Two venues. Seven stages. One lakh attendees. Music lovers scattered all across the country have blocked their dates from December 27-29. Its Sunburn time in Goa. Like,for the last four years,electronic dance music (EDM) will rule the party at this festival,the only difference being that Asias biggest music festival will be bigger and better this time around. Candolim Beach is still the venue but there are two grounds connected by a short pathway; each separated by a 30 second walk. Usually we have two main stages and two smaller ones,but this year there are seven stages in all,two main stages at both the venues. Last year,we were so packed (read: 50,000 people) that we realised it would be impossible to go further without adding to the festival, says Karan Singh,Global CEO,Sunburn. Till now,90 international and national artistes and DJs have been confirmed. Were still adding to the list, Singh says. Three of the worlds best Axwell,Infected Mushroom and Above and Beyond are in this years favourites list. Three women DJs Pearl,Nadia Ali and Punes Ma Faiza will also spin their signature music. Among other artistes are Markus Schulz,Nic Fanciulli,Moguai,Michael Woods,Mad Maxx,Clement,Janux,Sashanti,Ajit Pai,Boombaba,V-Society,DJ Siren,Praveen Acharaya and many more. Weve already booked our tickets for the three days, says Atul Poharkar,co-founder iCrave Events,Pune. This 20-something and his friends have attended the festival for the last three years. This year theres so much more to look forward to. Ninety artistes thats just amazing, he exclaims. The artistes and DJs will be spread over the four main stages of trance,house,techno and psychedelic. The other stages are for live or experimental music and bands. This year,there will be five after-parties covering all of Goa. If the girls are wondering about security issues at the venue,the organisers Percept have already looked into it. An all-womens bar will be their private zone. Another interesting and new aspect about the festival is its tie-up with the NGO United. Environmental responsibility will be promoted on all three days with Sunburns Leave No Trace campaign. Its a massive event and we dont want to leave a trace with used glasses,plastic cups,etc. A team of 40-50 youngsters will clean up the venues to keep the beauty of the beach intact, informs Singh. The expenditure for the festival this year is a whopping Rs 24-29 crore. Its twice as big so the investment has naturally shot up. We dont compromise on any of the services,be it lights,sound or even our bouncers who are from abroad, Singh says. Next year,this home-grown brand might travel to Bali. We are in talks with other international locations as well (Dubai,Sri Lanka) but the deals have to be finalised. Goa will always remain our prime December venue, he adds.
