Shillong, Oct. 22: The stage is set for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender "Made for Untameable Fans" as thousands of music aficionados, cutting across all genres of music, are expected to throng the RBDSA Sports Complex (Madan Kurkalang) venue at Bhoirymbong in Meghalaya's Ri Bhoi district.
Tomorrow and the day after, the organisers expect nearly 25,000 footfalls at Madan Kurkalang. The venue is around 35 km from here. It is also for the first time that a major musical event is being held outside the Meghalaya capital.
Last-minute preparations are still on at the venue to welcome the fans who would come to witness some of the biggest names in the music world.
Bacardi NH7 Weekender, dubbed as the "biggest" music festival where all genres would be presented, will travel to four other cities of the country after making its Shillong debut. The event, which has been on since 2010, is being presented by Bacardi India, and managed and produced by Only Much Louder (OML). t2 is an associated brand of the mega event.
Gates at the venue will open from 2pm onwards and the festival would conclude at 10pm on both days.
Tomorrow, The Wailers are expected to enthral lovers of reggae while Megadeth will take centrestage on Saturday.
Apart from them, Indian artistes and bands Kailasa, Papon and The East India Company, Parikrama, Indus Creed, and emerging experimental rock act Akummika, among others, will feature at the event.
Shillong's Soulmate, Lou Majaw and Friends and Summersalt will also be a part of the festival.
According to the organisers, private vendors will be available in and around the venue to cater to those in need of accommodation.
There are reports that all the hotels and guesthouses in and around the city have been filled to capacity just weeks after the announcement of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender schedule.
The organisers have also said that elaborate arrangements have been made, including food, for all those who would be there at the venue.
To make the event "inclusive", arrangements have been made for persons with disabilities and with mobility impairment.
This year, the festival's Bazaar will feature Engrave's Maker's Market, a specially curated space for artists, craftspeople and hobbyist entrepreneurs from across India to display their creative products.
Moreover, while making a special appeal to children to take part in the event, the organisers have promised that the gala would be secure and that no hooliganism would be tolerated.
Even the village council of Lumdaitkhla, Bhoirymbong, through its headman S. Rangkynsai Rympei, has appealed to those who would be coming to the venue to abide by the instructions and refrain from indulging in any form of confrontation.
While appealing to everyone to maintain mutual respect, he warned that strict action would be taken against those who create trouble at the festival.
