Vh1 Supersonic 2018 Review: The 5th Edition of This Festival Was 5 Times More Awesome!

by  Shantanu Jain Entertainment | February 14, 2018 | Feature

Vh1 Supersonic Live Viacom18

As I walked through the gates of Lakshmi Lawns in Pune on February 9, 2018 to attend the 5th edition of Vh1 Supersonic, I was welcomed by the familiar view of youngsters dressed in their coolest attires, waiting eagerly for their favorite artists to kickstart the party for them.

The aura of the festival was soothing, and visuals were captivating, but I was particularly anxious to see how will the festival curators up their game from the last edition? Which in my opinion was the best edition of Vh1 Supersonic so far. Interestingly, no one knows the ‘Youth’ better than the folks at LIVE Viacom 18 and the media giant proved this yet again as they put together a thundering edition of Vh1 Supersonic 2018, one that will remain etched in the memories of its attendees for a long time.

In this exclusive feature at EVENTFAQS, we take a deep-dive into some important aspects of the 5th edition of Vh1 Supersonic that made it its most successful chapter of the festival history so far.

Artist Lineup

No amount of marketing gimmicks and hard selling can save a festival if it’s headlined by a poor lineup of artists. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case with Vh1 Supersonic as the festival curators had pulled out all the stops to ensure that they served to the audiences some of the biggest names in the landscape of global music.

The festival on day 1 was headlined by Nucleya, Major Lazer, and the English Indie - band Alt-J, and day 2 of the festival saw one of the biggest names in the world of EDM music - Marshmello, transporting the festival attendees into oblivion. On the third and final day, Vh1 Supersonic was headlined by American Rock Band, Incubus and Jamaican hip-hop icon, Sean Paul who brought their ‘A’ games to the festival and completely enthralled the audiences.

While its difficult to comment on each set individually, it is safe to say the Marshmello’s was the best act of the festival closely followed by Incubus, Major Lazer, Alt-J and Nucleya. The visuals of a packed crowd overwhelmed with Marshmello’s phenomenal set is my most favorite memory of the festival.

Staging and Set Design  

The main stage of the festival - Sonic Realm had a ‘dark wonderland’ theme this year and its massive structure packed with stunning visuals for each of the performing artists added more value to the overall festivities. Clearly, this was one of the best stages seen in the history of music festivals in India we can’t say enough positive things about it. The other 4 stages of the festival- LIVE Arena, Spectrum, Laboratoire Supersonique, and 10,000 Lions Soundsystem were interestingly designed too.

Many people feel that Vh1 Supersonic as a festival has a distinct character of its own, one that beautifully distinguishes it from all the other music festivals in the country. We believe that the reason for the same is its impeccable set design and art installations. From a unicorn installation to a giant teddy in the chillout zone and from swing sets at the entrance to the mechanical bull near the beer garden, each area of the festival had something unique in store for the festival attendees. There was never a dull moment throughout the festival and the festival curators deserve all the praises in the world for it.

However, they do need to work on a better venue layout as there was only one gate for the audiences to move from the main stage to the other stages of the festival. While this was not a big problem during the day, it was a massive challenge with a phenomenal crowd lining up to catch their favorite performers in the night.

Experiential Zones and Other Elements

One of the biggest highlights of Vh1 Supersonic 2018 much like it’s the previous edition was the experiential zones. Budweiser’s Beer Garden & the Ladies Only Bar, the giant slide by Fastrack and other social media engagements were thoroughly enjoyed by the audiences.

Additionally, the chillout spaces including a Thai Massage Center and multiple unwind zones was another interesting addition to the festival this year. The grub hub included a plethora of options for the foodies to choose from and it was amazing to see how economical they all were.  

The security of the festival was top-notch and the staff on-ground more than willing to extend a helping hand. Vh1 Supersonic 2018 was also a specially-abled friendly festival with free hydration zones and dedicated booths that gave audiences rewards against proper disposal of trash at the festival. The multiple medical centers throughout the festival venue were reassuring and brought a sense of comfort to the audiences.

To Conclude

To sum it up, Vh1 Supersonic 2018 was undoubtedly one of the biggest and the most thoughtfully curated music festivals ever hosted on the Indian soil. It goes without saying that the festival had the best crowd, lineup and set design this season and the credit for the same goes to its festival curators Nikhil Chinapa, Saugato Bhowmik, Business Head- INS and Consumer Products, Viacom18, and the Festival director, Sameet Sharma-VP, Live Viacom 18 & Business head Music IP's. With two sensational back to back editions, all we can say now is that the youth of India finally has a festival they can call their own and thy name is- #Vh1Supersonic.