Pune – December 29th, 2016: After an awe-inspiring but exhausting first day at Sunburn, the party carried on, with some stellar performances lined up on Day 2. Festival goers were ready for another day of their favourite music, braving the heat and traffic to reach the festival in time to see their favourite DJs.
Those who got there early, checked out some of the other attractions at the massive venue. While some checked out the ferriswheel rides others tried to survive the mechanical bull, while others tried to get a bit of an adrenaline rush from the bungee jumping. The flea market was buzzing with over 30 scrumptious food stalls with an assortment of menus to choose from and some street style urban merchandise stores apart from the lively activity zone thronged with campers. The adventure junkies engaged in some volleyball to paintball to badminton to archery to rock wall climbing to zipline during the day. The camping’s chill out zone had enthusiasts lazing on recliner beds enjoying sheesha to couples spending alone time at the open air theatre to girl gangs competing at karaoke sessions over bonfires and barbeque. A big advantage this season was a hassle free experience at food and retail outlets that were functional on RFID cards and the Sunburn Smart Band which prevented long queues enabling a 360-degree cashless experience. When the music wasn’t so enticing enough, the fest had photo stages and a Wi-Fi zone for those who ran out of battery for selfies. The relaxation lounges with colored bean bags allowed festival goers to rest those dancing feet but didn’t find many takers.
Day 2 stepped up a notch higher. With Mumbai’s Shaan on the Rayban Shaan & Friends Stage accompanied by Joshi and Kash Trivedi; Lucas & Steve, New Delhi’s Zaeden and KERANO on the Main Stage, there was no dearth of electro and progressive house that matched truly global standards. Other artists at the Rayban Stage like Robert Falcon and Ray, kept the music and merriment going on with some deep house, tech-house, deep techno, nu-disco & indie dance, the Sunburn style.
The female acts at the Main Stage made some heads turn. The first female artist to appear on Smash The House, MATTN mixed some underground and mainstage styles proving her prowess as one of the hottest young female artists in the electronic circuit. Actress turned model turned DJ Julia Bliss dished out some edgy deep house, down tempo and had the festival goers asking for more.
Innovative entertainment property District 808 with a vision to introduce new sub-genres of electronic music in the mainstream industry, made its debut in India with its own stage featuring acts like DJ SA, Momis Alanis, Teri Miko, Sound Avtar, Broz Rdz LNY TNZ and SA vs SA. The artists played some phenomenal trap, bass, future house and dubstep coupled with grunge elements, garage, hangar, sci-fi and apocalypse in the production set-up. A fits time in the history of festivals, this support stage culminated with a closing act (not a regular feature at the support stages), coupled with Sunburn’s fabulous and eclectic foray of special effects comprising C02 blasts, pyro, confetti, blinder lights, SFX and laser. Between each performing act, a special District 808 Show was executed which lasted upto 10 minutes each, laden with choreographed special effects. District808 also played host to a special District 808 Arena at the artist village in the form of a gaming zone where artists and fans indulged in Playstation4 competitions. The entire gaming sequences were streamed live on the largest network of live game streaming across the globe, Twitch TV.
With an arsenal consisting of psychedelic superstars, the Soma Stage hosted stellar acts such as Raimand, Sashanti, Bjorn Wilke and Djuma Soundsystem who delivered some of the best sets of the day in a tucked away corner.
Breaking away from the bog room acts, the Vinyl Stage in the form a mobile ambulance featured Ignatius Camilo Ignatius Camilo aka Iggy (G.U.T/ Gandu Records) , Fintushami (G.U.T/ Gandu Records), Matsehora (Raunchy Poses) and Thee J Johanz (Ballyhoo Records) giving an underground vibe to the festival
Besides being a fantastic entertainer, Polish DJ Tom Swoon set the trail blazing for Dimitri Vegas Like Mike with their vocal-led tracks such as Live For the Night, Broken Record, Come & Get It and Enjoy The Ride. The festival goers went crazy with Tom Swoon’s rendition of Bollywood number Wakhra Swag. The audience swarmed to the front of the stage as Middle Eastern-inspired melodies opened the duo's performance before bursts of post-EDM synths rang through the arena.
Bringing their infectious energy to the Main Stage - Dimitri Vegas Like Mike, whose set even included two dancers up on stage besides the laser shows, fire guns and all the bells and whistles, know their audiences inside out. The energy was only amplified by the fact that the Belgian brothers looked like they were having so much fun on stage.
A name to reckon with on the Indian festival scene, Afrojack kicked in with a banger of a set, warming up the Main Stage for more bass wizardry playing his evergreen hits like Turn Up The Speakers, Ten Feet Tall, No Beef, Can’t Stop Me, The Spark and the likes. The expectations were immense, as a mammoth size of festival goers had gathered to see the Dutch DJ play his set. His set was a typical Afrojack set, filled with the kind of drops he’s famous for and he made sure fans who came in to see him perform weren’t disappointed. Imaginative, conceptual compositions and rhythmic ideas were the pillars of the act and revellers surely loved what Dutch legend Afrojack offered for over ninety minutes. He was at his best spinning some legendary old school tracks and it’s safe to say that his set was adrenaline pumping because of his own enthusiasm and the crowd’s love for his music.
Day 2 of the festival unfolded exactly as we’d imagined. The Main Stage, drew the biggest traffic. Everything about the stage was supersized – the LED screens, the installations, the fire guns and the lineup.
Festival goers at Sunburn are probably getting more cardio workouts than anyone else in the city right now as Day 3 fast approaches
Karan Singh, CEO Sunburn said, “We are overwhelmed with the response we have got from the student community of Pune. Today we saw a 25% increase in turnout from Day 1. We were able to tackle some of the issues that we faced yesterday since Sunburn Hills has found a new abode. We were able to deliver a much improved experience for our festival goers and thank the local authorities for their continued support. The locals of Kesnand have benefitted greatly right from transportation to F&B.”
Sunburn 10 returns with more madness, more music and more memories to make. With a combination of some of the biggest names in dance music with a carefully crafted selection of the very best and burgeoning talent from India and around the world, dance music aficionados were spoilt for choice. Stellar stand-out sets from a number of different dance genres pulsed through Kesnand, spanning over four days, totaling upto 10 hours per day, with spectacular performances by the world's finest electronic artists who performed alongside their Indian counterparts to give music fans the spiritual music experience they seek as an annual ritual. Trance, house, electro, techno, drum & bass, psychedelic, experimental – Sunburn