Upcoming Music Festivals On Our Radar: February to April 2023
From city-based, day-long events like Awestrung Reloaded to long-running festivals like Mahindra Blues, Bangalore Open Air and Vh1 Supersonic, we count down to what’s next
A glimpse of Lollapalooza India in Mumbai in January 2023. Photo: Fleck Media
It’s been just a few days since Lollapalooza India made a formidable mark with its debut edition in Mumbai on January, but music festival season still has a lot of heavy hitters, new entrants and returnees through February, March and even April. While there’s no peep about the return of beloved gatherings like wine and music festival SulaFest or the crowdfunded Control ALT Delete just yet, here’s what you can mark on your calendars.
Mahindra Blues Festival 2023
When: February 11th and 12th
Where: Mehboob Studios, Mumbai
The international bluesmen extraordinaire return, as does Mahindra Blues Festival to its original home in Mehboob Studios, Mumbai. The two-day festival will host Buddy Guy (who is on his farewell tour), Taj Mahal, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Ivan Singh, plus Kolkata artist Arinjoy Sarkar.
Get tickets here.
GIFLIF Indiestaan Music Festival
When: February 18th and 19th
Where: MMT DDX Drive-In Cinema, Bhopal
Among Bhopal’s front-running music events to arguably introduce a festival-going culture in the city, GIFLIF Indiestaan Music Festival will feature a range of pop, rock and fusion artists across two days at a drive-in cinema. That includes Lucky Ali, Kerala’s Thaikkudam Bridge, Mumbai’s Anand Bhaskar Collective and Bombay Bandook, singer-songwriter and poet Kavish Seth and fusion act The Western Ghats.
Get tickets here.
Awestrung Reloaded: Valentine Edition
When: February 8th
Where: Dublin Square, Phoenix Market City, Mumbai
You don’t have to be a believer in Valentine’s Day to show up for the day-long “marathon concert” that’s Awestring Reloaded. The multi-genre music event will feature singer-songwriter Osho Jain, pop artist Avanti Nagral, DJs Candice Redding and Sartek, plus rock band The Yellow Diary’s frontman Rajan Batra’s solo set. Also on the bill are the likes of hip-hop act 7Bantai’Z, Sohail Nathani, Shia x Zero Chill and more.
Get tickets here.
Far Out Left
When: February 10th and 11th
Where: AntiSOCIAL, Mumbai
Electronic music gathering Far Out Left sets up at AntiSOCIAL in Mumbai in the coming week, bringing together international DJ-producers such as Jay Carder, Anthony Rother, Ok Williams and topline Indian artists behind the decks, including Anushka, Bast, Dotdat, Kiss Nuka, Kohra, Twokid Wickid, Zequenx, Rafiki and Zokhuma, among others.
Get tickets here.
Oddball Festival
When: February 17th (Mumbai), February 18th (Bengaluru), February 19th (New Delhi)
Where: Phoenix Marketcity (Mumbai and Bengaluru), DLF Avenue, Saket (New Delhi)
The inaugural edition of the traveling property Oddball Festival kicks off in Mumbai on February 17th, followed by shows in Bengaluru on February 18th and New Delhi on February 19th. With a headline set by virtuosic trio The Aristocrats – comprising Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann – the festival also includes performers like Blackstratblues, Bloodywood and Japanese act KOIAI ft Li-sa-X. Most recently, Parvaaz have been added to the Mumbai lineup, which sees them alongside rock band Kraken and MaMoGi ft Lydian Nadhaswaram.
Get tickets here.
SteppinOut Music Festival Arena
When: February 17th (Bengaluru), February 18th (Mumbai)
Where: Byg Brewski Hennur (Bengaluru), The Lalit (Mumbai)
Following their big multi-day edition in Bengaluru in December, SteppinOut Music Festival is going the arena route, bringing down French multi-instrumentalist and producer FKJ for two shows in Bengaluru and Mumbai. It marks the first time the artist is returning to India following the pandemic and while the rest of the lineup isn’t out yet, he’s clearly the biggest draw.
Get tickets here.
CalBunka Reboot 2023
When: February 18th and 19th
Where: The Stadel, Kolkata
Smoke Inc, one of Kolkata’s long-standing promoters when it comes to indie music, are bringing back their music, food, art and combat sports gathering CalBunka this month. With the likes of fusion veteran Shubhen Chatterjee with his band Karma and Goa-based electronic-rock act Signal W already announced, CalBunka brings a much-needed festival to the city.
Get tickets here.
Vh1 Supersonic
When: February 24th to 26th
Where: Mahalakshmi Lawns, Pune
The first edition to take place since 2020, Vh1 Supersonic returns to Pune after three years owing to the pandemic. They’ve been plotting away as big as they come, with Vh1 Supersonic Mainstage shows also taking place in Bengaluru so far. The headliners include British pop artist Anne-Marie, Nigerian singer CKay, plus mainstays like singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad and rap star DIVINE, among others.
Get tickets here.
Jazz Weekender
When: February 25th and 26th
Where: 1AQ, New Delhi
Originally slated to take place last year, the much-anticipated Jazz Weekender injects the capital city with a festival vibe this February. While the lineup is still awaited, the promoters say we can expect international and Indian artists across jazz, crossovers into neo-soul, R&B, fusion, electronica, big band and funk.
Get tickets here.
Mahindra Roots
When: February 24th and 26th
Where: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Bandra Fort Amphitheater, AntiSOCIAL – Mumbai
The latest addition to the music festival circuit and yet another music festival by Mahindra and promoters/producers Hyperlink, the first edition of Mahindra Roots Festival includes Raghu Dixit, Tajdar Junaid, Alif, Abhanga Repost, Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, Rasika Shekar, M.D. Pallavi, Apoorva Krishna, Alif and more across three venues and three days.
Get tickets here.
Bangalore Open Air
When: April 1st
Where: TBA, Bengaluru
With a few postponements, Bangalore Open Air will finally return on April 1st (and that’s no joke). The long-running metal festival is expected to bring down Dutch death metal band Pestilence, American metalcore band Born of Osiris, Bengaluru metallers Kryptos, Kerala’s thrash metal trio Amorphia and more.
Get tickets here.
Hibernate
When: TBA, March
Where: TBA, Mumbai
While more details and a full lineup is awaited for this new day-long festival, promoters Bohemian Entertainment promise a festival fully dedicated to prog, post-rock and post-metal and experimental music at Hibernate. Expect heavy, euphoric and journeying, cathartic acts from India, with an international headliner, whom the festival hints is a “post-rock legend from Europe.”
Get more details here.
Zomaland Bangalore
When: March 18th and 19th
Where: Embassy International Riding School, Bengaluru
Zomaland has been food delivery app Zomato’s traveling music and food festival that’s hit several cities over the past few months, from New Delhi to Pune to Hyderabad with indie artists and mainstream headliners in tow. The Bengaluru edition is likely to be no different when it comes to programming, with two days of multi-genre acts.
Get tickets here.
