Sunburn has evolved beyond an EDM festival: Organiser

By Arundhuti Banerjee

Pune, Jan 1 (IANS) With the electronic dance music festival Sunburn completing ten years of its journey, its organiser Harindra Singh, Managing Director of Percept Limited, says that over the years, the gala has gone beyond just a dance music festival and has become a lifestyle brand, courtesy the love and appreciation of the audience.

Sunburn festival took place here from Wednesday to Saturday.

Asked about the plans to take the iconic Sunburn festival forward in coming years and to stay relevant with time, Singh told IANS here: "Sunburn has evolved beyond EDM and it is a lifestyle brand that people have to take forward in coming years."

"We can only provide the platform, and that we are doing for years. It is not our job to take it forward, but the people's job to add to the growing numbers, footfalls and spreading the joy of the festival."

The growing love for EDM in India has only added more attendees to Sunburn. How are the profits?

"You cannot measure the value of a brand like Sunburn with money and profit but the sweat, tears that goes behind it to continue the journey of the brand. This is a live entertainment property. Various international brands are interested to be with us, hang around with our audience and that speaks volumes," Singh said.

Started in 2007 at Candolim Beach, Goa, conceptualised by Nikhil Chinapa and organised by Percept Limited, Sunburn created a platform to celebrate the electronic dance music in India.

It became a popular destination for some iconic international artistes like Axwell, Armin Van Buuren, Afrojack, Pete Tong, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, along with many budding and popular Indian DJs at the festival stage.

Every year, the festival grew with a bigger line-ups of artistes and entertainment activities.

Reflecting upon the the decade-long voyage, Singh said: "Well, I feel happy that we created a brand that is loved by so many people. Ten years is a long time and I think the feeling is like as if you've climbed the top of a mountain. Of course, it was not easy to reach this level, but it has happened because of the immense support that we get from the people."

The journey was never an easy ride, especially this year when the festival faced a problem and couldn't manage permission from the Goa government. It was shifted to Kesanand in Pune, where they faced some trouble initially.

But it was sorted with the help of the Pune rural police and the Pune District Collector.

The organisers were happy to have the festival here as it's a city full of youngsters who added to the vibe of the event.

"Before zeroing down on Pune as the final destination, we looked at different cities. These included Mumbai and Hyderabad among others. But we felt Pune is the right city for us."

As a brand, the Sunburn organisers want to "go easy".

"In terms of financial growth, we will welcome money in right terms, from the right people at the right time, but not in hurry. As a brand, we are going easy. We are aiming to raise around $20,000 million in upcoming years."

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)