The occasion of Halloween has grown explosively in India over the last few years. A cultural event that is best known for its tradition of dressing up in spooky costumes, Halloween parties are now a common sight across India and are some of the best parties of the year.

Last weekend, team www.musicunplugged.in headed to the immersive Casa Bacardi Halloween  warehouse party in Delhi, for their take on this festive night that celebrates self-expression and creativity through pop culture, dance, and signature Casa Bacardi party vibes.

Here’s Team www.musicunplugged.in full account of how the night went down:

The Music:

Immaculate vibes and stellar lineups are synonymous with Casa Bacardi’s electrifying parties, and this one definitely lived up to the bar. The lineup was filled with crowd favorites, featuring Indian techno maestro Gaurav Malaker - BLOT!,best known for his win as VH1 Soundnation’s ‘Best Electronic Act,’ who brought his signature mix of strong visuals and electrifying house beats that instantly had the crowd grooving. Kunal Chhabra, experimental hip-hop artist and founder of All Star Sauce also took the stage followed by DJ Febby Momma and Vridian.

Kunal Chhabra, leaned into his favorite hip-hop and electronic sounds for the evening that were clear crowd pleasers. He also talked to us about his aims to bring commercial audiences closer to experiencing experimental music, and the role of Casa Bacardi in supporting this growth. “This event is the third Casa Bacardi and second Halloween party I'm performing at. I love playing here, as these evenings are absolute ragers with such enthusiastic crowds, and I always break out my freshest stash of tunes for Casa Bacardi. It’s great to see this overwhelming support for Indie artists and the energy of the crowd as they respond to the music and the vibes. Halloween in India has grown from just a one-off party event to an opportunity to let loose and adopt an alternate identity, and I’m always delighted to be a part of this.”

The Decor:

The venue choice and decor truly lived up to the name of a ‘takeover,’ as it seemed the entire 18,000 sq. ft warehouse near Chattarpur, New Delhi, was engulfed by the Halloween spirit. Entering felt like walking into a brand new world of stunning dark aesthetics, marked with neon accents and midnight themed decor, setting an immersive tone for the night. The evening came alive with the lights, music, and energy of the crowds throughout the 5 hour takeover that saw 4 rocking performances, and hosted 3 immersive rooms. The night was also filled with curated Halloween cocktails and unique experiences scattered around for audiences to discover as they drifted through the house as denizens of the night, to indulge, shapeshift, and play.

Varsha Patra (CEO) & Varun Patra (CMO), Creative Directors and Co-founders Homegrown, the creative masterminds behind the devilishly fun venue sets said, “After 3 years of covid, the Casa Bacardi Halloween “Choose your Mood” campaign’s intent was to bring alive our varied, dormant, creative expressions and manifestations - rooted in 5 different moods: Quench, indulge, play, shapeshift and escape. A multi-platform thematic was brought to life through short films, creator expressions and amplifications, an immersive high-impact offline experience of 18000 sq feet of a warehouse with 1500+ attendees, and seeding of Casa Bacardi Halloween limited edition merchandise to over 150 cultural thought leaders across 3 key markets. The experience was magnified and saw an accelerated scale of events and adoption across the country after having seeded the cultural imprints of Halloween from 2018. Halloween in India today is uniquely owned by Casa Bacardi that leans into the need and plural identities of the modern consumer: who choose to express themselves and don’t want to be defined or confined.”

Elevating the decor further were all the party goers who populated the space and made it their own. The guests brought their A-game with some stunningly creative costumes, matching and highlighting the spooky-chic elements of the night.

Sameeksha Uniyal, Brand Lead, Bacardi, Bacardi India & South East Asia shared her thoughts on the newfound significance of Halloween in Indian youth culture. “Casa Bacardi Halloween has been the foremost platform for creative self-expression through the Halloween season in India. In 2018, Casa Bacardi Halloween was started as an opportunity to encourage party goers to express themselves in unique ways and transform into their unique personality for a night. Today, it has evolved into an experience that celebrates creativity, community and culture. It was amazing to see our guests find what moves them and flaunt it in full costume as they unleashed their persona. We are excited to keep bringing such experiences to them each year, bigger and better than ever.”

While this year’s a wrap, we’re excited to see what’s to come with the Casa Bacardi on-tour andBacardi NH7 Weekender line-up for the coming months.