Page 17 - Rolling Stone - India (December 2019)

On Tour contest, which way it’ll have more footfall, Vietnam and Laos. With
had taken place in 2015. more corporate sponsorship, experience from organizing
Additionally, TaFMA has more involvement from the Handshake concerts in
selected 11 bands from local communities and the different parts of the world,
each district in the state tourists. This format is Metha says TaFMA have been
to perform at Hornbill. preparing us for the future.” strengthening their networks
From the New Delhi The Hornbill Music for years now. “We’ve taken
edition held so far, singer- Festival – which takes place Indian musicians – not just
songwriter Sanjeeta in Dimapur and at the Naga musicians – and getting
Bhattacharya has been Kisama Heritage Village in them to perform,” Metha
selected to join the Hornbill Kohima – promises to host says.
Music Festival lineup. headlining bands and DJs The festival is already
Meru says they wanted from all over the world, a showcase of talent and
to scrap the Hornbill K-pop artists (they had boy culture from across the North
International Rock Contest – group MONT last year) and East but Meru hopes that
whose last winners are now host the second round of with this edition of Hornbill
Bengaluru rock band Perfect their Music ThinkFest. Meru Music Festival, there’ll be a
Strangers from 2018 – says there may be a specific stronger push towards being
K-Pop group MONT at Hornbill
Music Festival 2018 because it was time to focus on bringing down on India’s music festival
evolve. He adds, “It can’t be a bands from South East Asia, calendar. He adds, “Like any
competition forever. There’s taking into consideration the other product, we have to
Best known for its rock format. They’ve now incepted still competitions at different Indian government’s Act East keep evolving. Otherwise,
contest that offered bands Ticket To Hornbill – a band levels, but as a flagship music policy to link parts of North there’s a danger of being ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAFMA
from all over India a chance competition that has so far event of the state, it was East India as a gateway for forgotten. That’s very real
to win Rs 10 lakh and more, taken place in New Delhi, time to move into a full-on tourism and industry from in this present day and age.
Hornbill Music Festival is Bengaluru and Mumbai. It’s music festival and get the countries such as Myanmar, The goal is to evolve fast and
now moving past the contest spun off from their Hornbill best of the best come in. That Thailand, Cambodia, evolve big.” ANURAG TAGAT

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