Monsoons can be a real dampener to the festival calendar. But The Sherp firmly believes in the come-rain-come-shine sentiment, so weβre here to help you be on top of your festival game!
There is nothing like a good dose of downpour after a hot, torrid weather, replete with sun. This is an emotion many South Asians are all too familiar with. While most festivals in America and Europe go by without a hitch, because some rain just makes enjoying the music that much better. But out in South Asia where rain is literally a season, lasting for months, festivals and concerts are far too few, and most times, virtually non-existent.
So, instead, The Sherpβs here to help you have your own festival time during the torrential monsoons, because living without festivals is never an option.
Find a base
You can set up a music festival, literally anywhere. With it raining outside, it becomes essential that your festival base is indoors, so any indoor garage would work fine. Or, if you have a garden or a sizeable backyard, you can always cover it with a tarpaulin, supported by bamboo sticks. Setting the latter up will make you feel part of a festival crew, making the experience that much more fun. If you have the luxury of neither, make those important calls to your friends to have one arranged or pool in some money with your friends to maybe book a shed. It will cost a miniscule fraction of an actual festival ticket.
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Decorate it up
Festivals are usually grand, open spaces with minimal decoration. All you need is some materials thatβll help retain a very earthy vibe. A few fairy lights, especially multi-coloured, limited pieces of furniture, which can be easily substituted with mats, or bedsheets on the floor, and some posters and/or funky wall hangings, and youβre good to go.
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A tarpaulin shed, and you’re good to go for monsoons! (Image source: thedailybeast.com)
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Gather a like-minded audience
If you will be putting together a festival for your people, you can gather people who have the same penchant for music as you to make up the festival crowd. This will include your friends but Facebook and Twitter are great places for people wishing to sign up for the event, if you wish to make it a more outreached event. As going to festivals allows you to meet more interesting people, getting in more people from in and around your area, who love the music you do, would be a fun experiment worth trying out too.
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Bring together a band. Or two.
If you wish to have as authentic an indoor festival experience as possible, you can gather local bands. These can be your friends who jam together, or local rising artists. Bringing together a bunch of names will help you schedule acts, just like they happen at a regular festival. In fact, a small indoor festival as such is a great time for untrained singers to have a go at the mic. Who knows, you might find a hidden talent!
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Make your festival playlist
If getting together artists is not the idea, then you can put together a festival playlist. It can either be a massive 100 song playlist, or you can create your own festival wishlist line-up, right down to the headliner, and arrange songs accordingly, per artist. You can emcee your own event, and announce which artists it will be next, to make it seem as close as you can to an actual festival.
Potluck your festival food
Festival food stations are a mix of great variety, so for your indoor monsoon festival, you wouldnβt want to shoulder the responsibility of the food and drinks, all by yourself. Have people bring in food from their own house, so a healthy variety is ensured. Or order for food that would be customised to a music festival atmosphere!
(Image source: cloudkid.com)