Whats BEER-ing Down MUSIC FESTIVALS - A Localturnon take!

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” – Benjamin Franklin

We are in synch with Mr. Franklin here. But this also means that anything associated with this good and happy thing should also be in equal measures. Beer Music Festivals, Beer Music Concerts whatever name you call them are supposed to be Happy (music) Festivals- Right? Well ! Mr. Franklin would have been re-thinking on those words had he been to some of the recent Beer Music Festivals in the Capital here.
Why? Read on the #localturnon take on whats “bearing” down these “Beer Festivals”

It was touted as one of the must attend Beer Fests in the Capital. An August occasion with one of the most well known venues booked and a very very impressive set up. A 40 feet or more top of the line speakers embedded stage for EDM and a side stage for the live performances, Over 30 food and beverages stall gave the impression at first glance that if you missed it you would have been labelled as “loser” by your known critics. The story as it turns out meant those did attend came up on the losing side.

Picture this- Gates that were supposed to open at 2 pm were opened at past 5 pm making everyone from the crowds, the vendors, the artists jittery. And that set the tone for things to come. A very popular band that charges anywhere between 10-12 lacs was supposed to be the highlight at this festival. They came and started playing at 7 in the evening – a time when you are just about settling down for the nite, setting the pace for the showdown of the day and when you have a gathering of just about 30 odd folks watching you you know it isn’t the place to be. Empty / vacant places when a popular band plays at a beer festival is an insult to the artists and the crowds. Of the 30 odd stalls when you have just a handful making returns on investment it adds to the misery. On top of it this being a 2 day fest, the word got around all these “unbearable” facts in the initial hours and turned off the potential visitors.

We are a very passionate team about music and it hurts to see this. Our firm belief is that there is a lot of planning and hard work that goes into the whole thing. Right from conceptualization to the event, the crowd management and finally delivering the “happiness” quotient through the Beer, the Music et all. In the above case the set up was perfect. No loss of marks there. But yes the things that could have been addressed were many.

This specific Beer Festival was touted as the “Festival of Beer” but did they have the stuff to live up to the promise. Hmm.. a difficult one for one expected a range of Beers and Beers. That was not to be. Music that goes hand in hand with all festivals.. hmm it was patchy to say the best. What beats us is that the organization was so chaotic that most bands lined up for live performances missed their slots. The result was like a traffic jam. it got piled up towards the end. with limited slots and multiple bands / artists due to go on stage it was anyone’s nightmare on how to handle. As regards the music itself, EDM is good for a continuous stretch but then live performances make for a refreshing addition to the proceedings. Could the live performances have been done on the same big stage- our question will remain. Could the bands and the music have been different – our question will remain. And most important of all could the choice of timing for the main / the lead artist group have been different – our question will still remain.

“I was in a place between the two stages where the noise from the EDM overlapped with the live performance. It was the best of Fusion Music I have heard in a long time” winks Shahzad Ali, Director of Divergent Brat Hospitality who had gone there on a special invite. He is coming up with his own Festival under the Confused Desi Food Concert in October and has been doing the rounds of most festivals for exactly the same reason – find out what ails these fests so that he takes the inputs with him to make sure he doesn’t repeat it in his own festivals.

There is a saying that any on-stage performing band lives through the eyes and movement of the audience that watches it. It changes colour and sound when they sense the change in audience mood. Hmm… nothing happened at this Beer Festival. There were some of the loyalists who were closest to the stage expecting some good times but alas ..withing a couple of minutes the folks dissipated as if it were a walk in and their order had been delivered. The next in line moved out fast. Whether they got their delivery or not – is another question that remains.

We are not the best of the advisers on how to conduct a Beer Music Festival, we put ourselves as audiences when we do these introspection. There will always be could have been and would have been but then when will it be is our question – and it still remains. Maybe the Confused Desi Food Concert. It does look and sound promising. Lets see! Cheers !

“Turn On Music || Turn on Happiness || Turn on Life!”

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