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India’s biggest metal fest sells out for first time

India’s biggest metal festival Bangalore Open Air has sold out for the first time in its 10-year history.

“This will go down in the history books,” says Bangalore Open Air founder, Salman U Syed. “A heavy metal festival in Bangalore, India, is sold out. Thank you for your support. Ten years of hard work determination and patience.”

The 3,000-capacity event, which is produced in partnership with Germany’s marquee metal festival Wacken Open Air, will this year celebrate its 10th anniversary.

“Thank you for your support. Ten years of hard work determination and patience”

Mayhem, Pestilence, Kryptos, Godless, Born of Osiris, Dying Embrace and Amorphia are among the acts lined up for the 1 April event at Royal Orchid Resorts at Yelahanka. Tickets start from ₹30,499 (€341).

In the past, the festival has hosted The Wacken Metal Battle’s Indian leg, with the winning band getting an opportunity to play at the German flagship festival, promoted by Superstuct Entertainment-backed International Concert Service (ICS).

The sell-out Bangalore Open Air comes soon after the inaugural Lollapalooza India drew 60,000 fans over two days.

 


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SteppinOut plans India’s biggest music festival

Experience curator SteppinOut has planned what it’s touting as the biggest festival in India in 2022.

Grammy Award-nominated DJ Steve Aoki heads up a bill of 50+ artists booked to perform across five stages at the 50,000-capacity event in Bangalore.

SteppinOut Music Festival will also feature performances from domestic and international artists such as Harrdy Sandhu, Offset, Solomun, TroyBoi, Divine, Anuv Jain Jasleen Royal and Lucky Ali.

Blot!, Sickflip, Kayan Live, Divine and Aswekeepsearching are also billed to perform at the festival.

The event is slated to take place on 10 and 11 December at Embassy International Riding School, and will be hosted by Indian DJ Nikhil Chinapa and Indian actor Rannvijay Singha.

“This music festival is going to be our crowning jewel”

“We are thrilled to be able to do this for our loyal customers who flock to all SteppinOut events, we love to give our patrons the opportunity to come together with their friends and loved ones to enjoy a nice day out,” says founder Safdhar Adoor.

“We are constantly evolving with extremely successful events ranging from sneaker fests to our signature flea markets. This music festival is going to be our crowning jewel. We cannot wait for people to come together and enjoy the music they love so much and get a chance to see their favourite artists live. This will definitely be the first of many!”

SteppinOut hosts around 20 events a month, ranging from night markets to concerts to comedy nights.

In August 2020, the company was acquired by India’s largest dining-out platform, DineOut. It was then acquired by Swiggy, the delivery aggregator giant, in July 2022.

 


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Live Nation backs new Bangalore arena complex

Live Nation will lend its “global expertise” to a new entertainment arena project in Bangalore, India’s third most-populous city and an emerging touring destination.

Located at Kempegowda International Airport (BLR), the venue – developed by a consortium led by events firm Phase 1 Experiences and property developer Embassy Group – will be the first major “experiential and entertainment destination” in Bangalore (Bengaluru), a megacity home to more than ten million people currently only served by smaller sports arenas.

Live Nation will act as consultant to the consortium, while Nikhil Chinapa, co-founder of the Sunburn and Supersonic EDM festivals, serves as strategy and communications lead.

Paul Antonio, president of Asia and the Middle East for Live Nation, comments: “We’re pleased to be able to contribute to the establishment of this world-class venue, both in terms of supporting the mobilisation and subsequently the programming of international artists.

“The venue will be a state-of-the-art, must-play arena”

“The venue will be a state-of-the-art, must-play arena and we look forward to bringing our touring artists and live events here as soon as the doors open, and for years to come.”

The venue will comprise four distinct “experience zones”, according to Embassy:

The project is expected to cost around ₹1 billion (US$14m) and be ready within two years (by the end of 2021).

“The venue will be on par with iconic international concert arenas such as Madison Square Garden and the O2”

Oum Pradutt, founder and managing director of Phase 1 Experiences, says: “Our vision is to radically enhance the live experience quotient of the Indian consumer. Just like multiplexes transformed the cinematic experience and 5G is about to reshape the digital experience, we aim to take the live entertainment experience to the next level in India.

“The venue will be on par with iconic international concert arenas such as New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena, enabling us to import the biggest shows and best of global talent to India. This will attract audiences and fans from not just across India, but across south Asia, and establish Bengaluru’s position as a live concert and entertainment capital globally.”

Currently, India’s largest indoor arenas are sports facilities, such as the 14,348-cap. Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi and 12,000-cap. Netaji Indoor Stadium in Calcutta (Kolkata).

“BIAL is pleased to announce the partnership with two market leaders in their respective areas of expertise,” says Rao Munukutla, chief real estate officer of Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL). “This is a significant stepping stone towards making the BLR Airport a hub of entertainment, not just for Bengaluru, but for the entire country.”

 


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