Why Shillong is called India’s rock capital, and where the music goes next
Church choirs, bar bands, Dylan tributes and a festival in a paddy field. The Northeast has always had the best soundtrack.
Ask anyone in Shillong to name their first guitar teacher and you will get a name, a story and probably a cover of a 1970s rock song. Music is not a hobby here. It is how the city talks.
How it started
A lot of the Northeast’s musical DNA comes from church music and community choirs, where kids learn harmonies before they learn algebra. Add decades of western rock, blues and country on the radio and on cassette, and you get a generation who grew up playing everything from Hendrix to hymns.
Lou Majaw’s long-running Bob Dylan birthday concerts, held every 24 May, became a Shillong institution. Bands like Soulmate, fronted by Tipriti Kharbangar with guitarist Rudy Wallang, took Shillong blues to stages around the world. The Shillong Chamber Choir, which won India’s Got Talent in 2010, showed the country just how good a Shillong harmony can be.
The festival circuit
- Ziro Festival of Music, Arunachal Pradesh: started in 2012, it brings indie artists to the Apatani paddy fields of Ziro Valley every autumn. Camping, mud and some of the best line-ups in the country.
- Hornbill Music Festival, Nagaland: running alongside the Hornbill Festival in Kohima each December, with rock, metal, folk and band competitions.
- Shillong’s gig scene: bars, cafes and community halls hosting everything from jazz nights to metal shows.
Where it is going
The new wave sounds very different: hip-hop in Khasi, Assamese indie pop, Naga folk fusion, bedroom producers putting out tracks online and building fans without a record label. Plenty of artists now sing in their own languages first, and the internet is listening.
In the Northeast, every family has at least one person who can sing, and at least two who think they can.
Join the playlist
We are building a Life in North East playlist of artists from the region. Musician, band or producer from the Northeast? Send us your best track and a short bio at contact@lifeinnortheast.com. We listen to everything.
Quick answers
Why is Shillong called the rock capital of India?
Shillong has a long tradition of church choirs and western rock and blues, a strong live gig culture, and well-known musicians such as Lou Majaw and the blues band Soulmate.
What is the Ziro Festival of Music?
It is an outdoor indie music festival held in the Apatani paddy fields of Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, since 2012, usually in late September.
Where can I hear live music in the Northeast?
Shillong’s bars and cafes host regular gigs, and the Hornbill Music Festival in Kohima each December and the Ziro Festival of Music each autumn are the big annual events.