Lollapalooza 2024: Organisers use scale to change rubrics for success in the live music space in India

With Lollapalooza 2024 barely a few days away, music lovers in the city are gearing up for an eclectic experience spanning Sting, Jonas Brothers, OneRepublic, Halsey, Royal Blood among others.

Despite some teething troubles in its inaugural edition last year, Lolla was a resounding success both musically and experientially. There was something in it for everyone, both in terms of lineup and entertainment options. As we brace ourselves for a fun weekend, now is a good time to pause and acknowledge how the organisers of Lollapalooza India 2024 are altering the rubrics for success in the live events space in India.

There are many music festivals across the country that manage to achieve both, a blueprint put in place by the wonderfully boutique NH7 Weekender over a decade ago. Music festivals until then were either stifled with a sense of classical frou-frouness that was meant for connoisseurs only or assumed to be massy and popular therefore devoid of repute.

NH7 Weekender, drawing inspiration from the model put in place by international music festivals like Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Coachella, poised itself strategically between two very diverse experiences: the moshpit-happy rock festivals that offered little more than music and the presumably dignified “wah-wah/bravo” cheering airconditioned closed door events.

By infusing an element of fun and laissez-faire to the whole experience, it has democratised the musical experience for listeners and artists alike who could listen to a range as eclectic as Dillinger Escape Plan and Shubha Mudgal in the same venue. That localised model has been replicated across the country through various lineups and has now created the idea that a music concert is so much more than the music itself.

For generations that struggle with change, this might go against their idea of what a musical experience “should be”, perhaps with a lament that the music shouldn’t need “distractions”. But this is our new normal. One has today gotten accustomed to this formula for a live music event experience in India: multiple stages, an array of culinary choices, some music merch and lifestyle items shopping, mandatory Bohemian fashion complete with wreath hairpieces, a ferris wheel, selfie spots, the works. There’s a lot more than music at play.

How then does Lollapalooza make a difference in a fairly crowded music festival market? By the choosing the right location, attempting to elevate consumption patterns, and truly striving to be inclusive across age, musical preferences, physical and mental impairment as well as gender identities.

To start with, there are no festivals of this scale and size in India. NH7 Weekender took the international festival model of the likes of Lollapalooza and downsized it, tailor-making it for India, thus allowing for many such iterations to reverberate across the country.

The minute the scale is increased, it is tough on so many levels to sustain a music festival of magnitude. Lollapalooza’s choice of city is the gamechanger. The organisers Bookmyshow, adept with organising festivals across India, have chosen a bustling metropolis, not being a Tier 2-3 city with loads of open space to spare. One of the best-connected cities in the country both locally and domestically, Mumbai’s commuting infrastructure is already there, it only needs to be bolstered to rise to the occasion of hosting over 60000 people across two days in one place.

Strategic partnerships with logistics and transport companies, as well as the government, enables Lolla to harness Mumbai’s strengths like its local train network and create commuting options. By adding an element of fun to these special travel options, the revelry for Lolla begins from the moment you step out of your door.

For people used to walking more than a kilometre to find a taxi after a cricket match at Wankhede Stadium, this is not a tall order. But Mumbaikars aren’t always accustomed to walking much within a venue unless he/she has travelled in the past to Palace Grounds in Bengaluru for a concert. Rock music fans in India know what this means. You know that trek only too well. It is usually accompanied by haggling and an overpriced auto ride back home.

Says Owen Roncon, chief of business — live entertainment, BookMyShow, “International audiences are accustomed to festivals of scale and the accompanying experience, given the prevalence of such large-scale, frequently occurring music festivals globally. In India, as we strive to build and elevate the standard of live entertainment, a significant aspect involves influencing consumption patterns and shaping both, audience behaviours and expectations. We aim to educate them about what it truly means to be a part of and experience a festival of this magnitude.”

Long story short, you will get used to it like the rest of the world has, Mumbai. But a very important reason for the distance between stages has everything to do with the sound bleeding between stages. You wouldn’t want to be listening to AP Dhillon with the riffs of Greta Van Fleet interrupting the experience. Or the other way around, for that matter. If you want a sound experience, you’ve got to learn to walk for it.

Lollapalooza India 2024 isn’t only making you walk; it is walking the inclusion talk as well. From catering to persons with disabilities to making room for people around the gender spectrum, international music festivals in the West have been quicker to address such needs. Last year, select acts on the Lollapalooza India stage had sign language interpreters recreating the experience for the hearing-impaired concertgoer, reiterating how a music festival today is way beyond the sonic experience.

“Under the aegis of #LollaForChange, the festival is working with partner organisations to make the festival a safe space for individuals across the LGBTQIA+ community.  It will ensure the festival is an all-inclusive experience by enabling Sign Language Interpreters to interpret music by the headlining artists at the main stage for hearing-impaired attendees. BookASmile works closely with disability services and in line with this, there will be personalized services to guide fans who are visually and hearing-impaired to designated riser areas,” Roncon adds.

With a focus on sexual assault prevention, inclusivity and mental health, the festival will have Quick Response Teams to provide on-ground assistance for psychological safety and inclusivity towards members of all communities. Explains Roncon, “From sensitizing the crew and staff on genders, pronouns, consent and other such crucial aspects while interacting with attendees for any interventions and helping gender neutral attendees at the entry, security check points as also enabling gender neutral washrooms at the festival, along with handling any distress calls and escalations for non-binary/queer patrons, the festival is working towards eliminating distinctions and creating an equal space for experience. After all, any festival experience is happiest when inclusive and not just alternative.”

By focusing on taking everyone along with them and allotting the drive and effort towards sustainability as well, Lollapalooza by virtue of its scale and stature is raising the stakes for live event organisers across the country to conceptualise and execute an entertainment experience with a conscience.

Lollapalooza India 2024 is being held across January 27 and 28 at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai