Asia’s biggest electronic music festival, Sunburn sprung to life at the aesthetic 100 acres Oxford Valley by Shapoorji Pallonji, encircled by the aesthetic valley of Lavale with multi-cultural dance music devotees congregating to surrender to their favorite artists. The musical extravaganza raised its’ 12th edition curtains for its loyalists from across the globe who count every single day, anxiously wait round the year for the EDM giant’s indulgence to begin their new year with zeal.

Image Credit: The Moneta

The mainstage with 5,000 sq. ft of LED’s, pyros, SFX sampled the seamless festival experience and witnessed spectacular performances from Kash Trivedi, Amann Nagpal, Ritviz, Anish Sood, Siana Catherine, Julia Bliss, Paratra (Live), Sara Santini, 39 Kingdom, Zenith, GREFF, 18 East, Dual Vibes, Basspatch and Progressive Brothers creating a perfect celebratory atmosphere. Following suit, the energy levels kept reaching for the sky with stellar performances by techno Parisian mistress Louisahhh!, an exponent of the trance 2.0 sound and Armada’s protege David Gravell and Hugel who amped up the crowds effortlessly mixing house and hip hop. Day 1 was an exhilarating commencement to a pristine chapter in Maharashtra’s music tourism, a festival that brought together a sense of promise and community to the fore. With a theme of “welcome to paradise”, the festival hosted India’s biggest campsites that gave every camper a comprehensive festival vibe.

Image Credit: JUNO WORKS

Day 2 of Asia’s biggest electronic music festival Sunburn as the skyline came alive with incredible pyro techniques at the 12th edition of Sunburn at Oxford Valley by Shapoorji Pallonji. Talents such as Ravetek, Madoc, Shashank, DJ Chico, Rave N Crave, Akade, Kalpanik Bass, Kryll, Shaan Gidwani, Basshunk, Zylor, VDJ Cas, Twisted Bass, NDS, Ishani X BobKat, and Throttle dropped some top-notch electronic music. Other notable acts for the day were Bemet, Afro Bros, Candice Redding, Sartek, Shiva Manvi and Mojojojo who upped the ante and built the anticipation levels for the headlining acts of the evening. Salvatore Ganacci was seen making larger than life movements during his weekend set. Now becoming one of the most trending names in the electronic scene, his over the top animated set comprising of “Flags”, “Call On Me” , “Opus” , “One Love” amongst others coupled with dramatic antics behind the decks reminded us that he is the performance artist dance music needs right now.

Image Credit: Baricii

Alan Walker proved that he is a true force to be reckoned with within the contemporary electronic music scene. The introduction to his set was “The Spectre,” followed by a remix of Sia’s “Move Your Body” and “Sheep” by Chinese musician Lay. “Alone” had strong melodies and atmospheric vocals. He closed his versatile set with his international hit “Faded,” where he left the main stage crowd thirsty for more. Armin van Buuren took to the stage for an unforgettable set. Tracks like “Blah Blah Blah”, “The Last Dancer”, “Just As You Are”, “Popcorn”, “Sex, Love & Water”, “Our Origin”, “Wild Wild Son” and “Ready To Rave” had the entire arena exploding with sound and energy alongside fans with permanent smiles spread across their faces. The soul-steering performance by the Armada bossman was one of such epic proportions that it made you stand there in a few moments of honest bliss, remembering why you fell in love with dance music in the first place.

Image Credit: BARICCI

Garth Adams, Shaan, Ananya Birla, Ellie Prohan, Cosmos, DJ Akshay, DJ Omen, Aaryan Gala, XU, 18 East, Manav Mehta, KaRavan, ADGRMS, THE MXXNLIGHT, Abhishek Mantri, DJ Mady, Zephyrtone and DJ Hatcha churned out their grooviest tracks, upping the tempo at the year’s biggest new year eve’s revelry. Krewella uplifted festival tempo with nothing but widespread smiles, blissful dancing, high energy, and unforgettable memories to last a lifetime. Their set has their festival staples like “Alive”, “Play Hard”, “Killin’ It”, “Come & Get It” and “ One Minute”. Mercer blessed the crowd with his top-notch house tunes which made sure everyone was grooving.

DJ Snake kicked things off for the closing set and had the festival goers in full fist-pumping euphoria. What followed was a relentless, sensory assault for the next hour. Big track after big track, Builds, drops and riffs set to synchronized lasers, hints of past hits emerging then disappearing into the next before returning in full voice later in the set. Greeting the fans with ‘Namaste’, getting onto the console to wave the Indian flag and ending the set with ‘Shukriya’ — that’s how the upscale French music producer charmed the Indian music lovers apart from dishing out his commercial bangers like “Taki Taki”, “ Turn Down for What” , “ Middle” , “Lean On”, “Magenta Riddim”, “Let Me Love You” , “A Different Way” amongst others.

Sunburn seems to have raised the benchmark for the festival organization in India and lived up to its expectation of being the electronic music pilgrimage in India.

Featured Photo Credits – The Moneta.