MUMBAI: As the happy festival of the country Bacardi NH7 Weekender is coming around the waves of happiness can be felt in the artists. Weekender, a multi-city music festival will be starting off from Meghalaya (27 to 28 October) and will have it final showdown at Pune (8 to 10 December).

A popular name in Indie music space Dualist Inquiry (aka Sahej Bakshi) feels coming back to the Weekender brings back the same old feeling of excitement. He said, “Every time I get invited to perform at the Weekender, it's a familiar feeling of excitement. As a musician, there's nothing better than getting to play to festival audiences that are so in tune with your music, and the Weekender is especially known for how energetic and supportive the crowds are. I am truly looking forward to this year's edition in Shillong.”

He also revealed, “I have no such song setlist for this season since I am mostly deciding what to play on the spot. I find that sometimes planning too much in advance can go against the spontaneity that is crucial to a good performance. Overall, I'm playing less material from my older releases, and definitely a lot of new, unreleased material that I want to try out live before releasing.”
Pioneers of rock fusion genre the Indian Ocean are also gearing up for the upcoming festival. Speaking about their performance the band said, “Our last outing at NH7 was in 2014 when we did the Tandanu this will be our first time at Shillong, Meghalaya and it’s always good to play in Pune. NH7 express has added Kochi, Indore and Pudducherry this time and we are looking forward to them too.”

This edition will be remarkably different for their usual set. Band added, “Our focus this time is completely on the new songs (unreleased) from the album we are working on and a few other songs we composed for some upcoming films. A few perennial favourites will be thrown into the mix as well.”

Talking about the expectations Indian Ocean said, “NH7 has always had some of the best audiences in the country and we are excited to see how people react to the new stuff we have been working on. We are expecting this year to be bigger than ever. Some of the lineup announcements have blown our minds (Steve Vai, T M Krishna etc) and we hope to catch some of these acts.”

Karsh Kale known as the pioneers behind defining Asia’s underground genre by fusing will be travelling to Shillong for the first time to perform. Karsh said, “The Weekender is always a highlight festival to perform at in India because you always get the feeling that the audience is genuine and truly there for the music.”

He also added, “The audience has always been inspiring at NH7 Weekender and we hope for it to be the same this time around as well, especially since it's the first time The Karsh Kale Collective is travelling to the North East of India.”

Delhi based Faridkot Band started by IP Singh and Rajarshi Sanyal will also be part of the Weekender. Known for making soul-stirring songs by mixing Sufi music, R&B and some Jazz music make them stand from the rest.  “We've been a part of the festival almost every year and it has always been an absolute pleasure. NH7 feels like the home ground to us, the vibe and the professionalism with which these guys work has always pleasantly surprised us.  We are looking forward to Meghalaya,” said Faridkot.

As a band, they always try to keep evolving and do new stuff. “We'll be playing some new songs and those sound nothing like what we've made so far. And yeah, we'll definitely look sexier than ever,” said the band.

It’s the first the band to travel to the east and they are keeping their excitement bottled. “We just hope to see some beautiful sites; hear some great acts and chill with our friends and fans,” they added.

Steve Vai who was recently added to the lineup expressed his excitement for the most awaited NH7 Weekender. He said, “If things get better I’ll explode.”

Revealing the set list for the season, he said, “I haven’t put it together yet but I’m hoping to bring the video projector which will enable me to jam from the stage with images of friends on the screen through the show such as Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Brian May, Tommy Emanuel and Frank Zappa.”