SHILLONG:
The Shillong Autumn Festival, an initiative of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) in collaboration with the Meghalaya Tourism Department was first held in 2005. The Shillong Autumn Festival was held over a period of 7 years till 2012 with each festival highlighting a theme for that year. The Shillong Autumn Festival is now a well-established Festival that has attracted numerous tourist inflow into the state of Meghalaya and continues to maintain a high brand recall all over the country.
In 2018, the Shillong Autumn Festival was relaunched by Opus Productions whose aim was to build and establish the festival as an annual attraction for tourists & locals alike. The 2018 Edition witnessed an audience attendance of 4k+across the 2-day Event. In 2019, the Shillong Autumn Festival had to be postponed from Oct to Nov due to a Cyclone and despite a clash of dates with NH7 Weekender witnessed a turn-out of more than 5k+ visitors across the two days. Due to the Corona Pandemic bringing all public events to a halt, the Shillong Autumn Festival 2020 & 2021 could not be held but the Shillong Autumn Festival 2022 is slated to be an even bigger and better event.
The serene, picturesque settings of the Umiam lake is the setting for Shillong’s most loved festival – The Shillong Autumn Festival 2022- A Music Festival for all Ages. This Festival brings to you Cultural Acts and Musical Acts from across the North-East India as well as National Bands & an International DJ.
Our Festival Line-Up will be:
DAY 1
- i) The ReChords – Inspired by artists and bands like Vulfpeck, Snarky Puppy, The Main Squeeze and more, “The ReChords” is a band of 20-year-olds from Shillong, Meghalaya. Formed in 2016 by Zediah Hynniewta (Guitars/Vox), Aidan Wankhar (Keys) Asher Budnah (Drums). They frequently featured artists for full sets until 2019 when two siblings, John (Bass) and Elza Rymbai (Guitar/Vox) joined the band.
- ii) The Strait Brothers – Formed in the year 2002, The Strait Brothers has been performing the genre of country music for over 2 decades now. Their band is influenced by the king of country music, George Strait & Dire Straits, hence the reason how the band got its name! They are deeply inspired by country music and all their lyrics, tune and instruments articulate their love for country music.
iii) B4SHAN X Lily – B4NSHAN is a Khasi songwriter, and record producer from East Jaintia Hills, Sohkymphor. He’s been putting out music since 2013, alongside Lily Sawian who is an independent Singer-Songwriter from Shillong. Together they’ve been producing a wide range of styles and genres in music.
iv) The Prophets (Mizoram) – The Prophets is a first of its kind progressive Metal Christian band. Formed in the year 2010 they mostly perform songs on their Christian beliefs, world crisis, abortion, pollution, corruption and folklore.
v) Summersalt – A household name in Meghalaya, Summersalt is essentially a folk-fusion band whose energy depends on indigenous music sitting on the laps of Khasi Hills in India’s North- eastern State of Meghalaya. Summersalt is known to have crisscrossed genres. Their songs both Khasi & English contain wit and humour. Their choice of instruments are a mix of standard instruments and lesser known indigenous tools of the Khasi Community of Meghalaya.
vi) DJ Meban – Hailing from Shillong, Meghalaya DJ Meban started at the age of 17 in the year 2019. He slowly gained interest in the Hip Hop culture and his main influencers include the likes of DJ Carlo Atendido, ESKEI83, and DJ Qubert. He started to learn his turntable techniques from his mentor “DJ Kave, one of the finest DJ/Turntablists in India, and by signing himself up for an online mentorship at the Skratch Lab DJ Academy India. He had also recently bagged the National top position at the finals of the “War of the DJs” organized by Cypher Hours, Hyderabad, on June 19, 2022.
vii) MOJI (Australia) – MOJI’s music emerged as the new era of dance music in Australia during mid-2017. His music encompassed an array of modern-day house-inspired bootleg remixes that hit #1 on multiple download charts and received support from the likes of The Chainsmokers, Timmy Trumpet, Wuki and many more. Since then, he has been on a series of non-stop tour schedule since 2018. MOJI has racked up over 200 shows across Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Nepal & Myanmar which landed him a ranking in the top 25 DJs of Asia poll. On the back of a busy tour schedule, MOJI was signed to Asia’s top booking Agency ‘Supermodified’ which also represents Martin Garrix, Yellow Claw, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike plus several other well-known EDM acts.
