What this year’s much-anticipated music festival Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pune might be lacking in star power, it is making up for with a curation of niche musicians, many of whose art is as personal as political and thought-provoking.
The three-day music festival, Bacardi NH7 Weekender, being held in Pune for the past 14 years, is hosting over 45 international and Indian artists this year including M.I.A., YG, Memba, Ezra Collective, Moments, Daler Mehdi, Euphoria, Priya Ragu, Jai Wolf.
While music, dance, food and drinks in what is called the “happiest music festival” every year will be aplenty, something is visibly new.
With an all women lineup for its main act scheduled on the second day to special inclusivity efforts such as gender-neutral washrooms and frisking lines, and sustainability efforts, the festival seems to be taking on a new avatar with socially conscious statements.
A closer look at this year’s artist lineup reveals an eclectic set of musicians who have got something to say.
London-born daughter of Sri Lankan refugees, Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam, better known by her stage name M.I.A., is one of the few who was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar in the same year. She will be part of the all-female lineup scheduled for the main stage on the second day of the festival.
Whether it has been sharing refugee stories, questioning Western imperialism or making controversial statements about the vaccine, MIA has not shied away from bringing her views on sociopolitics in her art.
One of the highlights has been Ezra Collective, an inventive jazz music band that has produced songs like ‘Colonial Mentality’ and ‘You Can’t Steal My Joy’. Drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, son of Nigerian parents who migrated to the US, has been vocal about issues faced by youth and the need for accessibility.
The band has explored not just diverse styles of music but also various themes from social identity to mental health, the need for joy and love in community.
Priya Ragu, a Tamil-Swiss artist familiar with unwelcome identities, sang ‘Let Me Breathe’ during the Black Lives Matter 2020 movement. From questioning gender norms for South Asian women to capturing the joy of multiple cultures, her jazzy music often laden with Tamil vocals has built a niche for itself.
Among these artists is also Punjabi-American rapper Alo Wala, Chicago-born Shivani Ahluwalia, who gives her disco dance floor a heady twist with numbers she refers to as ‘fantasy protest songs’.
Compared to last year’s show headlined by the international folk band The Lumineers, this year’s line up was touted by some fans and regular visitors as relatively subdued. The organisers however pointed out that there are many more international artists (14) featuring this year compared to last, when there were only three.
NH7 festival director Tej Brar told The Indian Express, “Our festival is genre agnostic and we try to curate a diverse artist programme for all kinds of audiences”
“It also depends on how one understands star power. Nothing gets more mainstream than Big Boss and we have its winner MC Stan featuring in the festival. MIA has been a big name, that too of the Indian diaspora, in the industry and this will be her first performance in India. Daler Mehdi, needless to say, is a musical legend in India. The classic Indian band that many of us grew up listening to Euphoria has chosen to celebrate their 25th year with us. We have the very talented YG for hip hop lovers,” said Brar.
