The worldwide competition embodies town’s spirit greater than you’d assume
There’s one thing quintessentially Mumbai about Lollapalooza India. Beneath the A-Checklist lineup and equally A-Checklist celebrities who attend it, the competition has by some means turn into an annual cultural meet-up of who’s who, with the backdrop of nice music, and “you needed to be there” type of moments—an essence of town’s social scene in a approach. Courtesy of E book My Present, the competition’s Indian associate, I had front-row seats to this solely adrenaline-pumping weekend.
The Setup
The fairly literal embodiment of that is the Mahalaxmi Race Course venue, which additionally hosted the competition’s inaugural yr in 2023. Masking 55 acres, all 4 phases are conveniently positioned reverse one another, permitting for environment friendly motion to maintain up with the competition’s tempo—important in Mumbai, the place time is cash. In case you do end up exhausted, the meals courtroom and cool-down spot will be discovered within the center, once more not troublesome to identify. The competition, very like town, retains you in your toes. Nonetheless, there are provisions, corresponding to a number of medical tents and on-ground workers, readily seen in case issues get a bit too sweaty. I did witness the promptness of the help workers in motion when a competition attendee was carried out to the medical tent.
Regardless of gates opening in the midst of the afternoon, there’s minimal shade to flee the extreme Mumbai solar. A trigger for concern, contemplating the competition’s lineup, which put Anoushka Shankar’s and Dualist Inquiry’s units proper in the midst of the day. But nonetheless, households have been seen vibing to the nine-time Grammy Awards nominee’s magnetic Sitar efficiency. Equally, regardless of the warmth, fairly a couple of head nods and air humping have been additionally witnessed, each by the younger and the outdated, throughout Sahej Bakshi’s set.
The Vibe
Being in your toes, each within the metropolis and on the competition, does have its distinctive benefits. You get to expertise the rapid change in vibes inside footsteps. Day One served as an appetizer of this when a swarm of the group, largely Gen-Z youngsters, rushed to the Halsey stage, barely leaving any room for casuals like me. But it surely wasn’t simply the youthful of us who appeared topped up on never-ending power. Minutes earlier than The Jonas Brothers’ units, the identical Gen-Z youngsters have been then seen dashing together with millennials, whose “jiju, juju” chanting performed a reasonably healthful backdrop to Nick Jonas performing with King for ‘Maan Meri Jaan’.
On the second day, although, I fell sufferer to this, shedding an (inside) tear to Keane’s ‘Someplace Solely We Know’, minutes earlier than bumping elbows with equally emotionally confused males to get to the entrance of the One Republic set.
Amidst all of the dashing, the guts of town and the competition lies in quieter, extra refined moments. You may stumble upon long-lost mates you haven’t seen in years. As an illustration, a fellow competition attendee, Sneha, a 33-year-old Medical Skilled from Mumbai, ran into her college mates after greater than a decade, who then went on to spend the night collectively, planning to catch up for brunch. On the flip facet, it’s additionally an amazing place to keep away from folks. Later, by way of social media, I found that two of my exes and one other new connection had attended the competition—a clumsy scenario if the situation and event have been incorrect.
However each nice act deserves a memorable ending. For Lollapalooza 2024, it was the hour-and-a-half, 16-song set by Sting, the 72-year-old Basic Rock icon, who opened his efficiency with “Kasa kay, Mumbai?” in reasonably spectacular Marathi. What unfolded later nearly felt like a microcosm of town’s soul. Each younger and outdated, celebrities, and commoners got here collectively to expertise a masterclass, with the Grammy Awards-winning singer delivering hits from “Each Breath You Take” to “Desert Rose,” culminating within the crescendo of Roxanne.
The Finish?
However what’s really and fascinatingly annoying is town’s and its inhabitants’ sheer audacity in shifting on with tempo. A Sting efficiency in India a decade in the past would have remained a speaking level for years. But, plans have been heard of the subsequent Ed Sheeran live performance or the subsequent G-Eazy one. It now by some means feels just like the music tradition in India has not solely leapt gentle years however can also be on the precipice of being the subsequent sizzling spot of the world. The query then stays: who’s Lollapalooza India going to carry subsequent to face the unfazed?
