Two weekends ago, Pune witnessed and was home to this year’s first edition of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender, also called (fondly) as India’s happiest music festival. And while it was a delightful mixture of high energy performances by some of our favorite homegrown talent it still maintained its legendary happy vibe.
Here’s the The Sherp’s compilation of what made the Bacardi Nh7 Weekender, Pune THE awesomes-t weekend in October.
1. Makin’ Bacon
Honestly, this was all everyone could talk about. “Have you checked out Makin Bacon?” “Dude, you have to eat there!” If it was food that you wanted (granted you were a certified carnivore) it would have been a good idea to park yourself right outside this stall.
[Image Courtesy: Roycin D’souza]
The good people of the stall (Taronish Irani and Roycin D’souza) focused on giving people snacky + hangover munchies. The favorites being – The Bacon Burger, Bacon Fries and (surprisingly enough) the deep fried Mars/Snickers Bars.
Check out their website here!
2. Red Bull Tour Bus Stage
[Image Courtesy: NH7]
Just, boss. Or beast. Whatever you’d prefer, actually. The stage looked great and the artists who performed on it never looked or sounded better. Definite highlight: The Party Scribe set.
3. Plastic Graffiti
[Image Courtesy : NH7]
The Breezer Dub Station was a work of art all by itself, thanks to all the elaborate and beautiful graffiti that adorned the stage area. The really unique part of it all, was that it was painted on plastic sheets.
4. The Levi’s NH7 Pioneer Studio
The Levis DIY T-shirt stall was undeniably the most creative, kitschy and frequented stall at the festival. Here you could pick and make your T-shirt design to your liking. A variety of stencils were carved into some interesting festival-y designs – that included favorites like the Dualist’s T-shirt design and Nucleya’s famous catch-phrase F*@k that shit! The Sherp went ahead and got to making a few master pieces for himself.
5. “F*@k that shit”
[Image Courtesy : NH7]
Saturday saw what some would call liveliest gigs to have ever taken place at the Eristoff Wolves Den. Armed with his bass-heavy sound and a brand new album ‘Koocha Monster’ to boot, Nucleya literally tore up the place. His set packed in the stage to it’s maximum capacity. Subsequently, during the All Star set the next day, Nucleya’s name and catch-phrase ‘Fuck that shit!’ was chanted by a bevy of fans. A clear indicator that his music and presence was a unanimous favorite at the festival! And rightly so.
6. The Drizzle during the Dualist Inquiry Band
Much to squealing fan-girls’ delight, Sahej Bakshi along with the newly formed Dualist Inquiry Band (with Jiver & Sandunes) performed as a surprise at the Eristoff Wolves Den on the last day. The set had all the right energy and groove but what made it nothing short of beautiful, was the slight drizzle that began towards the end of the set. (Which was also one of the last sets of the day). Honestly, there’s something cathartic about listening to live music in the rain. Consider The Sherp delightfully cleansed.
7. The Bars
I mean, DUH. And how nice of the organizers to cater to straight edge kids and under 25-ers with their superb mocktail bar! Respect.
8. The Buckets
Talk about raining buckets. Of course, the infamous Weekender buckets made their presence very known. Lots of happy people were seen running around hugging their favorite (and over-sized) red-plastic tumblers.
9. Lying on the grass
[Image Courtesy: NH7]
Most fun and seemingly popular weekender activity: taking naps on the grass. In a span of a short three years, this has become a weekender tradition and is a testament to the chilled out vibe the festival is associated with.
10. Acoustic Jam at the Dewarist Stage
[Image Courtesy: NH7]
After an intense sets like the NH7 All Stars and The Dualist Inquiry Band, the Acoustic Jam at The Dewarist lawns was a perfect wrap to a perfect day. Every artist headed there for an impromptu jam session, with attendees sitting around on the grass also actively taking part in it. This is what the Weekender is all about.