Bigger than ever: Sunburn Music Festival 2019

Sunburn Music Festival is one of the ultimate youth engagement platforms. Being ranked amongst the top three attended global music festivals; top five music festivals across all social media platforms globally and it's also classified as the no. 1 youth platform in Asia, the flagship festival is back after a gap of three years at Vagator, Goa on December 27.

Sunburn 2019 is going to be bigger than ever with an artistes line-up including DJ Martin Garrix and the world's biggest dance-pop acts The Chainsmokers, DJ Snake which no music lover can afford to miss.

But what does it take to organise an event of such grandeur? Karan Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Percept Live which owns and manages the festival got in a conversation shares more about the hard work it takes to make the festival, even more, bigger each time.

Excerpts from an interview

How is this season of the Sunburn Music Festival going to be different?

The flagship Sunburn Festival is returning this December 2019 to Vagator Goa after a gap of 3 years and we are aiming to provide a memorable and amazing experience that can once again build Goa into a thriving music destination. To commemorate the festival's decade-plus inning, a brand-new underground music venture called 'SOLARIS' featuring a range of exquisite underground international and home-grown house and techno acts will feature on two dedicated stages.

We are working around the clock to curate and deliver the most intrinsic and enhanced fan experience spanning SFX, pyrotechnics, and technology to further augment our experiential standards. Sunburn After Dark will leave festival-goers spoilt for choice with manifold options to choose from. Catch Bombay Adda, Hammerzz, Larive, Owl, and Re: Fresh play a surprise set at multiple After Dark Parties in and around Goa.

In addition to this, one of the most premium hotel chains, W Goa will be showcasing a luxe Eclipse by W Goa Lounge at the festival to deliver an extravagant world-class VVIP experience for festival-goers. A massive festival like Sunburn is built on creativity, foresight, and passion, and we will be going in all guns blazing to make Sunburn Festival 2019 an even bigger festival than ever.

What is the line-up like this year?

We have a fantastic artiste line up including World no #2 DJ Martin Garrix and the world's biggest dance-pop acts The Chainsmokers also beloved DJ Snake of India headlining Sunburn Festival 2019. Phenomenal acts like Australian record producer and Grammy award winner DJ FLUME, multi-platinum producer and songwriter Jonas Blue, defining the figure of house music Fedde Le Grand, Dutch dance music star Julian Jordan and young Belgian prodigy Lost Frequencies, will be joining the Main Stage as support acts, promising an electrifying experience.

Techno innovators, Cuban-American DJ/producer, MaceoPlex and five time DJ Award-winner Chilean-Swiss DJ Luciano who will be making their India debut at the festival will be headlining the SOLARIS stage. Joining them as support acts would be Oliver Huntsman, Jeremy Olander, Coyu, Hosh, Andre Winter, Anish Sood, Ana Lilia, Marino Canal, Shaun Reeves, Sequ3l, Priyanjana, Idriss D and Khen.

Other popular artistes that we have handpicked for our fans to be entertained throughout the day include Candice Redding, Kryoman, Shaan, Sartek, Ritviz, Progressive Brothers, Siana Catherine, Teri Miko, Jetfire, Aazar, Brooks, Ellie Prohan and Loopers.

On the Psychedelic Stage, one can watch out for names like Belik Boom, Captain Hook, Designer Hippies, Laughing Buddha, Shanti People, Space Cat, and Xerox and Illumination! Sunburn Goa 2019 will feature several special labels showcases and stages including Martin Garrix's STMPD imprint, Luciano & Friends, Senso sounds, Sin City, Slick, Suara & Vivrant.

What are the criteria of the line-up every year?

Sunburn always stayed committed to associating with the latest and the best, with whatever is trending in the music world today. The artistes we fly down are ranked absolutely top in the world, and that's the only way to be atop the game.

We ensure that we are focused on the core 18 to 25 age bracket, with our entire R&D process being quite scientific, real-time and data-driven. We have a constant online exercise to monitor and study music preferences, what's shared, and what artists and videos are trending. That's how we pick and vary our program selections. We stay absolutely current and topical. We also stay very connected and involved with our clients and consumers through the entire process of conceptualizing, curating and executing all our events. In a consumer interfacing business like Sunburn, one must stay connected. We don't rely on spreadsheets for artiste selections. We go to all our events, interact with the young crowd, listen to and embrace their feedback to improvise and keep evolving. We give them what they want, not what we want.

How do you try and manage the scale of the event?

The success of Sunburn can be attributed to a lot of hard work, research, investment, and other tangible factors. Given the dynamic audience pulse and partner brand expectations, we have constantly innovated, experimented, broken the mold and introduced newer and more formats recognizing the potential of Sunburn across the entire country. We have always focused on the expectations and experience of our fans, and we will continue to give them an even better, bigger and importantly more varied experience moving forward.

Today, Sunburn is the ultimate Youth Engagement platform. It's no surprise that Sunburn is ranked amongst the top three attended global music festivals; rated amongst the top five music festivals across all social media platforms globally; classified as the no. 1 youth platform in Asia; and India's leading Live Media Asset.

Innovation, experimentation, R&D, embracing the latest and the best of global Technology, and single-minded dedication towards delivering the very best is how we have successfully stayed not just relevant but ahead of the curve since 2007.