Diljit Dosanjh and Sunidhi Chauhan’s cracking year on the stage; Dua Lipa’s viral fusion of Levitating with Woh Ladki Jo Sabse Alag Hai! Employing the GenZ lingo here, India’s concert scene was ‘lit' in 2024. And it appears to only sustain with the early part of 2025 being jam-packed with both local and international artists and pop icons performing in India.
Catering to this growing appetite for live entertainment are four major international tours—Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Martin Garrix, and Cigarettes After Sex—who will perform in the first half of 2025. Mumbai will also witness the Lollapalooza festival, which will play host to performances by Shawn Mendes, Louis Tomlinson, and Green Day, among 14 international acts. There is also Sunburn in Goa, and such music festivals happen throughout the year.
Rapper-singer Honey Singh, who made a comeback in 2024, along with concert regulars such as A.R. Rahman, Sonu Nigam, Karan Aujla, and Dosanjh, will also be performing live this year.
India’s concert space isn’t just buzzing but growing, driven by growth in wealth, an appetite for live entertainment, and social media.
In 2024, India saw over 11 global stars holding standalone concerts. The number was just eight the previous year, reports suggest. Estimates suggest that in 2023, music concerts in India generated a revenue of about $ 94.1 million, which is expected to grow by 25% by 2025-end.
“India has recently witnessed a lot of buzz surrounding the flocking of international pop, rock, EDM and other popular genre artists to cater to the music enthusiast,” read a report—A ‘concert’ – ed push for the economy—by Bank of Baroda last month.
“On one hand, it’s a new dimension of cultural prestige adding an edge of “experience economy”, on the other hand, the beat is also felt in terms of spending dynamics,” it added. Similarly, as per Statista, India stands seventh in terms of revenue from live events, above France, South Korea, and Australia.
While it sounds well and good, critical issues remain with both artists and concert-goers having flagged mismanagement, lack of good infrastructure, and even theft in the past.
Dosanjh, while performing in Chandigarh, candidly told the audience in Punjabi: “Until the infrastructure improves, I won’t be doing shows in India again.” However, he later clarified that he was only talking about certain venues. Singer Monali Thakur had to go as far as cancelling her concert mid-way in Varanasi over poor infrastructure and management.
“Time and again, I've said that I could injure my ankle here. My dancers have been telling me to calm down, but everything was a mess. We were trying because I am answerable to you all, and you come for me, right? So, you will hold me accountable for all of this,” the Moh Moh Ke Dhaage fame singer said.
“I hope I grow so big that I can take all the responsibility myself and never have to rely on any Tom, Dick, and Harry who are such useless, unethical, and irresponsible, to begin with,” she added, before apologising to the fans.
Fans, too, recounted their horror stories such as a diabetes patient with incontinence having soiled himself due to the lack of washrooms. Attendees also complained of pickpocketing. Blackmarketing of tickets, especially for Coldplay and Dosanjh’s concerts also remained a major struggle for the fans.
Reports suggest that Indians are willing to pay more but seeking value for money, for which they’re even looking to travel abroad to countries that have developed a good concert infrastructure.
For the artists, India is a lucrative destination, while the Indians display an appetite for live performances. But will the management and infrastructure match up that synergy or crumble beneath the growing demand, the coming days will tell.
