NH7 hopes to continue serving as a discovery & career-launching platform for audiences & artists:Tej

by  Mugdha Gaonkar Entertainment | November 11, 2024 | Interview

NH7 Weekender Tej Brar NODWIN Gaming House of McDowell's Soda DIVINE

NH7 Weekender is all set to return on December 14-15, 2024, in Pune, marking an exciting new chapter for one of India’s longest-running multi-genre music festivals. Now in its 15th edition, the festival is switching from its traditional three-day format to a two-day event and introducing The House of McDowell’s Soda as its new title sponsor, replacing Bacardi. This edition promises a fresh experience for fans, with an exciting lineup, immersive gaming experiences, and curated spaces to deliver unforgettable moments for the youth audience.

In an exclusive conversation with EVENTFAQS Media, Tej Brar, Head of Festival at Nodwin Gaming, sheds light on the evolution, vision, and unique elements of one of India’s most iconic music festivals NH7 Weekender. Brar also shares the creative vision driving this year’s festival, emphasizing a focus on youth culture. The lineup is carefully curated to resonate with longtime fans and newcomers, blending familiar sounds with emerging global and local influences. In addition to the lineup, Brar also teases exclusive brand activations and special merchandise collaborations that are sure to excite fans. With a legacy of 15 years, NH7 Weekender continues to redefine the festival experience in India, promising to merge cutting-edge music with unforgettable moments.

Q. As one of India's most iconic music festivals, how has NH7 Weekender evolved over the years to stay relevant and exciting?

As the first mover in the multi-genre festival space in India. We were the first folks to cater to a much wider audience which is not just genre specific audience, but different age groups as well. If you come to NH7 from all the years that we've been running from 2010 until 2024, you will notice that there's everything from Boomers/older to millenials  and GenZ with family and friends.

We're very proud of the fact that we've been able to cater to a very wide variety of audiences. The way that we've been able to interpret that year on year is, understanding what is sort of trending in the country as well as how that lines up with what is trending internationally and be able to represent that not only with international artists, but Indian artists standing alongside them on equal billing. A good example of this is how we were booking somebody like a Chase & Status in 2013 - 2014 when electronic music was hugely popular. But the way we presented that was standing alongside a Nucleya who represented the India version of it.

Similarly when we looked at the explosion of hip hop, that happened, internationally. Presenting somebody like EarthGang at NH7, but having a Raja Kumari play right before them was sort of an Indian interpretation. Again, when we hosted JID, and having a Hanumankind and Kr$na perform right before them. So I think finding equivalency, between what's happening globally and what's happening within India and how we can represent that, I think that's something, that we've really prided ourselves on year on year, maintaining our relevance in the market.

What’s the main vision behind this year’s NH7 Weekender, and are there any new themes or concepts that will make it distinct?

So this is our first year with our new sponsor, which is House of McDowell's soda. I think the overarching theme that will run across not only the festival, but all of our marketing as well as our after movies and assets that will come after it is celebration.

It is a year of celebration for everybody involved in coming together here. This, of course, is the 15th edition of NH7 Weekender, so us being able to celebrate the longevity of the festival, be able to celebrate that milestone in a way that is really meaningful to our audience as well as, to past participants of the festival. Artists who have played here before, people who have, you know, attended the festival with their friends before, NH7 has held a very special place in a lot of people's lives.

For a lot of people, it was the first festival they ever went to. For a lot of people, it was the place where they maybe made friends with a new group of people. It might be one of the first bonding experiences they had going out with their college gang. So it's played a lot of different roles and, you know, people have even gotten engaged with the festival. We've had multiple proposals at the festival over the years.

So I think the festival has really served a pretty central role in a lot of different people's lives. And I think that  sense of celebration, camaraderie, friendship, and joy is what we have in common with the House of McDowell's Soda. So that sense of camaraderie and celebration, you know, their calling cry has always been “Yaaro Waali Baat”, for the longest time. And I think that really resonates well with what the happiest music festival has stood for many years.

As the House of McDowell's Soda moves into their next avatar, which is launching a new series called the X series, which is going to be a new range of products that they're doing, which is, you know, McDowell's, of course, has always been known for whiskey.

But within the X series, they are now launching a light rum, a dark rum, a gin, and a vodka category. So as they turn the page into their new avatar, we similarly are turning the page into our next avatar and our next milestone. So, I think that what's kept it really fun and exciting and what the theme is for this year is Celebration. 

With the festival now having such a legacy, how do you approach curating a lineup that keeps both long-time fans and new attendees engaged?

I think that the approach for this year in particular was, NH7 has served as an incredible launch platform for a lot of the larger artists that have gone on and put India on the map in a lot of ways. Whether you look at Nucleya, Prateek Kuhad, Divine, these are all artists that are filling stadiums now, and they're very much headliners in their own right. A lot of those artists got their first start at NH7. And for us being able to celebrate the longevity of the festival, we wanted to bring back some folks back to the festival that have had an incredible legacy.

And I think that our headliner, Amit Trivedi, is a great example of that. Amit, was one of the first at NH7, that he ever performed live. Amit Trivedi put a band together for the first time to perform at NH7 Weekender. So having Amit come back and play with us for the 15th year celebration of the festival, I think it's an incredible narrative. And I think that's an incredible, sort of full circle moment, for himself, for the festival, for the audience as well.

Similarly, we are able to bring in hugely popular and contemporary, global stars like Jorja Smith, who's gonna be joining us. She's Grammy nominated, brand new single out this year. She's been on a global world tour this entire year.

So getting NH7 to be one of the stops for her, is obviously an incredible opportunity for us to host her here in India as well. But then presenting somebody like that alongside Amit, but then also having somebody like an Usha Uthup come and feature, who brings in the legacy and the heritage and the history of what music has meant in India. I'm very proud of the lineup, and I think we've been able to present something for everyone, you know, this year. So that's a little bit of what the lens is and what the approach is. 

We wanna have something contemporary and international, something Indian and legacy, and we wanna be able to have something where we celebrate the full circle moment of the narrative of having somebody like Amit come back and visit with us again. 

Are there any brand activations or exclusive merchandise collaborations happening this year that fans should watch out for?

There certainly will be, but I'd prefer not to, outline that right now. You're just gonna have to come to the festival and see.

What role do you see NH7 Weekender playing in the Indian music and festival scene, especially as it expands to include global influences?

NH7 has served as a launch platform for a lot of big format artists and has also served as a place of discovery. It has been a place where people have come to see 1 artist or see 1 headliner, but fall in love with another artist.

Having NH7 serve as a multi-genre festival for as long as it has, I think that the thing that we are proudest of is the discovery factor. People coming in for one thing and then taking something else with them away.

So I think that is something that we're super proud of, and I think that's how we've seen NH7's role, in a lot of ways. So an incredible platform for the artists to launch, an incredible community of music lovers who've come together for many years, and a place of people being open minded musically. I think one of the most remarkable things that's from my own personal observation, having been with the festival since 2011 in a variety of different roles.

So over that period of time, I've been very lucky to see firsthand how audiences have changed and how the audiences have reacted to different sounds and that kind of thing. And I think what's really remarkable and really cool is that you'll see the same kid in the front row at Nucleya's set, and then you see the same kid in the front row at Prateek Kuhad's set. And that same kid will then go and know every word to The Lumineers Band songs, and they'll know every word to Chet Faker and they'll also be there at Flying Lotus. So I think that open mindedness is something that NH7 has been able to nurture, for quite some time, and I hope, to be able to do that for many, many years into the future, as well.

So we hope to continue to serve as a discovery platform for audiences as well as a career launching platform for artists.