South gets a new contemporary beach music festival Alboe by the Beach at Varkala Premium

Varkala beach in southern Kerala, lined by cliffs and skirted by the Arabian Sea, is now donning a new identity — the one that will turn it into a sonic escape for music aficionados who are carving a contemporary beach music festival in South India. It all began when Vishnu Shyamaprasad, during the production of his feature film Thrishanku, which made its Netflix debut seven months ago, and the film’s music director Jay Unnithan discovered a myriad of young emerging talents in the Indian music industry. And lo, behold! The seeds of the first edition of Alboe by the Beach were planted. The three-day music festival, slated for February 9, is Lacuna Pictures’ debut open-air music festival curated over a span of six months.

Varkala beach in southern Kerala, lined by cliffs and skirted by the Arabian Sea, is now donning a new identity — the one that will turn it into a sonic escape for music aficionados who are carving a contemporary beach music festival in South India. It all began when Vishnu Shyamaprasad, during the production of his feature film Thrishanku, which made its Netflix debut seven months ago, and the film’s music director Jay Unnithan discovered a myriad of young emerging talents in the Indian music industry. And lo, behold! The seeds of the first edition of Alboe by the Beach were planted. The three-day music festival, slated for February 9, is Lacuna Pictures’ debut open-air music festival curated over a span of six months.

The festival brings musicians from various genres: like rappers Brodha V, Arivu, Baby Jean, MC Couper, Paal Dabba, Reble, HanuMankind; singer-songwriter Taba Chake; rock bands like Chennai’s The F16s and Bengaluru’s Pineapple Express and Space Is All We Have; and electronic sets by Mary Ann, Sunflower Tape Machine and DJ and surfing enthusiast Paloma Monappa. It also has pop sensation Jeremiah De Rozario from Kochi, Bangalore-based singer-songwriter Frizzell D’Souza and Wayanad’s rock band Matadori. “We are a multi-genre festival with a curated set of genres for each edition. For Volume 1 of Alboe by The Beach we are featuring hip-hop, indie rock and pop as the main genres of the music being performed by the artistes,” says Vishnu, the director of the festival.

He lists nearly 20 artists who will be taking the stage at the festival and explains the choice of the artist line-up, stating that it was primarily influenced by the quality of the artistes’ music. “50% of the line-up consists of young emerging talents that we think have immense potential, and half the line-up consists of known names from the Indian music scene. Our artist selection team consists of music industry professionals Sange Wangchuck and Akash Agarwal from Bengaluru, and overseen by me,” explains Vishnu.

The festival, he adds, will feature one massive main stage. “We have divided the genres based on the days, where the first day is for singer-songwriters and pop bands, second day is for hip-hop and rap, and the third day is for indie rock bands with a grand ending featuring Pineapple Express. There will also be a separate DJ booth featuring local DJs who will keep the crowd entertained before and in between sets,” he shares.

Planned as a beach carnival, the festival will also feature art installations designed by local artists, beach games, and lip-smacking delicacies, both local and international. It also has an extensively curated flea market focusing on regional and indigenous art, handicrafts, and festival merch. Besides, it focuses on sustainability and limiting its environmental impact, given its location, and has declared itself as a plastic-free festival with no plastic allowed on site.

Alboe by the Beach will be held at Varkala beach from February 9 to 11. Tickets start at ₹1,049 on insider.in.