Ziro Festival of Music

Ziro Festival of Music is an outdoor music festival held in the Ziro valley in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It showcases the independent music scene in India. The festival was founded in 2012 by Bobby Hano and Menwhopause guitarist Anup Kutty, and has featured artists like Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Damo Suzuki, Shye Ben Tzur, MONO, Divine, Acid Mothers Temple, Louw Majaw, Shaa'ir n Func, Indus Creed, Mohit Chauhan, Lucky Ali, Peter Cat Recording Co, Menwhopause, Guru Rewben Mashangva, and Barmer Boys among others.

The festival is spread over four days and is hosted by members of the Apatani people in Ziro and is touted to be one of the most eco-friendly festivals in the world by employing locally sourced materials to build the festival infrastructure. The festival is supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Department of Tourism, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

Festival grounds
Ziro Festival is noted to be one of the most eco-friendly festivals in India employing locally sourced material for the infrastructure. The festival has three stages, Donyi (Sun), Piilo (Moon) and Takar (Star) constructed by local artisans and made almost completely of bamboo. This is inspired by the animist Donyi Polo faith prevalent in the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The festival has a zero single-use plastic policy and encourages attendees to be responsible for leaving behind no waste.

Music
The Ziro Festival of Music presents a variety of music genres from rock to folk with a large emphasis on emerging acts from northeast India. Over the last few editions, the festival has also focussed on classical musicians with performances by Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Jyoti Hegde, Dr Kamala Shankar and Sukanya Ramgopal. The festival has also featured several international alternative acts like Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth, Damo Suzuki, Acid Mothers Temple, MONO and Nubya Garcia.

The Journey
The journey to the Ziro Festival of Music is an adventurous one and was once notorious for being inaccessible for most. During the early years, the closest airport used to be Guwahati Assam which was a 17 hour drive from the festival. With connectivity now changing, the journey has become more accessible. In 2023, Alliance Air commissioned special festival flights to Ziro. The closest big airport is in Holongi, Arunachal Pradesh around 100 km away. There's also an overnight train from Guwahati to Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh from where one can take a 3-hour cab ride to Ziro. One can also board an overnight train or bus to North Lakhimpur and opt for shared cabs.

Formalities for Ziro Festival of Music
All non-Arunachali Indians need an Inner Line Permit and foreigners need a Protected Area Permit to enter Arunachal Pradesh. These are available at state tourist offices in all major Indian cities.