An Intoxication of High-Voltage Music at SulaFest 2017
SulaFest 2017 ~ A Festival That Truly Exhilarates Your Soul!
Drench Yourself in Music, Wine, and an Eclectic Variety of Foods!
The first week of February every year sees a sudden change in the environment in the quaint town of Nasik when the harvesting time coincides with the enthralling Sula Fest. Once again, the Sula vineyard beckons the presence of every music and party enthusiast who enjoys soulful music and an equally remarkable spread of food and wine, with the heart-thumping, palate-teasing “Gourmet World Music Festival” ~ #SulaFest2017!
Ingeniously interweaving the souls of the attendees in their shared passion for soulful music, epicurean food, and good wine, the SulaFest resonates a spirit of camaraderie among the audience and the performers as they brazenly lose themselves to a weekend brimming with fun. While we know it as the SulaFest, for the town of Nasik it is the time of the year when the air is energised with the hearty laughter and the enthusiastic cheering of the audience as they welcome some of the most renowned music artists in the world. 2017 was no less cheerful and no less magical than what the fest is known to be. This year the festival had cold pressed Juice Company, #RawPressery as its title sponsor, which made its presence felt throughout the festival. The addition of another day extended the enjoyment and the addition of another stage {the Tropical Stage} augmented the zesty spirit of enthusiasm clearly visible among the people attending the fest.
Here’s a look at all the facets of the 10th edition of SulaFest 2017 that made the festival tick!
1. Feel Good Music to Uplift Your Spirit
From upbeat tunes to the more reflective and contemplative fair, the SulaFest embraces every aspect of music at its best presenting some of the most talented singers and music artists from around the world. Last year’s roundup included Kailasa, The Cat Empire, Balkan Beat Box, and Reggae Rajahs to name a few. With a three-stage setup based on the Greek-style open-air amphitheatres, the SulaFest this year brought together some of the finest names in the world of music, living up to its attributed title of “World Music Festival”.
The artist line-up proudly boasted of over 120 nationwide and internationally celebrated artists {more than 30 genres, 23 nations} including renowned names like Nucleya, Dana Ruh, Indian Ocean, Loco and Jam, The Raghu Dixit Project, Afro Celt Sound System, Hilight Tribe, Dubioza Kolektiv and Dhruv Voyage to name a few. The folks at Sula know their wine, but their yearly success at the SulaFest proves that they know their music equally well. Music for the main Amphitheatre Stage had an eclectic collection which ranged from Indi-Pop to world music fusion to electro-acoustic.
The spacious Atmasphere Stage was charged up with energies that were reverberated by every techno, minimal and deep house fanatic at the fest. With Nucleya, Wooter De Moore, Dana Ruh, and many others bringing vibrancy to the Atmasphere Stage, there was no doubt that the Fest was bound to be a hit. The Tropical Stage with electro-acoustic and ambient music was a new addition to this year’s fest, and the keenly planned stage area gave the audience an intimate setting to relax, unwind and enjoy the music. It is also symbolic of how the fest is growing steadily, bringing in talents from around the world and opening its courtyards even further to make space for more fun!
Also, a big shout out to ‘Bloc Party’, who played some popular tracks from their recently released album, Hymns at the Amphitheatre Stage. This indie-rock band from London was performing in India for the first time, and the audience truly enjoyed their mix of angular sonics with pop structures. ‘Infected Mushroom’ from Israel had a stunning impact on the audience with their three-dimensional sound that is a signature tone of the duo, and their impressive stage performance {the musical duo hails from the city of Haifa and they produce as well as perform Electronica}. As for ‘Nucleya’, we have seen him perform before this, but never did we see him in this amazing character where he surprised us with his unabashed performance!
Indian Ocean
Raghu Dixit
2. Food To Tempt Your Taste Buds
Curious about what drove the energy levels at the SulaFest this year? I think it was the delightful spread of gourmet offerings from handpicked food outlets that included savoury desi bites, sinful desserts, and delicious treats to ensure that fest-goers got their sugar rush which kept up their energy levels. The delectable display of cuisine included delicious lamb burgers, oriental wraps, truck shop fare, and much more that left you feeling spoilt for choice. Although it’s most noticeable take away for me was Hershey Premium Chocolate ‘Brookside’ that came on board this year, with three exotic flavours ~ Acai and Blueberry, Goji with Raspberry and Pomegranate!
The food was epicurean and the wines were heavenly. In fact, the wines served as a fitting end to the exquisite cuisine on offer. My personal favourites were the brand new #LimitedEdition Valentines wines that were launched at the festival.
3. The Unquestionably Scenic Décor
The mesmerising backdrop of the vineyards serves as the most picturesque venue for the SulaFest. Every year, the decorations continue to grow more appealing. Whether it was last year’s flamboyantly done umbrella ceiling or this year’s ostentatious wine paintings, wine bottles turned lamps and origami lampshades hanging from the trees; every part of the venue was always tastefully done to match the celebratory spirits of the audience and the performers. The kaleidoscopic image captured in the eyes of the attendees as they explored the place was surely going to be etched in their minds for a long time. Reverberating the attitude of the attendees, the burst of colours contributed beautifully to the vibe of the environment.
Bloc Party
Afro Celt Sound System
4. A Tranquil Campsite For Every Reveller
The SulaFest campsite, hosted and organised by #Letscampout, was just a stone’s throw away from the venue. The spot was a perfect one for all those freelancing souls to hang out in a quintessential remote place, encompassing the visual appeal of the surroundings. The beautiful pond served as nature’s own mirror with hillocks surrounding the pond which gave way to a charming view of green expanse that you could feast your eyes on. The campsite had luxurious tents as well as regular ones spaced out for adequate privacy for the guests. Amidst just benign beauty, guests awaited the beautiful sunrises and sunsets from the campsite.
5. Compendium
While the SulaFest had a massive turnout and guests appreciated the scenic venue, the gorgeous décor, the ceaseless entertainment, and enticing wine experience; concerns were raised about the size of the venue ~ given the growing size of the fest. The next time around the promoters may want to open up more parts of the vineyards for some more walking and lounging space. With an entire vineyard available, I doubt that there should be a lot of problems correcting this small inadequacy.
Infected Mushroom
All in all, I got to experience the freshness of the vineyards, drank delicious wine, enjoyed fabulous music, and shared many laughs that made for a super time! Take a bow SulaFest 2017!
#SnapShots
Day 1: Tanya Dhar with Cecilia Oldne, VP ~ Marketing | Global Brand Ambassador at Sula Vineyards
Day 2: Tanya Dhar with Cecilia Oldne, VP ~ Marketing | Global Brand Ambassador Sula Vineyards at the Sula Wine Tasting
Day 2: Tanya Dhar with Designer Arjun Khanna
Day 2: Tanya Dhar with Malini Agarwal, a.k.a. #MissMalini and Cecilia Oldne, VP ~ Marketing | Global Brand Ambassador at Sula Vineyards
Day 3: Last day at the SulaFest… contemplative mood
Day 3: On a more cheerful note ~ Tanya Dhar with Cecilia Oldne, VP ~ Marketing | Global Brand Ambassador at Sula Vineyards, sipping on the 10th Edition Signature drink ‘ValenSeco’ ~ a mix of Sula Seco Rose and Raw Pressery Valencia Orange Juice.
Day 3: Tanya Dhar with veteran actor Kabir Bedi
Day 3: Rajeev Samant, CEO and Founder, Sula Vineyards along with Anuj Rakyan, Managing Director, RAW Pressery
Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from Sula Vineyards Nashik, and is a narrative of the author’s experience at the event. Due judgment and care have been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review.