Vagator-Goa: Yes, finally it was time for one of the world’s marquee Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals, “Sunburn Goa 2014”, which kicked off for the 8th time in Goa, proving that when it comes to EDM festivals there is no 7-year itch. And I was there- although I can’t stand EDM for a long hours, but when my hardcore EDM friends force me to join their company, then I though “Why Not”, when most of my expenses are borne by my rich Mangalorean pals. The land of swaying palms, white sands and sparkling waters where feni flows freely – Goa transformed itself into the grand ‘party’ central of India, thanks to the thumping beats of dance music. I sincere thanks to Amod Wakalkar and his wife from Pune, whom I met at the Fest, who were kind enough to contribute some photographs to our website.
The countdown for the most awaited and Asia’s premium EDM festival began on Saturday 27 December 2014 at around 3.30pm, and the much awaited for Sunburn Goa 2014 Electronic Dance Music Festival finally became a reality. Sunburn Goa 2014 in its 8th year returns with over 204 hours non-stop music, 150 artists performing across 8 stages rewriting the history of Dance Music on the 200 feet+ ‘main stage’, offered the biggest ever stage experience anywhere in Asia.
The venue ‘Vagator’ very close to the fanous ‘Vagator Beach’ on Saturday, the Day 1 of the biggest EDM Music Fest witnessed a sea of crowd to the extravaganza- living to the promises made, ‘Sunburn Provogue (power Deos) ‘ the organizers brought the legends of dance music to Goa. A journey that began seven years ago, the Fest continued to enthrall dance music lovers/buffs with an experience par excellence. The artists performing on the main stage took the energy to new heights.
I had been to Sunburn Fest in 2012, then again in 2013, and since I can’t get enough of it, I was there this year too. Staying true to its promise of redefining the Dance Music space, Sunburn has definitely grown in magnitude over the all these years. Catering to diverse genres of electronic dance music, Sunburn Goa 2014 saw the best of Trap, Dubstep, Drum N Bass, Hardstyle, House, Tech house, Deep House, Electro, Psy Trance, Electronica. The first day (December 27) of the festival saw hysteria of epic proportions when Dutch DJ and producer Sander Van Doorn unleashed his electrifying sets at Vagator, few meters from the sunny and sandy Vagator Beach.
Besides Sander Van Doorn, there was a classic mix acts by international and national DJ’s like Deniz Koyu, Shaan, Danny Avila, Joshi, Anish Sood, Klingande, Sartek, Starlab, Fuzz culture, Quiver and many more. This year Sunburn Goa 2014 showcased a massive line up with dance music titans such as Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Knife Party, Sander Van Doorn, Sasha, Krewella, Baauer, Danny Avila, Head Hunterz, Deniz Koyu, Dubvision, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Matthew Koma, MAKJ, New World Sound, Michael Woods and many more.
Earlier planned for 27, 28 and 29 December, but as a tribute to all the fans, Sunburn has extended its dates by a day (December 30) providing another opportunity for sunburn fans and lovers of EDM in Goa treat themselves an additional day at Sunburn to the tunes of world #2 and resident DJ of Tomorrowland DJ Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike (DVLM). All 3 day ticket holders of Sunburn Goa festival had free access to Sunburn Surprise. And since we had a 3-day pass, we were all treated a free boat cruise on the Mandovi River, inclusive of all you can eat/drink/dance extravaganza. Some of my friends who were single day ticket holders of sunburn Goa festival got a 50% discount on the ticket to ‘Sunburn Surprise’.
I learnt from one of the crew members of the Fest that- Sunburn Goa 2014 had adopted 500,000sq/m of exotic festival area in Vagator with seven massive stages each with its own creative concept and technological innovations. Sunburn Goa is just not an EDM festival but a destination for music lovers and dance enthusiasts coming in from across the globe. It’s just not an EDM festival but the biggest party of the year with a larger than life experience. Sunburn Season 8 had the largest artist village in Asia, elaborate food courts, Sunburn Cruises, bigger after parties, open air movie theatre, bigger flea market and much more, the fun for these four days is legendary. And with the precursor to the way music madness has shaped up on the very first day, the remaining days put up the tempo all the way up to the orbit.