In 1986, when Independence Rock, simply referred to as I-Rock, debuted at Rang Bhavan in Bombay, it created a massive buzz, drawing comparisons with the iconic Woodstock festival. “My rock n roll dreams were fulfilled here,” recalls musician Sidd Coutto. “It was an event that even if you hated, you remembered,” he adds. Coutto’s now dissolved band, Zero, first performed at I-Rock in 1998. After a nine-year-long hiatus—I-Rock was last held in 2013—founder Farhad Wadia is bringing back the festival this November, and old-school music fans couldn’t have been happier.

Farhad Wadia