NH7 Weekender: History, 2026 Recap and What's Next

NH7 Weekender began in Pune in 2010. The 2026 edition, 13-15 March at Mahalakshmi Lawns, drew 20,000+ fans for Talwiinder and Prateek Kuhad.

Key facts

First edition: 10-12 December 2010 in Koregaon Park, Pune, with four stages, 35+ artists and about 10,000 attendees.
Founders: Vijay Nair of OML with Stephen Budd and Martin Elbourne.
Owner: NODWIN Gaming, which bought the festival and IPs from OML in September 2021 for Rs 73 crore.
2026 edition: ICONiQ White NH7 Weekender, 13-15 March 2026 at Mahalakshmi Lawns, Pune, with an all-Indian lineup.
2026 attendance: More than 20,000 fans and 70+ artists across music and comedy.
2027: No date, city or lineup announced as of 25 October 2026.

NH7 Weekender is a multi-genre music festival that began in Koregaon Park, Pune, on 10-12 December 2010, founded by Vijay Nair of OML with Stephen Budd and Martin Elbourne. Its latest edition, ICONiQ White NH7 Weekender, ran 13-15 March 2026 at Mahalakshmi Lawns in Pune with an all-Indian lineup headlined by Talwiinder, Prateek Kuhad and Aditya Gadhvi. NODWIN Gaming, which bought the festival in 2021, reported more than 20,000 fans across the three days. No 2027 date had been announced as of 25 October 2026.

This guide covers where the festival came from, every era of its lineups, what happened at the 2026 edition and what is known about the next one.

What is NH7 Weekender

For more than a decade NH7 Weekender has been one of the biggest multi-stage, multi-genre festivals in India built around independent music. Each edition puts rock, metal, electronic, hip-hop, folk and pop acts on separate stages over two or three days, usually with comedy sets as well.

According to Wikipedia, Vijay Nair took the idea from Glastonbury, where he had taken the Mumbai band Pentagram in 2005. He built the festival with UK industry figures Stephen Budd and Martin Elbourne. OML ran it until 2021. That September NODWIN Gaming, a subsidiary of Nazara, bought the festival and its related IPs from OML for Rs 73 crore, Rolling Stone India reported.

How NH7 Weekender started in 2010

The first edition ran 10-12 December 2010 in Koregaon Park, Pune. It had four stages, more than 35 artists and about 10,000 attendees. The headliners were Asian Dub Foundation, The Magic Numbers and Reverend and The Makers.

The Indian bill from that first year reads like a history of the 2000s indie scene:

Pentagram and Zero from Mumbai
Swarathma and Raghu Dixit Project from Bengaluru
Indian Ocean, Parikrama and Demonic Resurrection
Blackstratblues, the project of guitarist Warren Mendonsa

How NH7 Weekender grew city by city

The festival grew quickly from one Pune weekend into a touring brand. Year by year, Wikipedia records these milestones:

2011: moved to Laxmi Lawns near Magarpatta, Pune, with five stages and more than 25,000 attendees. Imogen Heap and Basement Jaxx headlined.
2012: expanded to three cities, Delhi (Buddh International Circuit, 13-14 October), Pune (Amanora Park Town, 2-4 November) and Bangalore (Embassy International Riding School, 15-16 December), with about 200 artists. Megadeth, Karnivool, Seun Kuti, Bombay Bicycle Club, Anoushka Shankar, Fink and a young Prateek Kuhad played.
2013: four cities (Kolkata, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi), with Chase & Status, Meshuggah, Simian Mobile Disco, MUTEMATH and Textures.
2014: Kolkata on 1-2 November, Bangalore on 8-9 November, Pune on 21-23 November and Delhi on 29-30 November, with The Vaccines, Jon Hopkins, Fear Factory and Amit Trivedi.
2015: Shillong was added on 23-24 October. A. R. Rahman, Mogwai, Megadeth, Mark Ronson, Flying Lotus, SBTRKT, The Wailers and Rodrigo y Gabriela played across the circuit.
2016: Shillong (21-22 October) drew close to 40,000 people and Hyderabad joined the circuit. Pune moved to Life Republic in Hinjawadi, and Wikipedia puts cumulative attendance that year at more than 110,000. Steven Wilson, JosÃ© GonzÃ¡lez and DJ Premier played.
2017: Meghalaya on 27-28 October, the first comedy lineup, Steve Vai, The Dillinger Escape Plan and the last show by Dutch band Textures.
2018: Meghalaya (Wenfield, The Festive Hills) on 2-3 November and Pune (Mahalakshmi Lawns) on 7-9 December, with Joe Satriani and God Is An Astronaut.
2019: the tenth edition, in the Jaintia Hills on 1-2 November and Pune on 29 November-1 December. Presale tickets went back to the 2010 prices of Rs 750 and Rs 1,500, and Opeth, Karnivool, Kodaline, EarthGang and Marty Friedman played.

The Shillong and Meghalaya years matter for the Northeast story. They put the hills on India's festival map at the same time as the scene there was producing new bands, which we cover in our Shillong music scene guide.

What happened to NH7 Weekender after 2020

The pandemic years broke the festival's rhythm. It moved online, and Wild City notes that The Lumineers had appeared on the 2020 virtual edition. Rolling Stone India reported that dates planned for January and February 2022 were called off because of the Omicron wave.

