Independence Rock Is Back!

It’s shaping out to be a great year for rock music fans in India! First came the announcement that the iconic American festival Lollapalooza would be staged here in January 2023. This week brings the news that the legendary Independence Rock festival will return after a nine-year break.

For any rock and metal fan, attending I-Rock in Mumbai was a rite of passage. The long-running event, which was started in 1986 by founder Farhad Wadia, was arguably the country’s best-known music festival. Playing a slot or winning the annual competition became a badge of honour for established and upcoming acts. Rock Machine/Indus Creed, Parikrama and Pentagram are just a few of the groups that have performed memory-making sets at the adrenaline-fuelled extravaganza.

Now a whole new generation of fans who have heard about it from their parents and elder siblings will get to finally see and experience it for themselves. Here’s what we know about this year’s edition so far:

When it will be held?
During its last few instalments, I-Rock, the last leg of which was held in 2013, broke with the tradition of being staged on the Independence Day weekend. The 2022 round – and twenty-eighth overall – will take place on Saturday, 05 November and Sunday, 06 November 2022.

Where will it be held?
Most attendees associated I-Rock with Rang Bhavan, the open-air auditorium whose hallowed grounds served as its venue until a High Court order stopped the staging of concerts there in the mid-aughties. The action then briefly shifted to the Chitrakoot Grounds in the western suburb of Andheri. This time around, it will be held at a brand venue, the Bayview Lawns in Mazgaon where a special edition of another long-running Mumbai festival, the Mahindra Blues Festival, was held earlier this year.

How to get tickets?
Tickets are on sale here.

Who’s playing?
A mix of “yesterday’s legends, today’s largest names, tomorrow’s headliners”. The line-up comprises aswekeepsearching, Avial, Bloodywood, Indus Creed, Parikrama, Parvaaz, Pentagram, Thaikkudam Bridge, The F16s and Zero.