As far as emerging markets in electronic music, there is perhaps no place more in demand than India.
With a population that defies understanding, the country has had a voracious appetite for electronic music for the past few years, and it’s resulted in an exponential boom for artists traveling to the Asian subcontinent.
Festivals like Sunburn and Supersonic in Goa have been active since around 2007, but only recently experienced the mainstage excitement of artists like Martin Garrix and Afrojack. This year’s Sunburn featured the largest global lineup ever, and it reflected in the festival’s attendance: a record attendance was set this year at a staggering 350,000 people. 
Multiple local artists helped diversify the lineup across all of the festival’s stages, but it was undoubtedly the absolutely massive mainstage that drew the biggest crowds. With a design that rivaled festivals like Tomorrowland and EDC – “comprised of 300 moving heads, 2500 sq feet of LED, more than 100 boxes of sound” – the fans were drawn to the area en masse.
The festival also helped to debut more than a couple acts, with Kygo’s first appearance at the festival, Seth Troxler’s “first Indian performance,” and the debut of KSHMR’s live show. Kygo noted of the festival, “It’s my first time here but I’ve fallen in love with the reaction from the audiences. It was great to see such massive turnout and I’m sure next year Sunburn Goa will be bigger.”
Wowowowowowow incredible India pic.twitter.com/uepwwTmgl4
— MARTIN GARRIX (@MartinGarrix) December 30, 2015
Sunburn Global CEO Karan Singh said, “Indian music fans no longer have to travel halfway across the world to get a feel of the vibe offered by other leading international festivals.”
Sunburn faces challenges next year due to alleged tax evasion. It is still to be determined whether it will go on as scheduled in 2016.
