Open Garden Introduces Off The Grid Live Chat For Artists And Fans

Bacardi NH7 Weekender, India's largest music festival, pioneers off-grid live communications

News provided by

Nov 25, 2014, 12:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Garden, the publisher of FireChat, a free app for mobile phones, announced that it is now enabling artists to communicate live and off-grid with festival goers.

Musical artists and bands can now chat live with their audience, regardless of whether they have access to an Internet connection, or cellular phone coverage. This is happening for the first time at one of the most popular music festivals in the world, the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in India.

Open Garden is a San Francisco-based startup dedicated to connecting the next 5 billion mobile devices through peer-to-peer technology.

At the Bacardi NH7 Weekender, popular bands and artists including Indian Ocean, The Raghu Dixit Project, and the Reggae Rajahs will connect in real time with their audience using verified accounts on FireChat in Pune and Delhi.

Vijay Nair, CEO of Only Much Louder, the organiser of Bacardi NH7 Weekender said: "I am excited that Bacardi NH7 Weekender will be the first festival to enable live interaction through Firechat. It is a great tool for artists to interact with fans and we don't have to worry about traditional networks failing as they tend to do when large crowds are present."

Often referred to as the "ideal survival app" for concerts and music festivals, FireChat now enables performers to engage with their audience in large numbers and in unprecedented ways, before, during and after events.

"This is a first for entertainment. We are very grateful for the collaboration with Only Much Louder," said Micha Benoliel, CEO and cofounder of Open Garden. "FireChat works when other apps cannot and enables a new level of live communications that goes beyond what Facebook, Twitter or SnapChat offer today. It's very exciting to see this happening in India, one of the largest growth markets for mobile devices."

About FireChat
The new FireChat is available for free in the App Store and Google Play at http://firech.at/BacardiNH7Weekender
FireChat demonstrates the benefits of mesh networking technology developed by Open Garden Inc. Launched in March 2014, FireChat has reached the top 10 amongst social networking apps in 124 countries around the world.
FireChat enables people to send and receive messages even when no Internet connection or cellular phone coverage are available. This is particularly useful in situations or markets without reliable connectivity such as: public transportation, sporting events and trade shows. FireChat's top 5 markets are the US, India, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Mexico.

About Open Garden
Open Garden is a San Francisco-based startup dedicated to connecting the next 5 billion mobile devices with peer-to-peer connections by leveraging the density of mobile devices.
Open Garden was recognized as the Most Innovative Startup when it was debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2012, and was the Grand Prize Winner of the GMIC startup competition in October 2013.

About Only Much Louder
OML delivers creative and insightful ways of working with artists and brands to create incredible entertainment properties, content and experiences for fans and consumers. With over a decade's experience in live events, artist management, television and digital properties, and more, OML has been an integral part of the burgeoning music, comedy and alternative culture scene in the country.

OML manages and books some of the biggest independent music and comedy acts in the country and around the world. OML produces some of the country's most exciting live music properties like the Bacardi NH7 Weekender (described by The Guardian as "India's answer to Glastonbury"), the Invasion Festival (which was headlined by the world's #1 DJ David Guetta in its 2012 edition) and A Summer's Day (a festival which was headlined by Norah Jones in its 2013 edition). In the comedy space, OML has promoted and produced the Russell Peters Notorious World Tour 2013 in India, the Weirdass Pajama Comedy Festival and the Royal Turds by All India Bakchod.

OML creates cutting-edge and engaging televised and digital content in the country. This includes television series like The Dewarists (which was awarded a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lion 2012), the AIB 365 sketch comedy show (India's fastest growing Youtube channel), MTV Sound Trippin' and A Twist of Taste on Fox Traveller. NH7.in, OML's music and alternative lifestyle culture platform, is the preferred destination of urban counterculture trends in music, arts, design and youth lifestyle.

Keywords
Messaging, Chat, Peer-to-peer, iOS, Off-grid communication, Internet, Mobile, Chat Off the Grid, Android, Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Vijay Nair, Only Much Louder, Pune, Delhi, India.

Press Contact: Email: [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140624/120786

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/open-garden-introduces-off-the-grid-live-chat-for-artists-and-fans-300000096.html

SOURCE Open Garden