Destination music festivals have realised that they cannot be isolated experiences. The latest on the block, Catamaran Beach Festival, not only hosts stellar music across two days, but also includes activities to boost the local economy at their venue, Chinna Veerampattinam Beach, Puducherry.
Go local
Festival director Prasad Radhakrishnan says, “Our company’s philosophy is based on inclusiveness, diversity and being environmentally conscious. So we are involving the local fishing village community in helping us with manning our seafood stalls by preparing their local recipes, providing catamaran rides on the lagoon, beach security and more.”
Originally intended as a one-day event, it was scaled up to two days and now includes over 18 artistes. Programming head Roy Dipankar adds, “We are all set to provide an experience that would be different from the run of the mill, celebrity-driven events. It is also the time when the weather and mood is festive and receptive.”
Opening at 1 pm and closing at 1 am, expect rock, reggae, electronic, fusion and everything in between. There are Chennai artistes such as Sufi-rock group Pakizah, alt rockers Bjorn Surrao and Band, electronic music producer Ezzyland and hip-hop artiste GMB. Goa-based rapper MC Kaur and New Delhi dark techno producer Hashback Hashish round off day one. Bring in 2019 with sets by DJ/producer Unnayanaa, reggae by Dakta Dub, experimental electronic music from Pulpy Shilpy, Carnatic rock from The Iyer Project and adrenaline-fuelled rock by Jhanu, and more.
Creating a sub-culture
Dipankar, who has worked in the music industry for more than a decade, says, “Programming involved creating a mood graph mapped across 12-plus hours of music each day from artist to artist. It will be interesting to observe how the crowd reacts to interactive sets and genre bending performances woven into the lineup.” The intention to keep it going year on year, which also depends on how the festival is received in its inaugural edition this weekend. He adds, “The outcome of this edition will be a good case study towards growing organic, sustainable subculture experiences at non-urban exquisite settings.”
Catamaran Beach Festival takes place on December 30 and 31 at Chinna Veerampattinam, Puducherry. Tickets at ₹999 (for day one), ₹1,999 (for day two) and ₹2,799 (for both days), available on insider.in.