It is often difficult to sustain independent music festivals catering to bands of specific genres, especially due to lack of funding. But the perseverance of a community of independent musicians and the support of a government agency meant that the International Indie Music Festival (IIMF) was successful in its first two years.

Encouraged by the response to its previous edition, the third edition of the festival organized by Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam under the initiative of the Department of Tourism in collaboration with Lazy Indie Music Magazine and the community is all set to make its return here. From 22 to 24 November. Like previous years, this year too the festival will feature independent music bands of many genres from different countries. The coordination and management of the program will be handled by StarValue.

The festival’s headliner will be veteran metal band Martyrs from the Netherlands. Formed in 1982, the power metallers were one of the first bands of this genre in their country. Although the band split up by the end of that decade, they regrouped in 2005. Since then, he has been active on the concert circuit. Their latest album Planet Metalhead was released in 2022.

Another highlight of the festival will be Mumbai’s The Yellow Diary, a melodic rock band with electronic influences that has been active in the region for almost a decade. His music videos like ‘Mana’ in short film format have gained him quite a fan following over the years. A big name on the list is veteran Indian rockers Parikrama, who have been active on the circuit since the early 1990s. The band, which went silent after the demise of their guitarist Sonam Sherpa, is slowly regaining its presence.

Denmark-based Cold Drop, a hard rock band formed in 2017 by members of some popular bands, will be another attraction. Hailing from Lithuania, Afrodelic brings a unique blend of traditional Mali music mixed with electronica. Led by guitarist Victor Kiawara, the band’s music primarily consists of collaborations with local musicians from Mali.

Lazy Fifty, a blues rock band from New Zealand, brings an interesting blend of blues and high energy classic rock. DeerMx from Mexico brings a diverse mix of industrial sounds. Popular folk rock musician Taba Chake from Arunachal Pradesh, who sings in both Hindi and his native Nyishi language, will be another musician to look forward to.

The festival this year features a good number of hip hop bands, including Wild Wild Women, an all-girl band from Mumbai, Kochi-based Street Academics and popular Tamil rapper Asal Kolar. Also on the card are electronic musicians Duelist Inquiry, Tamil folk rock band Kulam led by popular singer Pradeep Kumar, Thiruvananthapuram-based punk rockers DIY Disruption, 43 Miles The Band, indie pop musicians Prarthana and Gabri.

“The uniqueness of this festival is how it caters to multiple genres unlike most music festivals which are limited to specific genres. So a music lover can experience a variety of music and return home enriched with all the different styles. Thus it will also be an educational process. So, every year, we feature bands from different genres. Last year, we brought reggae and Georgian folk bands. Festivals driven by pure commercial interest will not be able to select so many bands. We are a community of independent musicians around the world and this gives us access to a wide variety of musicians,” says Jay Pillai of Lazy Indie Magazine.