This year’s Vh1 Supersonic was an incredible whirlwind of great music and greater vibes. Read more about it below!
Come December and thousands of music fans descend upon Goa, each and every one of them making their way an uninhibited musical experience.Β Itβs that time of the year when the quaint beach town of Candolim turns into the hottest international dance music capital as Vh1 Supersonic 2015 commencesΒ for itsΒ third and spectacular year. The Sherp, your eyes and ears at the festival, was very pleased with this edition, and brought back some great memories. Here are a fewΒ things that enhancedΒ the festival experience this year at Vh1 Supersonic.
1. Free water
In a country like India, where irrespective of the season, the air is doomed with an eternal summer, free water is a blessing. There have been many tragic incidents at international music festivals because of lack of water, or high pricing of the same. We were extremely glad to see water being distributed free of charge at Supersonic.
(Image Via: Vh1 Supersonic Facebook/Eric)
2. Awakenings stage: featuring Adam Bayer, Joris Voorn & Luigi Madonna
Host to some of the most incredible performances, the Awakenings stage was a definitive highlight of the festival. From Adam Beyer’s unmatched techno prowess, Joris Voorn’s much-anticipated set, and Luigi Madonna’s incredible prog-house beats, the Awakenings stage was all you could have expected and more.
(Image Via: Vh1 Supersonic Facebook/Legero)
3. Iron Heart stage: featuringΒ Disclosure, Zedd, W&W & Axwell
The Iron Heart stage, with its immaculate construction and design that would give most stages at international music festivals a run for their money, was one of the aesthetic highlights of the festival. Designed by VJ Kaycee, this stage was as complex in terms of design as it was massive. Take a look at the image below to understand the many elements that went into the construction and design. Many great artists performed at this stage, including Zedd, Disclosure, Nervo, Lost Stories, Albin Myers.
(Image Via: Jeethendra Saran | Festival Sherpa)
4. The lounges
The lounges, namely – the V18 Lounge, the Miller Lounge, and the Jim Beam Lounge were laid-back zones at the festival arena, enabling attendees exhausted by the sun and scouting the vast venue to take a break and relax. Located strategically around the arena, these lounges were a great installment at the festival.
5. The Miller activityΒ
One of the most creatively insane ideas we’ve come across presented itself at the festival this year. Organized by Miller, this activity included parachutes holding free beer coupons, that were being droppped from the sky via drones. To the attendees’ delight, these coupons granted free beer to the one who caught the parachute. This caught the attention of many attendees and made for an engaging activity.
(Image Via: Vh1 Supersonic Facebook/Nishant Matta Photography)
6. The reasonableΒ alcohol prices: Rs. 100 for drinks
Exorbitant alcohol prices are one of the primary complaints of regular festival goers. Supersonic, however, took matters into account and maintained reasonable prices on all alcoholic beverages. This was a great change of pace, especially for attendees who had traveled far to get to the festival, having spent a lotto get to Goa already.
(Image Courtest : Vh1 Supersonic)
7. Production & visuals Β
The production, stage design, sound, and the visuals were something we would like to take a moment to appreciate. There are many things that can go wrong at a festival as large-scale as this one, and that makes the production perpetuallyΒ tedious. But Supersonic handled their impeccable sound, stage management and visuals immaculately this week.
(Image Courtesy : Jeethendra Saran | Festival Sherpa)
8. Safety & security
One of our major concerns at festivals like these, large-scale and uber-crowded, is the safety and security of all attendees. Drug overdoses and claustrophobia have been causes of deaths at music festivals this year, and we were very apprehensive about the same this week. However, the abundance of CCTV cameras all around the venue, as well as many security personnel in every corner of the arena was quite reassuring. The emcees on the three stages also reinforced focus on women’s safety, encouraging fans to leave enough spacenear the stage for people to comfortably pass by.
(Image Via: Jeethendra Saran | Festival Sherpa)
9. The manyΒ bars
The worst kind of buzzkill at a festival is the impenetrable queue at the bars. Fortunately, there were numerous bars located strategically at Supersonic, in order to avoid a commotion at any of them. This made getting a drink much easier, as well as quicker, for everyone.
(Image Via: Vh1 Supersonic Facebook)
10.Β The everlasting afterparties
For all you nocturnal party-goers, Vh1 organized excellent afterparties featuring surprise sets by international artists – such as Adam Beyer, who lit up the Awakenings afterparty at Waters, and Netsky at the UKF afterparty at Lambretta. These afterparties were downright vivacious, and went on till mid-morning, almost till 9AM. Here is Anil Chawla playing at the Vh1 Supersonic afterparty at 8 am!
11. The sands of Candolim
Lastly, one thing we absolutely adored were the beaches of Candolim. It was a nice break from the concrete of the cities to be able to kick back and take in the serenity of the sea. Not to mention, our feet thanked us for the supple sand, instead of uneven grounding, later. We hope to experienceΒ anotherΒ musically gratifyingΒ soirΓ©e next year. Stay tuned to The Sherp.
(Image Via: Jeethendra Saran | Festival Sherpa)