The countdown to the 27th edition of the Hornbill Festival has begun and its flagship event—the Toyota Hornbill Music Festival is set to be the biggest celebration of music Nagaland has ever hosted
Set to partner with two of the biggest digital platforms in the world—Spotify and YouTube
DIMAPUR — The countdown to the 27th edition of the Hornbill Festival has begun and its flagship event—the Toyota Hornbill Music Festival is set to be the biggest celebration of music Nagaland has ever hosted.
Addressing a press conference hosted by Okusa Toyota Service Centre at Thilixu Village block-6 in Chümoukedima on Thursday, Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA) Chairman Theja Meru and Advisor to the Chief Minister Abu Metha along with MD at Okusa Toyota Pvt. Ltd. Nagaland Y. Vikheho Swu announced that this year's festival will run as usual from Dec. 1 to the 10th at Kisama, along with extensions in 6-7 districts across Nagaland.
Metha said the Hornbill Festival is now Nagaland's biggest brand ambassador. “When you say you are from Nagaland, the first thing people say is we've heard about your Hornbill Festival, it's on our bucket list”, he said as he stressed that the festival is not the property of TaFMA or the government, but belongs to all Naga people built on culture, heritage and the Naga way of life.
The Music Festival alone, he said, sees over 1000 musicians, 60-70 bands, across 10 consecutive days, making it one of India's biggest music festivals.
Local first, global next
Metha made it clear that public funds will predominantly support local talent, not expensive big-name bands. “We are not trying to bring big bands to overshadow our culture. We want to showcase the best of Nagaland”. He added that the narrative has changed as earlier TaFMA had to pay bands to come but today, top Indian and international musicians are requesting to perform at Hornbill to add it to their CV.
In a major announcement, Metha revealed that the festival will partner with two of the biggest digital platforms in the world—Spotify and YouTube. There will be a dedicated Spotify evening with Spotify heads and top artistes in attendance, scouting local talent.
The YouTube Asia Head will also be present during the festival.
“We want our musicians to make it big on Spotify and YouTube around the world, not just here”, he said.
Metha thanked Toyota Kirloskar for its continued partnership, revealing that within 10 months of signing a MoU last Hornbill, Toyota has implemented CSR initiatives in Nagaland, especially in health and education, besides funding a dedicated music & arts hub at Kisama.
Metha singled out Zunheboto's Hornbill extension as a must-visit, recalling thousands turning out every evening last year.The music scene there, he said is something else. The culture there is something else.
Okusa Toyota MD Y. Vikheho Swu also announced the return of Japan's world-famous Drum Tao, who will collaborate with a Naga band to be revealed later.
This year's Toyota Hornbill Ambassador will be Toyota Hornbill 2026 will be Nikali K. Shohe who represented Nagaland state at the prestigious Femina Miss India 2026.
While expressing his gratitude to the state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio for his concern and for his vision to develop Nagaland, he also acknowledged TaFMA and also the Tourism Department for enabling Toyota to be partnering in sponsoring the Hornbill Music Festival.
Transparency row over Hornbill Music Festival selection
Amid growing debate on social media over how musicians are selected to perform at the Hornbill Music Festival, Metha and Meru defended its process, saying it is open, structured and focused on showcasing Nagaland's best.
Responding to the query on transparency over selection process, Metha said there are two separate processes. For outside bands, he said, selection happens through ‘Ticket to Hornbill’— a countrywide open competition with renowned musicians as judges.
“There is a system and a format to apply, submit your credentials and then they qualify to come and perform at the Hornbill” and for Naga bands, he said TaFMA works through district partners in every district throughout the year and through an artist empanelment system.
According to him, to perform at the state level and to be selected to go abroad to represent the state, there are criteria and credentials they have to fulfill.
Metha admitted that the main stage at Kisama gets all the attention but said hundreds of musicians get opportunities behind the scenes. Every year, artistes from all districts are brought in for the Hornbill Busking Festival, supported by Coca-Cola, besides performances at state events like Lok Bhavan, State Banquet Hall and Handshake Concerts.
Meru added that this year, local selection has been entrusted to the Naga Musicians Collective, Nagaland's biggest music community, which has already picked three bands.
Six solo artistes will also be picked from the Nagaland Music Awards.
He said TaFMA wants to honour social media requests for more local participation but through proper channel and competition. As Meru summed it up “this is an exciting time for the music fraternity, for musicians and bands from across the country and even the globe”.