When NH7 came back under NODWIN, it changed shape every year:

March 2022: a two-day edition at Mahalakshmi Lawns on 26-27 March with an almost entirely Indian lineup. Rolling Stone India noted it was the first NH7 held in March and the first two-day edition.
November 2022: the 13th edition ran 25-27 November at Mahalaxmi Lawns on five stages. Wild City called it the festival's first three-day on-ground edition in nearly three years. The Lumineers, Dirty Loops and the Berklee Indian Ensemble played with Bloodywood, The F16s, Yashraj, Hanumankind, Parekh & Singh, Easy Wanderlings and Tejas.
December 2023: the 14th edition ran 1-3 December at Teerth Fields, Pune. YG, M.I.A. and Monuments headlined a bill of more than 45 artists on four stages, and The Indian Express reported that Euphoria played a 25th-anniversary set alongside Daler Mehndi and MC Stan.
December 2024: the 15th edition was meant to run 14-15 December at Teerth Fields in Sus. Hours before it opened, Pimpri-Chinchwad police denied permission. The Indian Express reported the police reasons as the residential area, traffic on a one-way approach road and loud music and lights from an elevated site, and said Moshi had been offered as an alternative venue. Hindustan Times carried the organisers' statement cancelling the festival.
March 2025: Rolling Stone India reported that NH7 ran day-long editions in Delhi NCR, Indore and Jaipur instead of a Pune weekender.

ICONiQ White NH7 Weekender 2026 recap

The 2026 festival returned to Mahalakshmi Lawns in Pune from 13 to 15 March under the name ICONiQ White NH7 Weekender. NODWIN's announcement says general ticket sales opened on 13 February 2026 on District by Zomato. Big Bad Wolf curated the music, with Exceed Entertainment and EVA Live as partners.

Who headlined NH7 Weekender 2026

Rolling Stone India's lineup report, published 6 February 2026, listed an all-Indian bill:

Headliners: Talwiinder, Prateek Kuhad and Aditya Gadhvi
Hip-hop: Raftaar x KR$NA, KING, Reble, Shia OG x Zero Chill and DL91
Singer-songwriters and pop: Faheem Abdullah, Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra with Tanishka, gini, Pho and Nanku with Karun
Bands and electronic acts: Indian Ocean, Nucleya & Friends, Naalayak, Bandish Projekt, Kratex, Bharat Chauhan, Maan Panu, Vichaar, Sudan and Bombay the Artist

The same piece pointed out that NH7 had moved away from international headliners and that the bill was still short on women.

NH7 Weekender 2026 schedule highlights

The Bridge Chronicle published the stage times, spread across the ICONiQ White Stage, The Arena and The Den:

Day 1, Friday 13 March: Nucleya and Friends from 7:45 pm to 8:45 pm, then Talwiinder closed from 9 pm to 10 pm.
Day 2, Saturday 14 March: Indian Ocean (6:15 pm to 7 pm), Aditya Rikhari (7 pm to 8 pm), KING at The Arena (8 pm to 9 pm) and Aditya Gadhvi to close (9 pm to 10 pm).
Day 3, Sunday 15 March: Faheem Abdullah (7:30 pm to 8:15 pm), Raftaar x KR$NA at The Arena (8:15 pm to 9 pm) and Prateek Kuhad to close (9 pm to 10 pm).

Mid-day reported that the three stages ran music and comedy from mid-afternoon to late evening each day, with some sets overlapping.

How many people attended

NODWIN's post-festival release on 17 March 2026 said more than 20,000 fans attended and more than 70 artists performed across music and comedy, with the festival organised alongside Zee Live. Talwiinder is quoted saying "The energy from the crowd was unreal".

Why the 2026 lineup matters for Indian indie

The 2026 bill was built from the artists Indian listeners are actually streaming. When we checked Spotify's Indie India editorial playlist on 25 October 2026, these NH7 2026 performers had tracks on it:

Aditya Rikhari, with "Paro", "Samjho Na", "Raatein Guzaari", "Sahiba" and "Faasle"
Prateek Kuhad, with "Kasoor", "Mulaqat" and "Co2"
Faheem Abdullah, with "Ishq" and "Sajde" from the Lost;Found soundtrack
Kushagra and Tanishka Bahl, with "Finding Her" and "Baawra"
gini, with "Sukoon", "Feeka" and a feature on Chaar Diwaari's "Aashiqana"
Indian Ocean, also on "Aashiqana"
Talwiinder, on "Dhundhala" with Yashraj and Dropped Out
Naalayak, on Aditya A's "Sunday"

That overlap is the clearest change from the 2012-2019 era, when international acts such as Megadeth, Mogwai and Opeth topped the bills. Read more on two of these acts in our features on Prateek Kuhad's songs and Naalayak.

When is NH7 Weekender 2027

As of 25 October 2026, no dates, city or lineup have been announced for the next NH7 Weekender. The official site still carries a post-2026 message: "Thank you for coming to NH7 Weekender. We'll see you again soon". Some listing sites show unconfirmed dates, but none of them come from NODWIN or the festival.

Recent history gives a rough idea of timing. Pune editions have landed in November or December (2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023) and in March (2022 and 2026). For the rest of this year's festival season, see our India music festivals 2026 calendar.

FAQ

When and where was NH7 Weekender 2026 held?

ICONiQ White NH7 Weekender 2026 was held on 13-15 March 2026 at Mahalakshmi Lawns in Pune.

Who performed at NH7 Weekender 2026?

Talwiinder, Prateek Kuhad and Aditya Gadhvi headlined. The bill also included Raftaar x KR$NA, KING, Faheem Abdullah, Aditya Rikhari, Indian Ocean, Nucleya & Friends, Naalayak, Kushagra with Tanishka and gini.

Who owns NH7 Weekender?

NODWIN Gaming, a Nazara subsidiary, bought the festival and its IPs from OML in September 2021 for Rs 73 crore, according to Rolling Stone India.

Why was NH7 Weekender 2024 cancelled?

Pimpri-Chinchwad police denied permission for the 14-15 December 2024 edition at Teerth Fields, Sus. They cited residential neighbours, traffic, and noise and light from the elevated site.