Cirkus Indigo, the first music festival Bangalore can actually call its own, was a matter of pride for hosts and Bangalore boys Nikhil Chinapa and Rohit Barker as well as every EDM fan who walked into Jayamahal Palace on the 1st and 2nd of March.
The Venue
The Jayamahal Palace is an ideal location for two reasons. Firstly, it is centrally located and hence the hassle of reaching the location is not a problem. The additional benefit is that passer-by’s are drawn to the source of ‘that bass beat’ if they weren’t already tuned in to Radio Indigo 91.9FM which aired of the show. Secondly, the palace provides an aesthetic value to the festival just by presenting itself as a backdrop.
A large open area with three bars and a huge stage with intense lightwork and visuals was your set up for the festival. A food and hippie market was available close to the main stage for knick-knacks and funky accessories, although not many made use of it. The décor and appeal of the festival was mainly centred in and around the area of the stage.
Having said that, the venue comfortably accommodated the number of guests present in terms of space to dance and successfully get a drink at the bar without waiting for an hour.
The Line-Up
The festival began to pick up as Tuhin Mehta took stage. Bangalore loves Tuhin who plays regularly at parties and has a dedicated fan base. Hence, he got festival goers to get off the grass and dance. Kid Crème took over and kept the energy high as more people poured in and the vibe of the evening began to set it.
The highlight of day one was none other than Dance republic. The sentiments attached to the duo of Nikhil Chinappa and Rohit Barker and their Bangalore roots works like a charm. That complimented by good music had the crowd going nuts. It also set stage for Justin Prime and Stefano Noferini who followed and escalated the energy further.
Although the rain poured midway through Stefano Noferini, the festival spirit wasn’t dampened. Most embraced the rain with the great music until the party was forced to move to the indoor venue of the after party.
The after party was “sober” time. Due to management, entry was an issue as they overshot capacity and could not sell more tickets on spot and secondly drinks were hard to get if you had not already obtained your coupons earlier which most were unaware of.
Day 2 was definitely a whole lot better with much better weather and management lessons learnt. Turn out was also much higher as the evening promised the well known acts of Daddy’s Groove, Norman Doray and Alvaro .
The excitement hit the roof when Daddy’s Groove was joined on stage by Nikhil and Rohit Barker who brought out their guns. No literally, smoke guns to go along with the remix of ‘She shot me down’. The hosts also joined Norman Doray and danced alongside him on the console.
Alvaro wrapped up the evening with a great set, dampened slightly by the sound problems he had for five minutes. His aerial video camera drone got everyone excited again as Bangalore’s EDM lovers did a sit down, jump up routine for the video and continued dancing into the night. (until 10pm atleast till we were thrown out!)
The Vibe
Although the activities at the festival were limited, the highlight remained the music and venue. Cirkus Indigo was one big dance party with every single individual letting go to some great music. A few people present came with their festival spirit and put on hats, masks and party accessories. Lazy afternoons of food and sprawling on the grass, drink in hand, was quickly turned into nonstop dancing towards the end of the night.
The party shut by 10 pm in true Bangalore style but all in all, it was a well spent weekend for EDM lovers, myself included.
(Photo credits : Cirkus Indigo Facebook Page)