Festival Report: Spoilsport Rain, Sunshine and Top-Notch Sets Ruled at Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival with Ronan Keating, Ne-Yo and More

After having to cancel last year’s edition of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Shillong, there was a ton of excitement knowing that it was back for 2023. However, things at the RBDSA Sports Complex – where the event was being held – didn’t go quite as planned. Scheduled from November 17th till the 19th, the organizers were all set to kick-off proceedings until the rain came in on day one to dampen the mood which led to the cancellation of performances for that day. However, on day two, thankfully it was bright and sunny, and things went ahead as planned. Across the festival ground were the three stages, the Main Stage, the Cherry Blossom Stage and The Dome as well as a shopping area, tons of food and beverage options and even a kid’s zone.

Snow White Sets the Tone and Ne-Yo Delivers

At around 5:30 pm the music began at the Main Stage with a set from Shillong hip-hop artist Banjop where he played his tracks “Bawsing” and “Sming Smong.” Next, Assam singer-songwriter/rapper Rahul Rajkhowa brought his eclectic sound to the festival from his silky vocals to fiery rap skills as well as some sublime fretwork too. Rajkhowa’s R&B pop sound and reggae rock elements included songs such as “Bad Girls” (his collab with K-Pop artist Jimmy Brown) and “Royalty” wherein he brought out rapper G’nie to join him on stage. This performance was followed by drummer Tenny, who also accompanied Rajkhowa earlier. Tenny showcased his prog-rock and electro-rock soundscapes through a blazing performance.

Over at the Cherry Blossom Stage, attendees were being treated to a fashion show while the Main Stage was gearing up to hear Shillong hard rock fusion band Snow White. The group were probably one of the standout acts at the festival. The group’s tight rhythm section, fiery guitar solos, soaring vocals and more had the crowd in a tizzy. What made Snow White’s set special was to see how their Khasi-led songs had most of everyone in the crowd sing along and join in which made for quite a moment. The band also performed an English song titled “Silhouette.” At the end of their set, all members of the group stood together and held up a banner that said, “Say no to drugs,” which was met by a big applause from the audience.

Next up was Portuguese Linkin Park tribute band Hybrid Theory’s rescheduled set as they were meant to play on day one. The band – who made their second India appearance after performing in Imphal last year – opened with “New Divide” which the American group recorded for the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The songs that followed included “BURN IT DOWN,” “Don’t Stay,” “With You,” “Lost,” “Given Up” and “Points of Authority.” Hybrid Theory then changed things up by performing the softer “One More Light” which had attendees turn on their phone flashlights and point them to the sky, as the band announced that the track was also a tribute to Linkin Park’s late frontman Chester Bennington. The group then marched on with hits such as “What I’ve Done,” “In The End,” “Numb” and “One Step Closer” before closing their raucous set with “Bleed It Out.”

The moment had now arrived for day two’s headliner, American R&B/pop artist Ne-Yo to make his India debut at the Cherry Blossom Festival. As soon as the singer stepped on the stage, folks in the crowd began cheering loudly with the opening number “Closer.” Dressed in all black with a hat, Ne-Yo was accompanied by his band and his two backup dancers, The Miss Rights, with all three of them busting out moves throughout the set. Ne-Yo then marched on with “One In A Million,” “Sexy Love,” his Juicy J collaboration “She Knows,” “Everybody Loves / The Def of You” and “U 2 Luv.” Ne-Yo was at his best with silky and honeyed vocals and plenty of dynamics. The singer then jumped into one of his hit songs, 2006’s “So Sick.”

During his performance of “PUSH BACK,” Ne-Yo invited three women from the crowd to come up on stage for a dance contest. Each of them put on quite a show, with the audience voting for contestant number two as the winner. At this point the singer performed a medley of tracks that he wrote for other artists which included “Hate That I Love You” (Rihanna) and “Irreplaceable” (Beyoncé). The Miss Rights then took center stage to showcase their dance moves before Ne-Yo came back out to sing a new song he released this year called “Link Up.” Next, he performed “She Got Her Own” before going into another hit that had the crowd going wild, “Miss Independent.” Ne-Yo then closed his set with dance numbers such as his David Guetta collab “Play Hard” and the Pitbull song “Give Me Everything.”

Lou Majaw Is a Real Rockstar and Ronan Keating Invokes Nostalgia

Day three of the festival saw DJ sets at the Dome stage which made for a house party atmosphere while the Cherry Blossom Stage hosted another fashion show as well as a choir contest. Over at the Main Stage hometown blues-rockers Blue Temptation brought the blues and how. The band’s setlist featured their songs “Evil Mind,” “Ramble,” “Tempted,” a Beatles medley and “Wash Your Sins” off their 2018 album Tempted. Blue Temptation’s frontman Daryll Diengdoh had the crowd in the palm of his hands while his bandmates each delivered to make them sound exquisite.

Up next was 76-year-old legendary Shillong rocker Lou Majaw who turned up the temperature in the cold Shillong air with a fiery set. Majaw opened with the pulsating “Ain’t Got Nothing,” before performing “Yakeroo Blues” and the reggae/rock number “Set Your Soul On Fire.” Majaw was at his utmost best taking his shirt off, teasing the crowd with his dance moves (even putting his guitar in between his legs) and just having an overall good time. Majaw is a rockstar in the truest sense and he’s still rocking hard even in his mid-seventies.

Soon it was time for day three headliner, Irish singer and songwriter Ronan Keating to come out to perform. Keating – who recently played shows in Mumbai and Bengaluru – was on the final leg of his 2023 India tour in Shillong. The musician kicked off his set with “Heyday” which swiftly turned into “Lovin’ Each Day.” The former Boyzone member then performed songs by the boy band such as “Isn’t It A Wonder,” “Baby Can I Hold You,” “Words,” and “You Needed Me.”

Keating then played “The Way You Make Me Feel,” his collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. The musician’s setlist also included his version of songs such as “If Tomorrow Never Comes” (by Garth Brooks) and “Father And Son” (by Cat Stevens). Another collaboration, this time with American singer-songwriter LeAnn Rimes called “Last Thing on My Mind” was heard. Of course, there was a loud cheer when Keating played the opening notes to “When You Say Nothing At All,” arguably his biggest hit. The singer’s closer tracks included Boyzone’s “When the Going Gets Tough,” a cover of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and the up-tempo “Life Is A Rollercoaster.” The artist showcased a vast range of sounds across his 90-minute set and even after being in the music industry for 30 years, he still checks all the boxes for being a top-notch artist.

After Keating, the Cherry Blossom organizers managed to squeeze in Mumbai pop-rock band Sanam after the Rolling Stone India December 2018 cover stars had to miss their headline set on day one due to the rain. The band talked about how they had no idea that they had fans in Shillong as they raced through their set with the crowd singing along to each track.

While the likes of Hybrid Theory and Sanam did manage to perform, most of the other acts from day one missed out on performing at the event. The festival also did have its set of issues such as delays, which saw the likes of hip-hop/R&B artist Meba Ofilia – who was supposed to go on before Ne-Yo – not make it to the stage. A recurring theme at Cherry Blossom was that although artists performed their own songs, there were tons of covers thrown in during their sets not only from those lower down the card but also the headliners. Of course, it’s great to play covers to please the audience but at the same time, it’s perhaps more enjoyable to perform your own music on a big stage and to a large crowd.  

Overall, even with its hiccups, the Cherry Blossom Festival delivered some incredible moments with almost everyone going home a happy camper. Hopefully, at future editions, the event will go off smoother without cancellations, but till then keep rocking Shillong!

All photos courtesy of the Cherry Blossom Festival.