From Concerts To Bhajan Clubbing: Inside India's Rs 13,000-Crore Boom

A few years ago, spending Rs 10,000 on a concert ticket would have sounded outrageous to many Indians.

Today, young professionals are flying across cities to attend music festivals. Students are saving up for artist tours months in advance. Thousands are gathering not just for EDM nights and pop concerts, but also for devotional music sessions, kirtans and what social media has christened "bhajan clubbing".

India's live events economy is no longer just about entertainment.

It is becoming a cultural movement.

The numbers tell the story. According to a BookMyShow-EY Parthenon report, India's organised live entertainment market is already worth more than Rs 13,000 crore and is projected to touch nearly Rs 19,600 crore by 2028. Concerts, festivals, sporting events, cultural gatherings, spiritual experiences and community-led events are all contributing to this explosive growth.

What is emerging is something larger than a concert economy. It is an experience economy. And increasingly, Indians are choosing memories over material possessions.

The Great Shift: From Buying Things To Buying Experiences

For 25-year-old marketing professional Palak Thapar, spending on experiences feels more meaningful than spending on products.

"I think it's a pretty common trend amongst people my age that instead of buying things, we tend to spend on experiences," she says.

The willingness to spend is striking. Palak was prepared to travel cities for electronic music collective Keinemusik. She travelled for Formula One races. She is planning a trip to Tomorrowland later this year.

"It's expensive, but it's so worth it because not many people get the opportunity to attend. Imagine spending an entire weekend dedicated to your favourite music and meeting like-minded people. That's something you remember forever."

That sentiment is becoming increasingly common among urban Indians.

Live events are offering something digital platforms cannot: presence.

The chance to stand among thousands of strangers who care about the same thing. The opportunity to belong. And perhaps most importantly, stories worth remembering.

Palak recalls feeling dizzy at a concert when a stranger stepped in with water and a hand fan to help her recover. "I never saw her again, but it was such a sweet experience. That's the kind of thing that makes live events special."

Why The Industry Is Booming

Several forces are driving the growth.

Rising disposable incomes. Social media-driven discovery. Music tourism. Creator culture. The post-pandemic craving for real-world interaction.

But underneath all these trends lies a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour.

According to Himanshu Chowdhry, Founder of youth experiences platform Spectal, the pandemic accelerated a transformation that was already underway. "A lot of what we see now was already being set in motion before Covid, but the pandemic pushed things into a different gear altogether, driven by years of pent-up appetite for live experience," he says.

What were once modest college festivals have evolved into professionally produced entertainment properties. Festivals now feature multi-artist line-ups, elaborate stage designs, sophisticated production and major sponsorship deals.

The money flowing into these events is helping professionalise the entire ecosystem -- from vendors and production specialists to artists and promoters. "When money flows in consistently, an industry matures around it," Chowdhry says.

Concerts Are Becoming The New Tourism

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the boom is how concerts are influencing travel decisions. States are beginning to view live entertainment as an economic engine.

The Centre recently expressed ambitions of positioning India as a global leader in live entertainment by 2030, with expectations that the sector could create millions of jobs.

Meanwhile, states are increasingly competing to attract large events.

Assam, for example, has publicly outlined ambitions to build a concert economy worth hundreds of crores, banking on music tourism and large-scale events to drive local spending.

The logic is simple.

A concert ticket is only the beginning. Attendees spend on flights, hotels, food, local transportation, shopping and tourism activities. A single event creates economic activity across multiple sectors.

The Gen Z Effect

Much of this growth is being fuelled by Gen Z. But not in the way many brands assume.

For Jeel Gandhi, CEO of youth community platform Under25, today's young consumers are fundamentally different from previous generations.

"The biggest shift is in how success itself is defined," Jeel says. According to her, Gen Z is optimising for learning, flexibility and meaning rather than traditional milestones alone.

That mindset extends to spending. Experiences are increasingly viewed as investments in identity.

Attending a concert, joining a community gathering, participating in a niche fandom event or travelling for a festival becomes a way of expressing who you are.

Jeel believes communities have become particularly important because many young Indians spent crucial formative years in isolation during the pandemic.

"Young people are choosing communities built around shared interests, values, and ambitions rather than ones they were simply born or enrolled into."

That explains why events today are often as much about meeting people as they are about the headline performer.

The Business Of Belonging

For brands, this has opened up a powerful new opportunity. Experiential marketing budgets are growing rapidly because physical events deliver something digital advertising often struggles to achieve: undivided attention.

India has roughly 12 crore people between the ages of 18 and 22. For brands, this represents future customers whose loyalties are still being formed.

