I remember doing writing exercises as a kid, where we were asked to summarise large pieces of writing in 6 words - no more, no less. If this review of the NH7 Festivapp was the subject of such an exercise, my answer would be "Stop reading and get the app." If you prefer a (slightly) more eloquent version, read on.
Festivapp comes from the OML (Only Much Louder) group, the guys behind the NH7 website and Weekender music festivals organised across the country under the same brand name. NH7 aims to provide a platform for Indie artists, and has been rather successful towards that end. Not many may know that OML group is also behind the TV show, The Dewarists and the ones responsible for bringing big-name artists like David Guetta and Lady Gaga to India via their auxiliary brands. Once you understand this background, you'll realise that Festivapp is just a natural extension ofthe brand.
Festivapp aims to "help users to discover and navigate music, literary and cultural festivals across India". Great, yet another "events" app. Exactly what the world needs, right? Wrong. Festivapp goes beyond your typical "events app" by not only listing the various festivals that are happening across the country in the near future, but also including every possible detail you'll need to know if you are considering attending the event.
In addition to basic information about the festival, the app provides the schedule, a venue map, a profile of the artist(s) involved and other details related to the festival. Festivapp also includes useful information like how to get to the venue and hotel recommendations (with a 10% discount in some cases) for those travelling from out of town. The amount of information available for each festival varies depending upon what details the organisers have shared, if the schedule of the festival has been finalised yet etc.
Two other features make the app stand out. The first is the Festival Wall that features Twitter and Instagram posts related to the festival, while also letting you join in the fun from within the app. The other is the Announcements tab that not only features important news from the organisers, but also lets you get in touch with them and have your own queries answered.
The only disappointing aspect of the app is that the option to buy tickets is not available for all festivals (yet). As of writing this review, only tickets for NH7's own Weekender festival in Delhi could be purchased via the apps. However, the developers say that they are working towards extending this to most, if not all, festivals. Another point worth highlighting is that the Android app doesn't seem as solid as its iOS counterpart, as it failed to fetch any data on a couple of occasions over the same Wi-Fi that had the iOS app motoring along. We had to manually quit the app and launch it again to fix the behaviour. We expect this to be ironed out in a forthcoming update.
All in all, the NH7 Festivapp for iOS and Android is a must-have app for anyone looking to stay up to date with the festival scene in India.
Festivapp (iOS, Free)
Festivapp (Android, Free)