Imagine a music festival that doesn’t leave behind plastic deserts or mountains of waste. A festival where every stage is crafted from recycled materials, every sip is taken from a steel tumbler, and the beat of the music pulses in harmony with the heartbeat of the planet.

This isn’t a dream or a distant ideal; it’s the reality of Echoes of Earth, India’s pioneering green music festival.

Founded in 2016 by Roshan Ketalkar, Echoes of Earth is not just another entry in India’s events calendar but a movement that intertwines ecological responsibility with the unifying power of music. While music festivals are often synonymous with excess and waste, this festival flips the script — embedding sustainability at its core and proving that large-scale entertainment can be both vibrant and virtuous.

From childhood roots to a green revolution

Roshan’s vision sprouted from his early years in the coastal town of Karwar, surrounded by unspoilt nature. Later, after moving to Bengaluru and spending two decades in the entertainment industry, he saw first-hand the environmental toll of large events — elaborate sets discarded in minutes, plastic piling up, and waste overwhelming the grounds.

“I wanted to bring eclectic global sounds to Bengaluru’s evolved audience,” Roshan recalls. “But more importantly, I wanted to rethink what a festival could be. We saw the degradation of natural resources and thought: why not use music as a platform for conservation?”

Thus, Echoes of Earth was born — with sustainability not as an afterthought, but its very ethos. With no existing playbook in India, the team relied on research, innovation, and sheer commitment to create a truly green festival.

The art and science of sustainable stages

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