One of the most anticipated live music experiences in India; Bacardi NH7 Weekender received an enormous response on all three days at its tenth edition in Pune. The festival drew music fans to witness their favorite artists perform in the happiest music festival’s hometown. Celebrating a decade of bringing the best local and global musical acts to the Indian audience, Bacardi NH7 Weekender, the country's largest multi-genre music festival – conceptualized by OML in 2010 returned to its hometown, Pune, on Friday (Nov 29). One of the most anticipated and loved music events in India, the festival was once again welcomed by thousands of music fans at the venue - Mahalakshmi Lawns, Nagar Road, Pune.

Day One of the happiest music festival began on Friday to a packed audience, with performances by -acclaimed Irish rock band Kodaline, Ritviz, Indian Ocean, pop and folk band Easy Wanderlings, German band Fiddler's Green, instrument jazz rock band Submarine in Space, DJ Ishani. Faridkot, Midival Punditz, Sid Sriram, Swarathma and many more.

Day One saw performances by stand-up comedians Kanan Gill, Prashasti Singh, Raunaq Rajani, Supriya Joshi, Tanmay Bhat and Tom Cashman, from the Melbourne Comedy Festival - all of whom performed at the 5 Star ke Lolstars Stage and offered comic relief to festival goers. One new act was the BFAB crew, hip hop dancers who performed at the Breezer Vivid Stage – to be followed on Day Two by the winners of Breezer Vivid Shuffle – the Shuffle all stars.

While in between performances, attendees indulged in some shopping at the bustling bazaar or head to the food stalls for a variety of delicious food and snacks. An art showcase, featuring memories from the festival over the years as well as work by talented visual artists, the signature Ferris wheel, and more. There were also a variety of different activities by the festival’s partner brands. Bacardi hosted of innovative drinking experiences planned - with happy hours, pop up bars with special drinks and limited edition variants from the Bacardi portfolio. At the Gaana Studio, you could relax and lounge around between sets, get some artist interviews, meet & greets and photo ops. You could also head to the CRED lounge - where CRED members got exclusive benefits. Tinder was back at the festival with Camp Tinder - a zone in which people can relax with fun activities during the day and after the performances on stage end, fans flocked to Camp Tinder for some special acoustic sets every night. And last but not least, people took a break with the 5 Star zone with a classic game that will delight every festival goer.

The festival is supporting many initiatives, including the Paper Bridge Project that aims to build libraries in the remotest corners of India, giving attendees a chance to donate a book for a good cause when they come over to this happiest music festival. It is also actively looking to be more inclusive this year by partnering with The Humsafar Trust and 6 Degrees to make the space LGBTQ friendly, with a safe space on-ground to counsel anyone in need, gender neutral bathrooms and frisking lanes at security, and information being distributed to increase awareness about gender issues. 

Continuing the green initiative the festival successfully launched in Pune a few years ago, Bacardi NH7 Weekender ensured that the festival generated as little disposable waste as possible by partnering with Skrap.  In 2018, over 90% of the waste generated was recycled or reused, and the festival is looking to increase that number year on year. In furtherance of this, fans were urged to reuse their cups to get a discount on their next drink. Plastic straws were banned at the festival and were replaced with paper straws, and drinks served in rice husk glasses. The food stalls also served food with compostable cutlery. In furtherance of this, fans were urged to reuse their cups to get a discount on their next drink. A partnership with Butt Ballot was also in place, to ensure proper segregation and recycling of cigarette butts. The festival also worked with Cupable to provide drinking water for festival goers with a system that’s environmentally friendly, to replace disposable plastic water bottles. People could purchase one recyclable cup and get unlimited water refills for all festival days.  

The festival’s headlining acts on Day Two included Opeth (performing on the back of their new album In Cauda Venenum) and heavy metal performances by PENGSHUi, Bhayanak Maut and Gutslit. The festival also saw performances by Kokoroko, Wadalis, Many Roots Ensemble (with MC TodFod doing guest vocals) and Boombay Djembe Folas introduced the audience to a diverse range of sounds and beats put together by these artists.

The hip hop performances on Day Two at Breezer Stage were electric, with performances by Gully Gang Showcase, the Breezer Vivid Shuffle All Stars – hip hop dancers that preceded the much awaited and incredibly powerful Dreamville Showcase performances by Cozz and Earthgang.    

The comedy artists for Day Two attracted an enthusiastic crowd and included Zakir Khan, Sumit Sourav, Shreeja Chaturvedi, Shaad Shafi, SUmukhi Suresh, Biswa Kalyan Rath, a mentalism act by Suhani Shah and a stand up set by Michelle Brasier from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The excellent reception of the comedy artists at the festival reflects the massive interest in the comedy genre throughout the country.

On Day Three, Nick Murphy FKA Chet Faker played a highly anticipated set in Pune, his first performance in India, and for one song was joined by tabla player Aneesh Pradhan. A. Hariharan closed the night at the Doers Club with a special set called Soul India. The festival also saw a packed crowd for Raja Kumari and Brodha V. Other performances included the highly acclaimed Garden City Movement, Anand Bhaskar Collective, Fopchu and Sandunes - who played her piano, based set called Hand of thought.

Electronic acts Lifafa and BLOT saw a fantastic response, along with Job Kurian. The comedy stage was packed throughout, with performances by Sejal Bhat, Urooj Ashfaq, Varun Thakur and more, with a secret set by Ashish Shakya. Kenny Sebastian closed the stage with a musical performance.

Supreet Kaur, Festival Director said, “It’s been one decade since we began, and the team is so proud of where we’ve come over the years. We started off as a small festival with a dream and the way we’ve grown has come to set the standard for music festivals in India, and we wouldn’t have been able to do that without the immense love and support we see from those who attend. It’s been wonderful to be able to bring such a diverse lineup of artists that excites both us and the audience alike and now that this edition has drawn to a close, we’re looking onward to see how we can continue making this experience even better, whether it comes to the artists we have on the lineup, the festival area and stages, our sustainability and inclusivity initiatives, and more. Pune will always be home for us and we can’t wait to be back and make this festival even bigger and better from here onwards”.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a shift in how music festivals are managed in India. Since the launch of the first Bacardi NH7 Weekender 10 years ago, Bacardi and OML have shaped the way India experienced music at a time when there was no large-scale platform that celebrated independent artists”, added Anshuman Goenka - Director Marketing, Bacardi India Pvt. Ltd. “This year is not only special because we have completed a decade, but also because we have continued to bring new and innovative experiences and elements to the festival, such as our sustainability drive. Our passion for music and our zeal for curating experiences have helped us create a legacy of pioneering festival culture in India. The joy of helping artists and audiences do what moves them is what motivates us as we charge into the next 10 years of music, art and culture.”