DAY 2
i) Rhem – Formed in the year 2013 by a group of friends who share a passion for performing Khasi Traditional music. Rhem yearns to preserve the age-old music while also introducing new rhythms and modifications. Rhem means “Smouldering Fire”. True to its name, Rhem portrays Khasi musical style (or any other musical style) with heartfelt enthusiasm.
ii) Imprints – A Rock Band from Shillong that play 80’s & 90’s Rock music
iii) Sonic Vibration – Formed by Ex-Members of MGF, the band has moved into popular & contemporary Rock – Pop Music
iv) Lynx – Winners of the Meghalaya Icon Winners of 2021, Lynx is a local Reggae Band from Shillong
v) L B King – Formed in the year 2018, the blues-rock band members comprise Lalchhandama Bawitlung (LB King) vocals and guitar, Bame Da-AI Ryntathiang on Keys, Pynshai Kharshandi Bassist, and Sunny Manbha on Drums. Having a particular fondness for Blues Music, LB and his band were also finalists for the 2019 chapter of the Mahindra Blues Big Band Hunt and is a regular in the Blues scene in the Northeast.
vi) Rum and Monkeys – Formed in the year 2018, Rum and Monkeys are an indie rock band from Shillong, Meghalaya. The band started with an aim to create music that best complimented the member’s miscellaneous genres. The band incorporates elements of rock with an underlying tone of Synths to make for its loud and reverberating sound.
vii) Bombay Bassment (Mumbai) – Formed in 2010 as a four-piece act, the line-up today consists of Bobkat (Robert Omulo, MC), Bass Barrett (Ruell Barretto, bass) and Major C (Chandrashekhar Kunder, samples/percussion) and Jeremy Dsouza on drums. With fun at the centre of everything they do, Bombay Bassment’s music-making philosophy has seen few changes since 2010. The Mumbai-based urban music act has earned a reputation for its uninhibited live performances and playful energy that makes hip-shaking compelling. So, get ready for the party of your lives.
viii) About Us (Nagaland) – Formed in the year 2019, About Us is a Hard Rock Musical Band Experimenting All Class of Rock Music based out of Wokha district, Nagaland. They recently signed a record deal with Frontiers Records Srl, Naples Italy. (The label that promote established names like – Mr. Big, Def Leppard, Extreme, White Snake, Michael Kiske, Stryper, White Lion to name a few).
The Festival will also showcase fashion show by renowned fashion designer Arif Mukhim and Dance Sequences from Team Phoneix – a dance group initiated by Anniesha Mawrie with a forte in Hiphop, Jazz, Latino & Dancehall styles. As a Kid-Friendly Festival, the Shillong Autumn Festival will feature an exclusive Kids Zone where children of all ages can partake in activities ranging from Inflatable Games (by Fun ‘n Thrills Park), Face Painting (by renowned artist Batliakor Laitthma) , Temporary Tattoos (by renowned artist Raphael Garette Thangkhiew) as well as enjoy shopping for Toys, Balloons, Sweets & much more from Delilah’s Chemera Store & the PartyStarters Store.
Other Activities will include a Games Section in collaboration with XSports showcasing Paintball Target Practise, Wheels of Fortune, Archery & Hot Air Balloon Rides; A Photobooth Area where Festival Attendees can click Selfies as well as get Instant Photo as Souvenirs with Party Props from the PartyStarters Store; An Exhibition by Riti Academy of Visual Arts and a Booth sponsored by Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation for trying on Traditional Costumes.
The Shillong Autumn Festival will also feature a Makers`Market showcasing local handicrafts, locally made products as well as fashion accessories and body products from stores – The Craft Collective, MTDC Handicraft Stall, Omil Farms, Fashionable Merchandise Stall, Body Bodh Store & Eve’ Boutique Store.
The Shillong Autumn Festival 2022 will also feature a food court featuring Shillong’s iconic food stalls – The Chicken Wagon / Baking Leaven / Memorial Taste / Café Sola / Meaty Delights / Mama’s Café / Eden Restaurant/ The Blue Ribbon Bakery / Luzia’s Kitchen & a Stall from Mizoram by Sekibuhchhuak Food Industry. There will also be special Food Stalls serving Local Traditional Food from Meghalaya.
This annual celebration is supported by the Meghalaya Tourism Department and the Venue has been sponsored by Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). The Shillong Autumn Festival 2022 Edition also has Seagram’s as the associate sponsor, Budweiser as the beverage partner, T7 and The Meghalayan as media partners, Red FM as radio partner, Directorate of Information & Publicity (DIPR) as the publicity partner and BookMyShow as the official ticketing partner.