From seafood to EDM: Goa begins holiday season with Oktoberfest

Panaji: The sunny beaches, sea food and alcohol are all here alright, but electronic dance music alone could be a big draw for music aficionados keen on putting Goa on their fun itinerary this party season.

Organisers of the state’s three biggest music festivals are expecting several hundred thousand music lovers in attendance in Goa this year, with the Oktoberfest, an Indian titular spin-off of the traditional German beer gala, has already made its mark here this season.

The festival, organised by Bullseye Entertainment, culminated Sunday, had a global line-up of performers lined up for this year.

“Oktoberfest 2014 witnessed Firebeatz, Gregori Klosman, Matisse & Sadko, Marco V, Tristan Garner, and Arston as headliners at the musical extravaganza. John 00 Fleming, Lost Stories, Vijay Chawla and others performed at the After Parties,” Munna Ruknuddin the event’s festival director told Firstpost.

Already into its fourth year, the three-day event marked the first big music festival in Goa during the tourist season, which conventionally begins in October and winds up in March and sees over three million tourists, half a million of which are foreigners. Ruknuddin claims that there is an increased interest in India among the global music performers and the fan base for this brand of music in the country is fast expanding.

“Also international artistes are interested in performing in India because of the growing interest and large fan-base in the country. Hence we see artistes from all over the world coming to India for individual performances and festivals,” he said.

Goa has always had a reputation for hosting high octane ‘music parties’, starting with wild trance music dos, which were a rage with the hippies decades back. The state is also home to a genre of trance music called ‘Goa Trance’ which was birthed here.

But Sunburn, Asia’s largest music festival, which is already in its eight season is a trailblazer of sorts as far as electronic dance music bashes are concerned. The festival is due to be hosted this year at Vagator beach, a picturesque beach located 25 kms north of Panaji, which gained popularity with mainstream tourists, after it featured as a prime backdrop in Aamir Khan’s cult classic film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’.

“Goa has a long history of music events, from traditional Konkani songs, to Portuguese orchestras to Goa trance. Goa is the ultimate tourist destination and the pride of India. We are happy to end the Sunburn calendar year in Goa. It’s nostalgic and emotional for us,” a spokesperson for Sunburn said, adding that annually music lovers from over 40 countries makes it to the festival which is being held from December 27-29, this year.

The festival has the entire range on EDM acts on display which includes underground, techno, deep house, drum and bass, among others. And hosting an event of such magnitude like this according to the organisers is big money, where the spend could go all the way up to Rs. 10 crore, depending on the size of the event.

The other event which runs almost concurrent to Sunburn is VH1 Supersonic, which expects an audience of over a lakh from December 27-30 and a participation of over 100 DJs.

“Today, EDM has become an integral music genre in India, especially among the youth. Its popularity is growing with music aficionados being exposed to this sound. This has been credited to the influx of international DJs performing in the country,” says Jaideep Singh, senior vice president and business head of Integrated Network Solutions, which puts the show together.

Singh said that a wide range of DJs and performers from India as well as internationally will belt out their music this year. While Aly and Fila, Andrea Oliva, Above & Beyond, BL3ND, Dillon Francis, Funkagenda, John OO Fleming, Mat Zo, Maya Jane Coles, Mark Knights, Paul Van Dyk, Stanton Warriors and The Chainsmokers are some of international artists, the Indian line-up will consist of Arjun Vagale, Ash Roy, Nawed Khan, Pearl, Tuhin Mehta, BREED and Vachan Chinnapa.

Apart from the big three there are others like the Goa Beach Grind, organized by a Goan legislator Mickky Pacheco and a number of other jamborees which will keep the state’s electronic pulse beating. And you gotta be here to hear it beat.