The Debut Edition of Lollapalooza India Shone a Light on Indian Indie and Showcased Top-Notch International Acts
RollingStone India|February 2023
The first Asian edition of the iconic music festival spread across Mumbai's Mahalakshmi Race Course went off without any hiccups and served up some stellar tunes, glitzy visuals and more
DAVID BRITTO
The Debut Edition of Lollapalooza India Shone a Light on Indian Indie and Showcased Top-Notch International Acts

THE SIGHT OF AMERICAN rockers Jane's Addiction's frontman and founder of Lollapalooza in 1991, Perry Farrell, at Mumbai's Mahalakshmi Race Course walking around the festival grounds like a proud father after U.S. rock outfit The Strokes headlined day two of the festival was quite something to behold.

OFarrell, who produces Lollapalooza with C3 Presents, teamed up with promoters and entertainment platform BookMyShow to bring the traveling music festival to Asia for the first time on January 28th and 29th, 2023. Although the event received some backlash for its lineup on social media when it was announced last year, that sentiment wasn't felt on ground last month from the thousands of festival-goers who attended it.

For a city that is always facing a space problem, Mumbai's Mahalakshmi Race Course was quite the find by the organizers. The best way to get to the venue was by train and once we did arrive inside, the sheer magnitude and size of the area was massive. With four huge stages, quite a trek away from each other (there was plenty of walking involved over both days), attendees needed to plan ahead as to which acts they wanted to see perform at either the BUDX Stage, Walkers & Co Stage, NEXA Stage or the Perry's X Budweiser Beats Stage.

We arrived on day one of the festival just as Pune soul/easy-listening group Easy Wanderlings were finishing their set for the opening slot at the event at the NEXA Stage and just in time to see post-rockers Aswekeepsearching kick things off at the BUDX Stage. The group's set featured songs such as "Reminiscence," "Maybe There," "Chasing Light" and "Rooh," and included backup singers Zoe Siddharth, Urgen Yolmo and Meg D'Souza as well as two dancers who joined the band for their performance. At this point, there was a sizeable crowd at 2.30 pm, with folks braving the Mumbai heat to make the most of Lollapalooza.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ROLLINGSTONE INDIAView all
Akshath Plots India Tour on the Back of Hit Song 'Nadaaniyan'
RollingStone India

Akshath Plots India Tour on the Back of Hit Song 'Nadaaniyan'

Mumbai artist's breezy love song took over streaming charts and short-video platforms

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2024
Aksh Baghla and 10CM Swap Languages in 'Spring Snow' Hindi Version
RollingStone India

Aksh Baghla and 10CM Swap Languages in 'Spring Snow' Hindi Version

The Indian pop artist got the South Korean indie-pop artist to sing in Hindi on his hit song from the 'Lovely Runner, Part 8' soundtrack

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Sukha Talks New EP '2003' and the Success of '8 Asle'
RollingStone India

Sukha Talks New EP '2003' and the Success of '8 Asle'

The Toronto-based Punjabi artist also looks back at hits like 'Sangdi' and the EP 'Undisputed'

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Masrat Un Nisa on Channeling Raj Begum in Upcoming Film 'Songs of Paradise'
RollingStone India

Masrat Un Nisa on Channeling Raj Begum in Upcoming Film 'Songs of Paradise'

Inspired by the legendary Kashmiri voice Raj Begum, the singer talks about working with filmmaker Danish Renzu, who has also called on her for songs with his label Renzu Music

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
How Daira's 'Jaadoo Bastar' Tapped Into Chhattisgarh Tribal Stories
RollingStone India

How Daira's 'Jaadoo Bastar' Tapped Into Chhattisgarh Tribal Stories

Mumbai rock band teamed up with artists including Lakheshwar Khudaram and Hindi lyricist Alok Ranjan Srivastava for five songs and a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the project

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Peekay Embraces Djent on 'Merciless' and Plots an L.A. Move
RollingStone India

Peekay Embraces Djent on 'Merciless' and Plots an L.A. Move

The Hyderabad artist worked with guitarist Jonathan Edward and prog band Skyharbor's Keshav Dhar on the track

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
The Derelicts Take a 'Highway Drive' on Euphoric New Song
RollingStone India

The Derelicts Take a 'Highway Drive' on Euphoric New Song

The Kochi disco-pop/electronica band introduce a science fiction-informed storyline for their first release since 2018

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Sudan on How 'Happy Accidents' Led To His Genre-Defying Debut Album
RollingStone India

Sudan on How 'Happy Accidents' Led To His Genre-Defying Debut Album

Mumbai-based producer and multiinstrumentalist launched 'Sudan?' in August with a collab-heavy list of guests including Tejas, Frizzell D'Souza and more

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2024
Zubin Mehta Talks Symphony Orchestra of India Concerts
RollingStone India

Zubin Mehta Talks Symphony Orchestra of India Concerts

The Mumbai-born conductor leads a slightly offbeat selection for the SOI Autumn 2024 Season, taking place on Aug. 17 and 18, followed by Aug. 24 and 25

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Ameya Saraf: 'I Wanted to Do Music for Life the First Time I Picked Up a Guitar'
RollingStone India

Ameya Saraf: 'I Wanted to Do Music for Life the First Time I Picked Up a Guitar'

Los Angeles-based Indian composer and producer worked his way from the rock scene to assisting pop artist Arjun Kanungo at the latter's Promethean Studio in Mumbai

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2024