CHENNAI: The beat drops, the night is lit up with cell phone lights and you elbow your way thought the crowd, dancing in high spirits — you are at a Sunburn concert! Excited already? As Chennai gears up to party hard at the biggest EDM festival (the famous Sunburn arena) on October 22 at VGP Beach Resort, we talk to some ardent EDM enthusiasts who ‘live, love and dance!’
Curated by Global Sound (a property of Sparkkz) which has been bringing the Sunburn arena to Chennai, the concert will see popular artist DJ KSHMR and EDM artist Jai Wolf. “Both artists are touring India for the very first time. The concert is going to be bigger than the one that happened in February, with DJ Snake. We are expecting more than 6,000 people at the venue,” says an excited K Jagadish, CEO, Global Sound.
With the concert and EDM culture slowly yet steadily catching up in the city, Jagadish opines that the city is open to new concepts. “In our first concert a few years back, we saw a turnout of only about 3,000 people, now it was increased to a whopping 8,000. In fact, the DJ Snake concert saw about 7,500 attendees from the city!” he exclaims. From adding JBL VerTec speakers to building a roof structure at the venue, the production is going to be bigger and epic, shares the organiser.
DJ Karty, a popular city-based artiste, is all pumped about the weekend and says that he’s thrilled to witness DJ Kshmr. “The Sunburn concert here in February with Snake was one of the most memorable concerts and the crowd was amazing. I am sure this time it’s going to be fabulous with Kshmr. He has a unique style. Chennai is finally coming out of its’ shell. In fact, you can see youngsters coming with parents and parents coming with their kids to the concert!” he shares.
Concurring, DJ Savio, another popular face, who performs at Taj Coromandel (Chipstead) recalls, “Until the Sunburn DJ Snake, I had never experienced such an enthralling concert in the city. It was outstanding. When I shared it with my friends in foreign countries, they refused to believe that it was Chennai!” he quips.
The city has been featuring popular artistes including DJ Snake, Nucleya and AfroJack as part of the Sunburn concerts over the last few years, and Savio says that it’s a positive shift. “It opens us to new music and different people. We get to see the best of best. This weekend is going to be amazing and there’s no doubt about it,” he adds.
For some Chennaiites, like Unnati Trivedi, a popular food blogger (theenthufoodie.com), Sunburn concerts are ‘life’. “Before Sunburn premiered in Chennai, I used to travel to Bengaluru to attend it. And I used to bump into a lot of Chennaiites there! That’s how badly we wanted an EDM concert (laughs). And now that it’s coming here, nothing will stop us!” she says and credits the organisers for being impeccable when it comes to crowd control. “Since I have been to the concerts in Bengaluru, I know how difficult it is to handle the ‘mad’ crowd. But here in Chennai it has been smooth so far,” she shares.
Fami Basumatary, another Sunburn lover, gushes about the Chennai crowd and gives a thumbs up as she talks about the safety. “Usually, you have to be paranoid in a crowded place. But I have seen the best crowd in the Chennai Sunburn concerts so far. I have been to all the concerts since 2014 and for the attendees, it’s all about bonding with like-minded people over music,” she says.
For Pooja Ranggaraj, a PG student from the city, who’s fairly new to the tracks by DJ Kshmr, the concert will be a new experience, she says. “I have been to other Sunburn concerts, but new tracks are always exciting. I am looking forward to it!” she exclaims, passing on the vibes to Rathna Bavya, her friend and a ‘newbie’ to sunburn. “I have been to the regular concerts but, I wanted to attend Sunburn for the sheer fun and experience of it!” she adds.
What Chennai wants
We want to see more international DJs perform as a part of Sunburn in the city. And some of our favourites are Hardwell, Kygo, Major Lazer, Diplo, DJ XO
Catch DJ KSHMR and Jai Wolf perform live at VGP Beach resort on October 22, from 4 pm. Visit event page on FB for more details