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Hours of hard rock, blues-rock, folk and rap by musicians who have been doing this for decades, winning ears across the country. Food stalls true to the Northeast and experiences for you to power up between sets. Entry… free? The only way this is possible is a collaboration that exists precisely because of what the North East Music Festival in Delhi stands for, as they put it: sound without conflict.
Its premise is positioned almost like a cultural exchange in music, sans the diplomatic niceties: you’re not being a patron of the arts and culture by joining in. Really, it seems to say that you’re missing out on some of the country’s biggest names in alternative music if you don’t go.
Gates open at 2:30 pm, with what the organisers call a community-curated space of food and shared experience, before the music takes over. Here's the excellent lineup:
Rewben Mashangva at 4.30pm : A Padma Shri-awarded folk artist from Manipur
Borkung Hrangkhawl at 5.10pm: Rap-rock heat from Agartala in Tripura
The Tetseo Sisters at 5.50pm: Mütsevelü (Mercy), Azine (Azi), Kuvelü (Kuku) and Alüne (Lulu) are a quartet from Nagaland who do something marvellous: pop-punk harmonies wrapped in folk tradition
Taba Chake at 6.30pm: Will keep the folk-rock pulse alive into the early evening from Arunachal Pradesh
By the time 7pm rolls around, and artists are trading stories, you'll likely realise you've been leaning forward for hours.
Interactive segments with the artists: At 7pm.
Reble at 7.45pm: Well, if you know, you know. If you don't: Daiaphi Lamare is a rapper from Meghalaya whose last single 'New Riot' – think nu-metal-edged, goth-industrial – earned the million mark on YouTube. Before that, she put three tracks on the Dhurandhar soundtrack alongside Sonu Nigam and Hanumankind. And she did her first international shows in Riyadh and Dubai last December.
This is a set that some people – you know those people – will catch early and claim taste ownership of. Don’t let them.
Parikrama, with Rudy Wallang & Girish Pradhan (GATC) at 8:30pm: Parikrama, one of the biggest rock bands Delhi has produced, is known for the fact that in the 30 or so years they’ve been around, they’ve never produced a studio-recorded album – preferring instead to record at live concerts and release music for free. They’re a natural pick for a festival that celebrates unity. And with Northeast rock royalty GATC, well, let’s just say this: they have been supporting acts for the likes of Poets of the Fall, Bullet for my Valentine, and Guns N’ Roses, among others. If you’re a fan of rock and metal from the eighties at all, do yourself the favour and block the Sunday before it’s spent in your bed with your headphones in, wondering why ‘all music today sounds the same’.
When: February 22
Where: JLN Stadium, Gate 17
Nearest metro: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Metro Station on Violet line
Price: Free. Reserve your spot on Skillbox or District.