MAPPING ROAD TO MUSICALITY

Music festivals taking place across Indian cities are offering a boost to the tourism industries of these regions, with connoisseurs fusing their love for music with travel

Some travel for food, some to unwind in the midst of Nature and some for the love of music. This amalgamation of music and travel is what has given rise to the concept of music tourism. Lakhs of music lovers would transcend boundaries to catch their favourite artiste or band perform live and explore new regions. Now, the trend, which saw a slump in the past two years owing to the Covid-19 crisis, is set to get an impetus this year, owing to the number of music festivals and concerts — including one of singer Justin Bieber in Delhi — lined up to enthral connoisseurs of music.

MUSIC AND TOURISM

Put simply, music tourism is all about travelling to music festivals with a larger aim of exploring the host city or state. Attendees not only get to watch their favourite artiste perform live, they also explore the local cuisine, tourist spots, markets, etc. “Music tourism helps smaller cities gain acknowledgment and improve the regional economy. Travelling from one city, state or country to another to enjoy music concerts, makes the traveller a part of music tourism,” explains Sanyam Bajaj, CEO of JOL, a travel company.

Attending a music festival goes beyond melodies; the idea is to soak in the local vibes. “It’s a different feeling altogether,” notes Subir Malik, founder of the band Parikrama, who travelled to Los Angeles (US) for a music festival in 2016, and spent his month-long stay exploring every nook and cranny of the region. “There was a time, a decade ago, when people in their mid 30s used to travel for music. But now, one can spot a huge gathering of youngsters [at these festivals]. They don’t mind going to far and lesser-known places, like Ziro (Arunachal Pradesh) and cities in

Nagaland, for the Hornbill festival,” he adds.

The Yellow Diary, a Mumbaibased band, also advocates the concept of travelling for more than just musical performances: “Look at festivals like Magnetic Fields, they attract people from all over India. As performers, we don’t get time usually to explore a place. But when we do, we love to check out popular places and local delicacies, too.”

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

For travel aggregators, music festivals are proving to be a great opportunity to organise tours, to help visitors get a flavour of the local way of living. “Music is the new medium that’s helping restore travel and tourism to pre-Covid levels. It has transformed into a global phenomenon, as young travellers are enthusiastic about exploring a venue from a new perspective,” says Bajaj, whose firm is organising a five-day tour for the Exit Festival in Serbia, from July 6 to 10.

JOURNEY TO THE LESSER-KNOWN

It’s not just metro cities that are gaining from the rise of music tourism. Music festivals are giving lesser-known regions of India a chance to be at the forefront and attract visitors to explore their beauty and culture. “We started a concept called village cultural tourism, wherein we encouraged the local artistes to perform various music genres, and even set up stalls offering local delicacies, thereby giving visitors a chance to understand regional music and go beyond, too. This became a huge success, all thanks to the love for music,” says Mahesh Babu, managing director of Banyan Tree Events, an organisation that has been promoting Indian performing arts for over two decades. Its upcoming event is a jazz festival, slated to take place in Mumbai and Bengaluru, in June.