Festivals, as much as they are announced and promoted with a line-up of big names and exciting new artists, are more about the experience than just the music. And what kind of experience is the city’s scaled up festival Indie March presenting? On the face of it, there’s something quintessentially Bangalorean about Indie March, which takes place on March 19 and 20 at Moongate, on International Airport Road.

At Indie March, which started out as Bengaluru venue CounterCulture’s event property in 2013, there will be over 30 artists performing across four stages. While there’s everything from a Gonzo main stage for the heavy rockers to a warehouse-vibed shed for electronica artists and a lakeside amphitheatre. CounterCulture founder and programmer/producer Guru Somayaji tells us, “This is not a typical festival venue.” He adds about the line-up, “The idea for Indie March all these years has been about putting together not just the headliners, but to bring people from everywhere.”

The inaugural festival edition includes headline sets by UK instrumental rock band 65daysofstatic, German psychedelic rock band Colour Haze, American electronic music producer Wes Smith, French hip hop producer Onra and more. 65daysofstatic guitarist Paul Wolinski told us, “We’re really thrilled to be finally be able to get there. For the past few years, there have been a few things that have reached our booking agent and the conversation has gone back and forth, and it never seemed to work out, for one reason or another.” The band, best known for their marriage of electronic, cinematic and noisy rock, will play a career-spanning set. Wolinski adds, “Since we’re going to India for the first time, it’s so hard to guess whether people will be excited about it or since it’s as yet unreleased, no one’s heard it, they’d be more into listening to the songs they have heard.”

What else is quintessentially Bangalorean about Indie March? The choice of psychedelic, trippy music as well as the regular lot of crowd-pullers. There’s must-watch acts such as Scottish psychedelic rock band The Cosmic Dead, bass artist Gaudi’s party-starter sets, post-rock band Aswekeepsearching, sludge rock band Shepherd, instrumental rock/metal band Pangea from Mumbai, Kolkata dream pop duo Parekh & Singh and electronica artists such as Sulk Station and Dualist Inquiry. Top that off with Bengaluru’s favourite rock bands such as Avial, Agam, Skrat, The F16s and Parvaaz and you know there’s something for everyone at Indie March.

Aswekeepsearching, which includes members from Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai, are excited to be sharing the stage with the likes of 65daysofstatic. Guitarist and vocalist Uddipan Sarmah says they are representing the other side of the country. “If you look at the line-up, we and Pangea are the only bands which aren’t from South India. I can’t describe how exciting it is to represent north, west and east India,” Sarmah says jokingly.

Indie March Festival takes place on March 19 and 20 at Moongate, Behind Decathlon, Chikkajala. Tickets available through the festival website.