | | Winit Tikoo | Your Chin | | Reggae Rajahs |
| | | | | | Reji |
| | | | | | Ruskin |
| | | | | | SICKFLIP |
| | | | | | Simple Sample |
| | | | | | Su-Real |
| | | | | | The Spindoctor |
| | | | | | TripShot Crew |
Bangalore
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Other Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | Breezer Dub Station |
| And So I Watch You from Afar | Black Letters | Dry the River | Clown With A Frown | Big City Harmonics | _RHL |
| Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate | Dualist Inquiry Band | Kailasa | Kate Miller-Heidke | Func | Bobby Friction |
| Bevar Sea | Hey Geronimo | Lucky Ali | Nischay Parekh | Krunk All-Stars | Dakta Dub |
| Inner Sanctum | Skrat | Parvaaz | Prateek Kuhad | Noisia | DJ Uri |
| Karsh Kale Collective + The NH7 All Stars | Swarathma | The Manganiyar Seduction by Roysten Abel | Space Behind The Yellow Room | Nucleya | Dualist Inquiry (DJ Set) |
| Papon and The East India Company | The F16s | The Raghu Dixit Project with special guests | Sulk Station | Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation) Solo DJ Set | EZ Riser |
| TesseracT | Until We Last | Winit Tikoo | Zervas & Pepper | Sampology | Low Rhyderz |
| The Fender Benders | We Were Promised Jetpacks | | | Sampology | Low Rhyderz |
| | | | | Shaa'ir + Func | Pippin |
| | | | | | Poirier |
| | | | | | Reggae Rajahs |
| | | | | | Sound Avtar |
| | | | | | Spoonbill |
Delhi
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Other Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | Breezer Dub Station |
| And So I Watch You from Afar | Black Letters | Dry the River | Dhruv Visvanath | Benga | Baba Jas |
| Karsh Kale Collective + The NH7 All Stars | Bombay Bassment | Faridkot | Kate Miller-Heidke | J.Viewz | Dubtron |
| Meshuggah | Dualist Inquiry Band | Kailasa | Nischay Parekh | Kill Paris | Frame/Frame |
| MUTEMATH | FuzzCulture | Lucky Ali | Prateek Kuhad Collective | Michal Menert | Moniker |
| Scribe | Hey Geronimo | Mekaal Hasan Band | Rajasthan Roots | Nucleya | Poirier |
| SundogProject | MoonDogs | Noori | Shantanu Pandit | Sampology | Sound Clash |
| The Ska Vengers | Swarathma | The Maganiyar Seduction by Roysten Abel | Zervas & Pepper | Sandunes | Spoonbill |
| The Lightyears Explode | | | | Shiva Soundsystem | Swaggamuffin |
| We Were Promised Jetpacks | | | | | Tarqeeb |
| | | | | | The Grind |
| | | | | | The Heatwave |
| | | | | | YT |
| | | | | | Ziggy The Blunt |
Kolkata
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Other Stage | Eristoff Wolves Den | Breezer Dub Station |
| Demonic Resurrection | Bolepur Bluez | Ganesh Talkies | Girish Pradhan | AlgoRhythm | David Boomah |
| Digital Suicide | Jay Wud | Indian Ocean | Ifs and Buts | Arjun Vagale presents Re:Focus | Delhi Sultanate & Begum X |
| Karsh Kale Collective + The NH7 All Stars | Scribe | Kailasa | Loch Lomond | Bay Beat Collective | DJ Uri |
| Parikrama | The Monkey In Me | Papon and The East India Company | Nischay Parekh | Dualist Inquiry Band | EZ Riser |
| Pentagram | The Supersonics | PINKNOISE | Prateek Kuhad | Michal Menert | Mr. Doss |
| Textures | The Wanton Bishops | Soulmate | Tajdar Junaid | Nucleya | Nucleya |
| The Ska Vengers | Write In Stereo | Swarathma | Vir Das' Alien Chutney | Sandunes | Reggae Rajahs |
| Undying Inc | Zero | The Raghu Dixit Project | | | Smoke Signal |
| | | | | | Sound Avtar |
| | | | | | Y&S |
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2014
Kolkata
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Discover Stage | Micromax Mega Mix |
