MUMBAI: Bangalore-based online radio station Radio Flote's co-founder Sikanth Gopinath has left the station to start his own music shack called Groove Shack, next to the beach in Calicut. Through his association with Groove Shack, which he started last October, Gopinath will launch his first new IP called The Mighty Rock Union, which is a multiple city music festival starting 23 May in Bangalore.

Gopinath spoke to Radioandmusic.com about the line-up for the festival, and his plans on expanding the IP. According to Gopinath, the line-up consists of 14 bands, of which half will perform on Day One, and the other half on Day Two. “Kicking off the two-day fest is upbeat acoustic trio- When Chai Met Toast, followed by alt-rock band White Mug. Other acts performing will be Mad Orange Fireworks, Overturn, Black Letter, acoustic rock poet and former Motherjane band-member Suraj Mani with his new band The Tattva Trippers, Bangalore-based disco rock group LIVE Banned and finally Vidwan. The second day of The Mighty Rock Union will witness big music acts like Thaikkudam Bridge, Avial, Motherjane, Chaos, Girish and The Chronicles and The Down Troddence,” informed Gopinath.

He also said that the eventual plan for developing The Mighty Rock Union is to take music acts based in the southern region of India to the north, and vice versa. “While attending festivals and concerts, I have noticed that bands in the south tend to perform more in south, and the same goes for those in the north. Through The Mighty Rock Union, I want to take these bands all over the country,” stated Gopinath. “Every quarter, the festival will go to places like Pune, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad this year,” he added.

Currently, the festival has Budweiser as a major sponsor and Gopinath also hinted that Pepsi MTV Indies has shown considerable interest.

The Mighty Rock Union was originally supposed to be held at Groove Shack in Calicut as a daylong beach festival. However, that was changed to Bangalore due to weather issues. "We wanted to do a day-long beach fest, but it is scheduled to rain during that time. So, we decided to start the fest in Bangalore, after good advice from my Bangalore friends," stated Gopinath.

The Mighty Rock Union is scheduled to take place on 23 May at Counter Culture in Bangalore.