MUMBAI: December is here and it’s time for all to head to Nagaland and join the citizens in celebrating Hornbill Festival, the 10-day event that starts today (1 December). The major attraction of this event is the Hornbill International Music Festival.

An annual festival that celebrates the richness of the 16 tribes of Nagaland, is a government-sponsored initiative aiming to not just showcase the rich culture of the state but also the vast pool of talent laid untapped within the state.

This year's edition of the Hornbill International Music Festival (HIMF) and the Hornbill International Rock Contest will be held at two venues in Dimapur. “We have received mixed responses on the shifting of the venue. However, this doesn't seem to deter music lovers from enjoying the festivities at Dimapur instead of Kohima. Some of the best Nagaland acts, ANTB, Tali Angh, LOR, The Gluttones, Tune Up Channel, The Jam Tree project and other artists will be performing with artiste from rest of the country,” said a spokesperson from Hornbill.

The line-up for this year's edition of the HIMF includes Kailash Kher along with the Surfira band, Sharvi Yadav winner of The Stage Season 2, Abhishek Gurung runners-up of The Stage Season 2, Rudy Wallang, Boney M, Alobo Naga and the band (ANTB), Tali Angh, winners of last year's edition of the HIRC- SNF and a host of other artistes and bands from the state and the rest of the country as well.

“Kohima will also have its share of music mania as Kailash Kher will perform the opening ceremony of the Hornbill Festival and Boney M will perform on the closing day of the Festival. This year's edition of the HIMF will focus on showcasing more artistes from the state, with music lovers getting to witness the best acts from Nagaland,” said the spokesperson.

19 bands from all over the country and internationally will join five local bands as they battle it out for top honours at this year's Hornbill International Rock Contest. The winner will take along 10 lakh, while the runner-up and the second runner-up will walk away with cash prizes of 5 lakh and 3.5 lakh respectively.

The cash prizes for the winners and runner-up of this year's HIRC is being sponsored by the Government of Nagaland, while Mahindra Motors will be sponsoring the cash prize for the second runner-up. The three winners of the HIRC and winners in the individual category will also bag gifthampers and music gears along with the prize money courtesy of sponsors from Marshall and Hungama Media Pvt. Ltd., making the HIMF and HIRC not just a treat for music lovers but also an opportunity for the competing bands to be awarded for the music they make. Other marketing heavy weights namely Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Parle Agro Foods PVT, Redbull and Beyerdynamics have come forward to support this year's HIMF as event partners.