It all started in 2004. It was a Sunday afternoon and the weather demanded a chilled mug of beer. So the banyan tree sheltered founder Vilas Hiregoudar as he wondered why a city as vibrant as Bangalore didn’t have one decent music festival. And voila, then and there was born The Great Indian October Fest.
India always had an ear for good music. The country also had the taste for beer. Bangalore was the beer capital thanks to mega mogul Vijay Mallya and the Kingfisher enterprise basing itself out of Bangalore. So it made perfect sense to have a beer and music festival in this particular city. Also, the lack of a platform for local and international music acts was something that bothered a large number of people. “India being a culmination of different languages, music & culture, we saw huge potential to create a platform for music lovers & musicians,” says Vilas. This year
The actual event was something that left the team at Common Colours Entertainment (organisers of TGIOF) thinking. They knew the potential, they knew the kind of acts the wanted, they just had to plan it out so it would be the spectacular show this beautiful city deserved. They wanted to bring an Indian-ness to the festival. “Most countries having their own versions of October Fest. We created Indian version of the october fest with the blend of Indian music, food & fusion of International artists to take it to a global platform,” says Vilas.
Globally, the phenomenon began in Munich in 1811, to continue the tradition of horse racing that happened at King Ludwig’s wedding. Today, the 16 day festival of beer is celebrated under the name Oktoberfest, which happens late September ending on the first day of October. The festival went global in the year 1960, when people around the world began to take notice of it. The Indian edition was quite the success from the kick-off. The fest has a footfall of 10,000 people as soon as it opens and the numbers have peaked at 50000, (during the 2009 fest) causing the organisers to shut their ticket counters early to manage the crowd.
Launched in India in 2005, the fest happens annually generally at Palace grounds in the heart of Bangalore city. A wide open space, it is perfect for the food, the beer, the live bands and the flea market. However, organisers had to shift the Bangalore edition of the fest to Whitefeild in 2011 due to issues with permission. This year the event will be happening at the Bangalore palace. The organisers have also included another city into the mix this year: Hyderabad will play a part in plotting a landmark in the events history.
With the wide range of acts that usually showcase, there is an increasing interest in international acts willing to perform because of the surprise and content they feel after knowing that most attendees know all the songs by heart. On occasion, fans sing the entire song along with the act from start to end. This kind of fan-following draws a variety of international acts back to India again and again. Some of the featured bands are Moksha, Thermal and a Quarter, Parouisa, The Ministry of Blues, Pentagram, Brahma, Them Clones, Mother Jane, Avial, Inner Sanctum and Indian Ocean. With a promise of great beer and a good time, this festival shows off the country’s 2-11 crowd and that they really can drink.
TGIOF will take place in Bangalore at the Bangalore Palace, Jayamahal Road on 12,13 & 14 October
TGIOF will take place in Hyderabad at the N Convention, Kothaguda, on 5, 6 &7 October