Chowdhry says the most successful brands are moving beyond passive sponsorships. Instead of simply placing logos on banners, they are creating immersive experiences, product trials and campus activations.

"The other structural advantage is attention," Chowdhry adds. "On Instagram, every brand is competing for the same 30-second window in the same infinite scroll. A college festival gives you something rare: exclusivity within a physical space and genuine, undivided attention."

The metrics are changing too. According to Jeel, brands often obsess over reach and impressions. But Gen Z responds more strongly to participation, community sentiment and peer recommendations. "Big creators drive awareness, but communities drive action," says Jeel.

Why Gen Z Keeps Showing Up

One common criticism of younger consumers is that they have shorter attention spans. The crowds at live events suggest otherwise.

Chowdhry rejects the idea entirely. "This generation does not have a shorter attention span. It has a lower tolerance for things not worth their time."

In an era where work, entertainment and social interaction increasingly happen through screens, physical experiences have become more valuable.

AI may accelerate that trend further.

As digital content becomes infinite and increasingly personalised, authentic human interaction becomes scarcer. And scarcity creates value.

"The energy of being part of a crowd of thousands who care about the same thing, in the same moment, is something you cannot replicate on a feed," Chowdhry says.

Enter Bhajan Clubbing

The most surprising winner in India's live-events boom may not be mainstream music at all. It may be devotional music.

Across cities, kirtans, mantra concerts and devotional gatherings are drawing large, youthful audiences. Tickets typically range from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 -- a fraction of premium concert prices -- yet attendance continues to surge.

For Radhika Das, the UK-based global conscious artist and kirtan musician, the trend reflects a deeper societal need.

"Young people today are more connected digitally than ever before, yet many feel disconnected socially, emotionally, and spiritually," he says.

"They're searching for experiences that offer meaning, belonging, and genuine human connection."

Interestingly, many attendees are not necessarily coming from traditional religious backgrounds. They are arriving in search of community, wellness, emotional healing and shared experiences.

The result is a format that resembles a music festival in energy, while offering something entirely different emotionally.

Goes Beyond Faith

Premanjali, another global devotional artist, believes the appeal goes beyond faith. "Kirtan offers an experience where no substances are involved but still allows people to feel a 'high' from the power of connection, mantra and self-expression," she says.

"I've thought many times while in kirtan that this is so much more fun than going out." For many newcomers, wellness and connection are becoming stronger entry points than religion itself.

That creates enormous opportunities for the sector. Larger venues. Professional production. National tours. Corporate sponsorships. Festival formats.

All the markers of a rapidly maturing industry are beginning to emerge.

India's Next Cultural Export?

Both Radhika Das and Premanjali believe devotional music could become one of India's most significant cultural exports.

The comparison frequently drawn is yoga. What began as an Indian spiritual practice evolved into a global wellness movement. Devotional music may be on a similar trajectory.

Radhika points out that audiences across North America, Europe, Australia and India respond with similar emotional intensity to chanting and collective singing.

"The appeal of mantra, chanting, and collective singing transcends language and geography," he says.

Premanjali agrees. "There are already so many kirtan events happening all over the world. In London, Berlin, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia, America - you name it."

If managed carefully, devotional events could become an important pillar of India's soft power strategy.

Every Obsession Will Find Its Crowd

The future of India's live-events economy may ultimately be defined by niche communities rather than mass audiences.

• Anime conventions.
• Board-game nights.
• Creator meetups.
• Album listening sessions.
• Fitness gatherings.
• Regional cultural festivals.

According to Chowdhry, "Every obsession will find its crowd." The internet allows people with niche interests to discover one another.

Live events give them a place to gather. That combination is creating entirely new markets.

The Rs 19,600-Crore Future

Ticket prices already span an enormous range. Bhajan gatherings may cost a few hundred rupees. Mainstream Indian concerts can range between Rs 1,500 and Rs 8,000.

International superstar tours can exceed Rs 50,000 for premium experiences. Yet demand remains robust.

As 28-year-old PR professional Andre Gennie puts it, people are often paying for more than music. "They really see themselves in the artist, and their music resonates with their general being and way of life."

• Sometimes it is fandom.
• Sometimes community.
• Sometimes aspiration.
• Sometimes simple joy.

Whatever the motivation, one thing is becoming clear. India's live-events economy is no longer a niche industry. It is becoming a major cultural and economic force.

From sold-out stadium concerts and college festivals to creator meetups and devotional gatherings, the country is discovering a new way to spend.

Not on things. But on moments. And moments, increasingly, are proving to be big business.