Sulafest 2019, Nashik

With 11 years of festivities under their belt, SulaFest decided to up the ante with a power-packed lineup for their 12th edition.

- Riddhi Chakraborty

Over 10,000 attendees showed up over the weekend of February 2nd and 3rd to witness what was SulaFest’s most diverse lineup yet– with 23 artists offering hip-hop, funk, folk, rock, Bollywood, pop, electronica, fusion, soul and much more between them, there was fantastic music on the table for every kind of listener.

The festival, which takes place at Sula Vineyards in Nashik every February, has a reputation of elegance and diversity, attracting patrons of various backgrounds, nationalities and ages. SulaFest hosts everyone from college students taking a long weekend trip to catch their favorite musicians, to older crowds looking for a break from their hectic work schedules, and foreigners eager to see what India’s festival scene looks like.

We knew this year would be a little more hectic than usual– with desi hip-hop heading to new levels thanks to Bollywood film Gully Boy, Mumbai rapper Divine’s presence was sure to cause chaos–but were glad to see that the surplus crowd did little to dampen SulaFest and its organizers’ enthusiasm and determination to keep everyone safe and happy. Combine that with the music festival’s usual guarantee of good food and even better wine, and it’s possible we might have a winning example of consistency with escalation.

Getting started On day one, we began our adventure with a wine tasting session led by Vice President of Wine-making at Sula Vineyards, Karan Vasani (which was cut short by a quick dash backstage to meet day one headliners Jungle) after which we settled down at the massive Amphitheatre stage to catch U.K.-based gypsy and ska act, Hallouminati’s set. The band were definitely the dark horse of the lineup with a highly engaging and creative performance that blended elements of Middle Eastern instrumentals with reggae and rock. Israeli hip-hop/funk collective Lucille Crew followed, combining great energy with intense hip-hop.