Vh1 Supersonic 2018 - Festival Roundup!

So Pune witnessed yet another successful version of Vh1 Supersonic this year! It was the first year the festival opened it's doors beyond Electronic music and it looked mind blowing! AND WE WERE THERE TO WITNESS IT! Want to know what we thought of the festival? Read below!

A WONDERFUL LOCATION!

I'll be honest. This was my first time in Pune and it was a real treat. The city is very relaxed and has a lot of space and the venue echoed the same sensibilities. Situated near the hub of Pune in Koregaon Park, Laxmi Gardens was a massive venue that accommodated a total of 4 stages and various common areas with different themes. The layout of the festival grounds was very well done. The Live Arena was a huge circular lawn area with a massive stage, along with a smaller stage to the left. Although I found that weird in the beginning, it all made sense later by the way the slots of the bands were set up. The main electronic stage was also set up incredibly! Themed like a mini-Tomorrowland, the stage production was something to behold! The immense amount of space allowed the large crowd of people to roam around freely and still enjoy whatever acts they wanted to. This was definitely a plus! [caption id="attachment_4048" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Picture by Festival Sherpa[/caption]

THE ACTS WE LOVED!

Across the wonderful lineup, I tried to catch as many bands/acts as possible and these were my favourite:

1. Alt-J

Alt-J returned to India once again and this time, played an enchanting evening set at the festival on the first day. I was lucky enough to reach the venue in time and catch their set, which was fuelled by the signature sound and an array of wonderful animations behind them. This was my second time watching them live and they have continued to be the force they are very consistently. During their set, you could just look at the happiness in people's faces and eyes and screamed the words to every single song they played! [caption id="attachment_4049" align="aligncenter" width="851"] Picture by Vh1 Supersonic[/caption]

2. Major Laser

After Alt-J wrapped up their set, I headed over to the main Electronic Stage to check out Major Laser. This was the first time I saw the stage in it's full form. They played a wonderful set consisting of their most popular songs mixed up with Indian classics. Diplo couldn't help but let the crowd know how important India was to him and the group, in light of their success with their song 'Lean On', which was shot in India. Whilst I'm not much of a fan of electronic/Edm music - Major Laser's sequencing, crowd engagement and stage production impressed me greatly! [caption id="attachment_4050" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Picture by Swaraj Srivastava[/caption]

3. Pentagram

After a decent hiatus, Indian Rock veterans Pentagram announced their return last year when they played at the various Weekender's. After those performances, their set at Vh1 Supersonic was to be the first one in quite a while, and man did they absolutely kill it! Vishal Dadhlani was on his A game, not singing a single note off time or off key. The whole band connected together like they always did in the past and it was quite a heartwarming experience for an old Indian Independent Music follower like myself.

4. Incubus

This was the moment for all die hard indian Incubus fans! The California based band was performing it's first ever show on Indian soil and I honestly believe no one imagined it to be as good as it was. From the second they came on stage, they showed every single person in the crowd as to why they were who they were. From hit after hit after hit, Incubus had the crowd singing, jumping, crying, rejoicing all at the same time! This was definitely the highlight of the festival for me! [caption id="attachment_4052" align="aligncenter" width="744"] Picture by Swaraj Srivastava[/caption]

5. MOSKO

If you still haven't heard of Delhi based band MOSKO before, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Mosko was definitely my favourite band at the festival! It was just the amalgamation of the stronghold back beat provided by Suyash Gabriel and Amar Pandey, combined with the dreamy guitar playing of Moses Kaul and the absolute raging voice of Kavya Trehan. Even though they played the smaller stage right after Incubus, they absolutely blew the roof apart! I really wish they got to go on before Incubus on the Main Live Stage so that everyone could have witnessed their absolute monstrosity! Next time you see Mosko playing in your city, make sure you catch them live because that's the only way you can listen to them at this point of time! MOSKO, when is the album coming?

Providing a comfortable and top class experience!

Overall, I have to say that the whole management of the festival was really really well done. Right from the entry to the timings of the artists, change-overs, options provided for food and drinks, FREE WATER, disabled friendly access. If there was a check list that you'd want a festival to abide by, Supersonic did that. Not only that, they made the most of their online social media presence and live streamed most artists for everyone not attending the festival to see. It is safe to say that the festival was an amazing success and that it sets a very very high standard for other festivals looking to make their mark/meet that international level in our country. I'm most certainly looking forward to the next edition of Vh1 Supersonic next year! Were you lucky to be one of those who went for the festival? What did you guys think of it? Let us know!