| Bhayanak Maut | Calcutta Local | Amit Trivedi | Ankur & The Ghalat Family | AlgoRhythm |
| Cloud Control | Houdini Dax | Appleonia | As Animals | B.R.E.E.D |
| Gingerfeet | Madboy/Mink | Blackstratblues | Mr. Woodnote & Lil Rhys | Chad Valley |
| Indus Creed | Monica Dogra | Fossils | RUN! It's the Kid | Nanok |
| Money For Rope | Skrat | Indian Ocean's Tandanu featuring Selvaganesh, Kumaresh Rajagopalan, Vishal Dadlani | Tetseo Sisters | Norcotiq |
| MUTEMATH | Sky Rabbit | Maati Baani | The Emerald Armada | Peking Duk |
| The Inspector Cluzo | Superfuzz | Soulmate | The Ganesh Talkies | Shaa'ir + Func |
| Them Clones | The F16s | | | Sickflip |
| | | | | Su Real |
Bangalore
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Discover Stage | Micromax Mega Mix |
| Bhayanak Maut | Bombay Bassment | Adi & Suhail | Ankur & The Ghalat Family | B.R.E.E.D |
| Cloud Control | Dualist Inquiry Band | Amit Trivedi | As Animals | Blent |
| Houdini Dax | Madboy/Mink | Appleonia | Mr. Woodnote & Lil Rhys | DJ Sa vs. DJ Skip |
| Money For Rope | Pangea | Peepal Tree | Sean Roldan | EZ Riser vs. DJ MoCity |
| MUTEMATH | Spud In The Box | Soulmate | Skrat | Jon Hopkins |
| Scribe | The Supersonics | The Emerald Armada | The News | Klypp |
| The F16s | Undying Inc | Thermal And A Quarter | The Wooden Shield | Peking Duk |
| The Inspector Cluzo | Your Chin | | | Sandunes |
| | | | | Sandunes |
| | | | | Sickflip |
Pune
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Discover Stage | Micromax Mega Mix |
| Bhayanak Maut | Alo Wala | Adi & Suhail | A Mutual Question | B.R.E.E.D |
| Dinosaur Pile-Up | Bombay Punk United | Amit Trivedi | AIB | Bhavishyavani Crew |
| Fear Factory | Coshish | Goldspot | Luke Sital-Singh | Big City Harmonics Live |
| Providence | The Down Troddence | Indian Ocean's Tandanu featuring Shubha Mudgal, Selvaganesh | Monica Dogra | Castles In The Sky |
| Skrat | The F16s | Motopony | Namit Das + Anurag Shanker | Curtain Blue |
| Skyharbor | The Ganesh Talkies | Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe | Nicholson | DJ Sa vs. DJ Skip |
| Superfuzz | Voctronica | Nikhil D'Souza | Tejas | Duke Nucleya |
| The Vaccines | Zygnema | Selvaganesh | Tetseo Sisters | Foreign Beggars |
| | | Songhoy Blues | The Manganiyar Classroom by Roysten Abel | Frame/Frame Live |
| | | The Bartender | Thermal And A Quarter | Fuzzy Logic |
| | | The Raghu Dixit Project featuring Nritarutya | Unohu | Madboy/Mink |
| | | | | Moniker |
| | | | | Nanok |
| | | | | Norcotiq |
| | | | | Ox7gen Live |
| | | | | Reggae Rajahs |
| | | | | Sandunes Ensemble |
| | | | | Sickflip |
| | | | | The Ska Vengers |
| | | | | When Pandas Attack |
Delhi
| Bacardi Arena | Red Bull Tour Bus | The Dewarists | MTS Discover Stage | Micromax Mega Mix |
| Bhayanak Maut | Alo Wala | Amit Trivedi | AIB | Curtain Blue |
| Colossal Figures | Hoirong | Barmer Boys | Fossils | Dualist Inquiry Band |
| Dinosaur Pile-Up | Monica Dogra | Indian Ocean's Tandanu featuring Pt. Vishwamohan Bhat, Kumaresh Rajagopalan | Goldspot | Duke Nucleya |
| Fear Factory | Pangea | Motopony | Luke Sital-Singh | EZ Riser vs. DJ MoCity |
| Skrat | Superfuzz | Sachal Jazz Ensemble | Nicholson | Frame/Frame Live |
| Skyharbor | The Delhi Alternative | Songhoy Blues | RUN! It's the Kid | Fuzzy Logic |
| The F16s | The Ganesh Talkies | The Raghu Dixit Project featuring Nritarutya | Tejas | Iamrisha |
| The Vaccines | The Supersonics | | Tetseo Sisters | Kaos |
| | | | | Killwish |
| | | | | Madboy/Mink |
| | | | | Ox7gen Live |
| | | | | Sandunes Ensemble |
| | | | | Soulspace Live |
References