A Trip Down Memory Lane With Bacardi Nh7 Weekender Pune 2016!

To say that the Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pune has had an illustrious journey would be an understatement. We take you down on a journey with India’s ‘Happiest music festival’!

Over the past few years, the Indian festival circuit has been overcrowded with numerous EDM-based music festivals. But there’s been one consistent player who has continuously changed the game each year. The Bacardi NH7 Weekender has been responsible for getting some of the most celebrated international as well as Indian acts on the front stage. They have played a large role in keeping the alternative music scene alive and booming for the past 4-5 years.

The idea for the one-of-a-kind festival originated when, in 2009, Stephen Budd, a British music executive happened to meet up with none other than Vijay Nair, CEO of Only Much Louder in Mumbai. This meeting led Vijay to travel to the UK where Budd introduced him to Martin Elbourne, also known as the man for booking the massive Glastonbury festival each year. This congregation of brains and ideas led the trio to host the first ever Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune in 2010!

We take a peek into the eventful journey the festival has had over the years!

2010

The inaugural edition of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender graced the beautiful city of Pune in 2010. The organisers roped in some of the best Indian acts with varying genres. Scribe, Bhayanak Maut, The Raghu Dixit Project and Pentagram were just some of the names on the impressive roster. The international acts, who also made their presence at the three day festival, were Asian Dub Foundation and The Magic Numbers. The first edition saw over 30 odd acts spread over four different stages. Not bad at all!

2011

After the roaring success of the first edition, the Bacardi NH7 Weekender made its way back to Pune, but this time the venue was the now famous – Laxmi Lawns in Magarpatta. The 2011 run saw over 25,000 people in attendance which was massive compared to the previous year. The stages also saw a new addition which now increased the tally to 5 diverse stages. The international artists, which the festival roped in, saw a huge improvement as well. Imogen Heap, DJ Bobby Friction and Basement Jaxx were the biggest names for that years edition. Other Indian artists on the line up included Midival Punditz, Indian Ocean and Swarathma among many more!

2012

2012 was a game-changing year for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender. By now, they had amassed a huge loyal audience who would turn up to Pune every year for three days to celebrate the talent and the bonhomie. In their third year, they expanded to Delhi and Bangalore. They had also grown in numbers, massively! Now the festival comprised of over 200 artists, 60 pre-festival gigs all around the city and 6 stages!

The line-up for the 2012 edition was nothing short of spectacular! Fans were treated to Karnivool, Megadeth, Anoushka Shankar, Fink and The Bombay Bicycle Club among many more!

2013

2013 saw the Bacardi NH7 Weekender expand to a new city – Kolkata, along with Bangalore, Pune and Delhi. Year after year, the festival started to put together some of the most versatile acts from all over the world on their stages. This year was no different. They got their hands on Chase and Status, Meshuggah, MUTEMATH, Noisia and Benga, Nucleya, SICKFLIP and Shaa’ir and Func.

The festival closed out in grand fashion with Karsh Kale, the members of Pentagram, Dualist Inquiry, Nucleya and Monica Dogra all coming out on stage to indulge in a mad jamming session for the ages! If you were there, you know what you witnessed was legendary!

2014

The Bacardi NH7 Weekender, by now, had found its footing and established themselves as the only festival in the industry which would attract people of all ages and music choices to just come and revel in the madness! By now, the festival had become a staple event in all four cities at the end of each year.

The 2014 edition of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune was, no doubt, going to another banging year, and it was! They managed to get some of the biggest rock names on the roster for 2014. MUTEMATH, Fear Factory, Dinosaur Pile-Up and Luke-Sital Singh were just some of the biggies on the mad line-up. Amit Trivedi, AIB, Voctronica and Indus Creed were just some of the Indian names on the multi-genre line up!

A new addition to the festival that year was Shilo Shiv Suleman’s acclaimed art installation ‘Pulse and Bloom’ which had made a debut at that years’ ‘Burning Man’ festival as well!

2015

The most recent edition to the festival probably was the biggest and baddest of them all. The line-up for the 2015 Bacardi NH7 Weekender was the stuff of dreams. You had Indian acts like A.R. Rahman, Niladri Kumar, Baba Sehgal and L. Subramaniam taking over entertainment duties.

While this was enough to make an attendee drool, the international acts was a whole new level. The organisers managed to get their hands on Mark Ronson, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mogwai, Megadeth, Flying Lotus and SBTRKT among many more. Just read that above line again, unbelievable right? In 2015, another city was added to the nation wide festival- Shillong!

2016

With just a few days left for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pune 2016 to go down, we’re sure you have all the reasons to go for this year’s edition and not make the mistake of missing out on it! The line-up for this years three day festivities has mammoths like Steven Wilson, Jose Gonzalez, RAC, DJ Premier, Nucleya, Anoushka Shankar and Shankar Mahadevan: My Country, My Music among many many more!

The Bacardi NH7 Weekender has had an impressive run to say the least. They’ve slowly become one of the most preferred places to go for, when you just want to chill with your buddies, relax and enjoy some of the best music in the world. It indeed is- The happiest music festival!

Make sure to buy your tickets here!

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