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05th December, 2016
Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2016 Pune ends on a happy note.

The curtain went down on the happiest music festival Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2016 in Pune at a brand new venue, Life Republic in Marunji, Hinjewadi. The last leg of this mega festival had a new venue and saw the festival move out of Laxmi Lawns in Pune, that gave not only gave more space for festival goers, but it also made the area free for movement from one stage to another.

The first day of the festival began with heavy-duty performances including India’s biggest bass producer Nucleya , indie-electronic champion RAC (DJ Set) , Mumbai-based Indian blues band Kanchan Daniel & The Beards , live electronica project Nicholson, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sid Vashi, Delhi-based electronica duo Komorebi and electronic music artist Dualist Inquiry . The Pune leg of the festival featured three diverse stages on Day One – Bacardi Arena, Bacardi House Party and Breezer Vivid Village.

The festival offered fans a true festival experience with delicious options at the food area with cuisines ranging from Indian, Chinese, American, Thai to Lebanese and Arabian. With 30 vibrant food stalls and trucks, fans took a break from the music to satiate their taste buds with gourmet pizzas, burgers, Kolkata kathi rolls, chocolate stations, waffles, slushies and gourmet coffees to name a few. The bazaar section featured an array of creative products with everything from crafted jewelry, art, quirky giftables, dreams catchers to a dedicated thrift shop. You also had an NGO PETA who offered information on their work and a look into ill treatment of animals.

There were also stalls that sold merchandise, from funky T shirts to well designed mugs, magnets, posters, key chains and badges. This was one way to take a souvenir home to remember your date with the festival.

This year the festival also launched its official app to keep fans updated on all the information they need to know while they were there. The app contains artist set timings, customizable daily schedules, ability to view friends' schedules, festival maps, artist information, stage information, emergency contact numbers and many more features to enhance the festival experience.

Day Two saw a massive line-up with performances by internationally renowned acts such as prog rock artist Steven Wilson who was a real crowd puller, Swedish indie folk singer Jose Gonzalez , alt-rock trio The Joy Formidable, Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson , Indian/American prog metal band Skyharbor and some of the biggest artists from the Indian music scene including North-East’s favourite singer-composer Papon, Madras/Bangalore-based Dance/Punk band The F16s , guitar prodigy Rhythm Shaw and musical ensemble Sempre Libera. With more acts on Day Two, two new stages The Dewarists and Insider.in Other stage saw live wire performances.

Despite the cash crunch, the festival, held for the seventh time, saw music festival goers line up peacefully at a well stocked ATM to make sure the party never stops. But food sales probably saw a sharp decline as many could not make payment through debit or credit card as most machines wouldn’t work because of poor mobile network connectivity. A similar sentiment was faced with the other stalls.

The final day saw acclaimed sitar player Anoushka Shankar performing at the Dewarists stage to play a few of her tracks, backed up band members on double bass and percussionist in tow. Shankar Mahadevan, who has a strong fan following, took to the stage, giving a chance to new musicians to be part of his gig titled ‘My Country, My Music’. The music extravaganza at the Bacardi Arena stage saw the music composer and singer perform a few of his own hits, keeping Bollywood songs at bay. The last day also saw the likes of smaller acts such as Rosie Lowe, Divine, Spud in the Box, Nael and Prabh and the very lovable Parekh and Singh.

This year Hyderabad made its first appearance on NH7’s venue list, and rightly so as Hyderabad has witnessed some great music shows in the past. Two of NH7’s regular venues since 2012 – Bengaluru and Delhi did not make the cut for the 2016 edition, and their lost was Shillong’s gain returning for the second time.

Almost 10,000 music lovers converged to party at five stages on all three days to make yet another NH 7 Weekender a memorable weekend.

Text and Photos by Verus Ferreira

 


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