MUMBAI: What is the recipe to a successful festival? Music to appease the soul, food to satiate the body, experiences to stimulate the mind, and the best company to create memories for a lifetime. Sunburn Goa 2019 which has been putting India on the global map since 2007 ticked all the right boxes. Geared up for its ultimate homecoming, this year the 13th edition of the largest Asian Music Festival saw enthusiasts of music from all around the country make a beeline for Vagator to surrender themselves to an all-inclusive and immersive experience like never before.

As festival-goers dressed in their swankiest best, glided through the sea of almost never-ending fans to revel in India’s festival giant’s annual festivities, they were welcomed by the familiar optimistic vibe, as they enthusiastically waited for their favourite artists to kick-start the biggest party of the year.

With stellar production, six massive stages, assorted adventure zones, a lively flea market, a lip-smacking food zone and a dynamic camping site; the festival was truly an embodiment of the ‘Live, Love, Dance’ philosophy of the festival.

Aside from their outrageous yearly line-ups, India’s Sunburn is undoubtedly one of the premier festivals in the world because of their dramatic and surreal themes. The theme is not only one of the most crucial components to any festival goers experience during Sunburn, it’s their way to escape and get lost in a world other than their own. This year the focus was an old school carnival theme with the festive freakishness at its’ peak. With a circus-like leitmotif, the festival was aesthetically very captivating with mammoth size jokers, elephant heads, sun cranium and ornately decorated manuscripts capturing previous editions stage names such as Dance Garden, Dance Temple, Empire Of The Sun and Space Station. The Main Stage, over 350 feet large, lit up by over 50,000 sq.ft of LEDs complete with pyros, SFX, lighting, confetti’s and installations

The festival line-up left the audience spoilt for choice. Performers were well-placed with regard to both location and time slots ensuring no issues of claustrophobia or crowding as fans moved from one stage to another.

While unstoppable British producer/songwriter Jonas Blue helped festival-goers tick must-hear songs from their bucket list with his aunthemic pop performance covering hits like “Mama”, “Rise”, “Fast Car” and “Perfect Strangers”, young Belgian prodigy, Lost Frequencies dished out thumping deep house with “ Are You With Me” and “Like I Love You” as the stage’s pulsating energy radiated into the audience. From Belik Boom, Ma Faiza, Laughing Buddha on the Psychedelic Circus Stage to international names like Kryoman, Blackout, and Progressive Brothers to local gems like Greff, Shiva Manvi, Teri Miko, Zenith, Zephrytone, the first day of Sunburn 2019 had it all!

To commemorate the festival’s decade-plus inning, the brand-new underground music venture, the Solaris Stage hosted label showcases by Sin City and Vivrant with acts like Hosh, Jeremy Olander, Khen, Anish Sood, Ana Lilia, Marino Canal, Pierre Ravan, and Greenage.

The closing act of the day, multi-platinum French music producer, DJ Snake played a set with his ultimate anthems and classics amidst a barrage of LED panels, strobes, pyrotechnics, fireworks, CO2 cannons, and lasers and sure did captivate the festival-goers in full fist-pumping euphoria. Greeting the fans with 'Namaste', jumping onto the console to wave the Indian flag and dishing out crowd-pleasers like “Loco Contigo”, “Taki Taki”, “ Turn Down For What”, “Middle”, “Lean On”, “Magenta Riddim”, “Let Me Love You”, “A Different Way” amongst others – he lethally wrapped up the night of day one at Sunburn Goa 2019.

Karan Singh, COO, Percept Live states, “We witnessed an overwhelming response to our ultimate homecoming and this truly supports our legacy as pioneers in the dance music festival industry. Our utmost priority was delivering a safe festival experience of a lifetime to our fans. On top of the fairy tale typesetting that hosts massive, immaculate, jaw-dropping stages that come to life; meticulous planning, love, and pure intentions are what paves the way to the success of Sunburn events. It’s not just a couple of stages with a few artists. It has evolved into a cultural phenomenon, it’s almost like a piece of art. Sunburn is really the next level festival.”

Day one gained momentum quickly with the finest artists appealing to the country's millennials through assorted dance music genres. It served as a hotspot with an eclectic mix of fashion, music, gastronomy, adventure and much more. While day one was a magical mix of breath-taking production choreographed acts and a phenomenal line up of artists, day two promises to be even bigger!

Sunburn Goa 2019 is curated by Percept Live in association with Klassique Events Goa. OPPO Sunburn Goa is presented by Kingfisher and Magic Moments, and co-powered by Skybags, Fast Track, Toyota, ZEE 5 in association with boAt, SpiceJet, Cred, Jameson, Break The Beard, Dairy Milk Silk and Snapchat.