From hard rock to dance music, the Storm Festival hosts a varied range of musical performances and is also considered to be India’s first eco-conscious music festival. The inaugural edition of the festival was held in 2012 and since then its popularity has grown over the years attracting music lovers from a large spectrum of Indian cities.
“We have seen the demand for the Storm Festival going up as we have been speaking to industry pundits, artists and audiences who have given us valuable feedback to improve on various aspects every time the festival happens,” states Lavin Uthappa, managing director, Liquidspace Entertainment, a Begaluru based event management company organising the Storm festival.
The festival is based on the concept of united Djs (disc jockeys), an idea conceived by Uthappa and his elder brother Sachin Bopanna, director, Liquidspace Entertainment. The concept was further tweaked to Storm Festival, after which it took ten years for the brothers to convert the idea into a reality. In fact, lot of innovations that were ideated for the Storm Festival were seen in events produced under the Liquidspace banner, as well as others. Still, the concept of the Storm Festival was intact, a full scale camp out music festival in the hills of Coorg. “There are many concepts that make the festival different. The care towards the eco system is just one of them. Storm is the passion towards nature and music. It celebrates togetherness, camaraderie and the religion called music. That is why it is designed to be a camp-out music festival. It is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Storm also celebrates freedom from the binding pressures of city life,” explains Uthappa.
Last year, the festival was held in collaboration with award-winning musical composer and playback singer Shankar Mahadevan and Indian Ocean, an Indian rock band considered to be pioneers of the fusion rock genre in India. The organisers also increased the stages from four to five comprising – MTV Indie Stage showcasing world music; Dance Music Stage for EDM, electronica, dance music; Songwriters Stage for non-mainstream talent, singer-songwriters; Plug n Play Stage for artists from Voice of Storm and new talent; and Camp Jam Stage exclusively for campers (artists and visitors to perform together).
People travelling from other parts of India and tourists from abroad has risen from the first edition of the Storm Festival. “It is indeed a pleasure to cater to these audiences because it drives us to enhance the production quality and the performances through music. Music collaborations between renowned musicians is something Storm has always bettered year after year and this shall be innovated taking audience requirements into consideration,” mentions Uthappa. While retaining the essence of the festival, the organisers will focus on expanding its reach. “Our vision is to get a mention in every music lover’s calendar as a ‘to do’ every year,” he asserts.
Growing awareness
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| Sachin Bopanna and Lavin Uthappa |
Demand for music festivals has seen a steady growth in the last few years in India and it is a welcoming aspect for the music industry and the economy since it also boosts tourism. “Not far are the days when we will see some of our own Indian music festivals as destination music festivals like some of the international ones outside India,” predicts Uthappa adding that music festivals like the Storm can be leveraged to attract both national and international tourists. “Promoting tourism through music in one of the most scenic destinations in India will surely attract a lot of domestic as well as international tourists. India being one of the most sought after destinations in the world adds to the fact that tourism is only going to increase,” opines Uthappa.
However, he stresses on the need for state tourism departments to promote music festivals in India so as to contribute to the growth of the economy in that particular region. “Financial support and operational support from the government and working in tandem with organisers will not just boost tourism but also the economy of the country,” opines Uthappa adding that one window permission from all authorities, least operational timelines for issuing permissions, relaxation of taxes wherever applicable, more dedicated venues under the government bodies and maintained jointly by the government and the festival organisers/corporates are few initiatives that the government should take up.
(As told to Rituparna Chatterjee)
