Day 1 of the Indian edition of the multi-genre music festival Lollapalooza was a musical extravaganza in the truest sense. Wooing the audience on the first day were some of the most sought-after global and homegrown artistes; but the fest also saw Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan, Sussanne Khan, Kajol, Rajkummar Rao, Patralekha and Huma Qureshi enjoying the music.
The international sounds that set the mood of the evening began with Chelsea Cutler and Japanese Breakfast bringing in fresh sounds. The power packed rock genre had fans grooving in the grand arena with the iconic Greta Van Fleet. The rock legends were a crowd favourite, their all-time classic ‘Highway Tune’, was sung in unison by the crowds and the acoustic rock was a fitting end to one of the most loved performances of the day.
Japanese Breakfast was a visual and audio treat for the audiences and many who were new to the music joined the crowds, vibing to the live performance, setting into a trance. At about 6:45 pm, ‘Brown Munde’, A.P. Dhillon along with Shinda Kahlon performed top sets of the evening, including the latest from his recently released album, ‘Two Hearts Never Break The Same’ and their smash hits like ‘Summer High’, ‘Brown Munde’, ‘Excuses’, and ‘Faraar’.
The Aravani Art Project, an art collective of people from the transgender community along with Mumbai-based artiste Suparna Jashnani brought to life The Wall of Inclusivity in Expression at Lollapalooza India 2023. The 100-ft landscape was created by the collective’s Trans-women members. The festival also saw installation of gender neutral washrooms staying true to their promise of inclusivity.
The EDM fest Sunburn, the disastrous fest which was organised in Goa in December last year, could learn a thing or two from Lollapalooza with regards to how a festival should be organised with facilities in place and a smooth sailing experience for every single festival goer.
The homegrown artistes, who wowed audiences, included Easy Wanderlings performing at the NEXA stage, followed by Aswekeepsearching played an orchestral rearrangement on their music with a grand new live setup. Abhi Meer curated an extremely special set with house music tracks, all the way from 1991 (the year Lollapalooza debuted) till date. One of most-loved indie band, The Yellow Diary ended their nation-wide tour with their performance on the BudX stage. Other homegrown artistes such as T.ill Apes, Kumail, Mali, Madboy/Mink, Sandunes, Tracy De Sa and Bloodywood also presented versatile sounds. Other Nexa artistes included Nisa Shetty, Hanu Dixit and Shruti Dhamsana.
Eclectic energy and a roar of cheers from the audience welcomed the most-awaited headliners Imagine Dragons, the Grammy winners who took over the BudX stage dropping their massive hits including ‘Thunder’, ‘Radioactive’ and new fan favourite, ‘Bones’. The highlight of the evening and a proud moment was when Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons took the Indian flag from a member of the audience and waved it high and tall.
Featuring over 60 brands across four specially themed zones or lanes, the Lolla Food Park was the biggest star with different themes and various cuisines spread across the Mumbai Local Lane, Lolla Around The World lane, Lolla Grub Shub lane and the iconic Lolla On Wheels lane.
Lollapalooza India, co-produced and promoted by BookMyShow, is being held at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai.
