SHILLONG: With internationally acclaimed act Vertical Horizon playing on the first day of the much awaited NH7 Weekender, music lovers from all over the country has something to look forward to this month. In a week’s time, the finest artists from across the North East and the country will perform at the music fest in Umroi on October 21 and 22.
As Shillong is gearing up to host the biggest musical event in the country, Vijay Nair, CEO of ‘Only Much Louder’ told The Shillong Times that the most important reason for music lovers to visit the event is the line-up of multiple stages along with several other activities.
Reacting to a query about the positive impact which the NH 7 Weekender would create about North East and Meghalaya in particular, he said that hundreds of artists would visit Shillong for the event and share photos on social media to their fans which would ultimately give a positive picture of Shillong to the rest of the world.
Asserting that the Shillong edition of NH 7 weekender is the most tourist-friendly, he said that the state is set to benefit from the event as tourists will definitely stay back in Shillong to explore the place.
Nair however pointed out that accommodation poses a huge challenge in Shillong with just a mere 1000 available rooms, barely enough to take in tourist who will pour in the city for the event. He also added that different companies would set up camps for the attendees besides a huge number of shuttle services would also be introduced since Umroi is quite far from the state capital. He said that Shillong Weekender is receiving phenomenal response and thousands of tickets have been bought from Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore online.
The event is expected to witness around 40,000-45,000 visitors and the online sales for Shillong sold out much before Hyderabad and Pune edition.
The line-up for the Shillong edition on October 21 is Vertical Horizon (Washington DC), Papon (Guwahati), Farhan Live (Mumbai), Dualist Inquiry (Delhi), Mr. Woodnote & Lil Rhys (Bristol), Vir Das’ Alien Chutney (Mumbai), Natty (London), Tough on Tobacco (Mumbai), Alobo Naga & Band (Dimapur), Bipul Chettri (Delhi), Blue Temptation (Shillong), Dossers Urge (Shillong), Elephant In The Elevator (Guwahati), Kumail (Mumbai), Parekh & Singh (Kolkata), River (Delhi), Sickflip (Mumbai), Su Real (Delhi), Tejas (Mumbai) and The Ritornellos (Kolkata).
The lineup for October 22 is Steven Wilson (London), Nucleya (Delhi), Soulmate: History of the Blues (Shillong), Fossils (Kolkata), Dhruv Voyage (Mumbai), Wild Palms (London), Aberrant (Shillong), Aswekeepsearching (Ahmedabad), Dhruv Visvanath (Delhi), Imphal Talkies (Imphal), Lucid Recess (Guwahati), Madboy/Mink (Mumbai), Mali (Mumbai), Nanok (Mumbai), Prateek Kuhad (Delhi), Rhythm Shaw (Mumbai), Sapta (Chennai), Underground Authority (Kolkata), Undying Inc (Delhi) and What Escapes Me (Kolkata).
