India, Feb. 6 -- Economic Survey 2025-2026, released last week, said India can do more to leverage its concert economy and live entertainment sector that surpassed Rs.10,000 crore in 2024. Successful India tours of Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Bryan Adams, Guns N' Roses, Ed Sheeran and festivals like Lollapalooza and Sunburn, demonstrate a rising demand for live music. GenZ and Millennials - who make up the bulk of audiences at live events -- are driving up demand for immersive, tech-enabled experiences, PwC said recently. But large-scale events are just one side of the story. Digital ticketing services for live experiences report a quiet revolution in hyperlocal engagements attracting the young in big numbers. Food, sports, music including live gigs, brunches, pop-ups and picnic raves are drawing people out week after week, noted Swiggy Scenes, the hyperlocal event discovery platform of the food delivery app Swiggy. Set up in December 2024, Swiggy Scenes said that between January and December 2025, fake weddings, coffee raves (alcohol-free dance parties at cafes), pickleball and gaming were all the rage. "In 2025, going out became far more intention-led than occasion-led. It wasn't about ticking off plans, but about showing up for experiences that felt social, personal and rooted in community," said Supriya Shankar, vice president, Swiggy Scenes. Its most-booked category DJ nights re-affirmed music as a consistent cultural anchor, while newer formats like pickleball quietly evolved into social meeting points rather than just sporting activities. GenZ also introduced newer ways of going out -- from supper clubs to themed social formats, running clubs and philosophy dialogues to painting and pottery workshops. Launched in November 2024, District by Zomato, pitched as a one-stop platform for "going out" experiences, also witnessed growth across verticals. "But the real story is behavioral," said District CEO, Rahul Ganjoo. "It's a shift in how India experiences leisure. Going out is now intentional, frequent, and seamlessly planned," he said. People are out more frequently and mid-week bookings have shot up. In sync with these trends, District expanded its offering. "The app isn't just for stadium shows. A user can discover a 50,000-capacity festival, a 2,000-seater standup special, or a 150-person indie gig at a neighbourhood venue, all on the same platform. This matters because going out isn't one-size-fits-all. Sometimes it's a big weekend plan, sometimes it's a Tuesday jazz night," Ganjoo said. Clearly, the shift in "discovery" of live events through booking platforms has also led to the surge in traffic. Smaller events that struggled for visibility earlier now find their audience. "A 200-seater comedy night or a regional theatre production gets the same platform quality as a headliner tour, democratizing the going-out ecosystem," Ganjoo said. While cities like Delhi and Mumbai led overall volumes in 2025, people across cities stepped out more often, experimenting with newer formats, Swiggy Scenes' Shankar said. District's sales for the tier 2 market grew nearly 70% year-on-year. "Cities like Chandigarh and Jaipur are actively seeking small to mid-scale live experiences. These aren't watered-down versions of the metro events. These cities are building their own scenes, formats and cultural identity around going out," Ganjoo said. In 2026, he expects tier 2 to drive an outsized share of growth in the going-out economy. In 2026, experiential depth will matter more than scale for audiences who will gravitate towards well-curated and culturally relevant shows, Ganjoo said. Demand for niche genres and formats will rise as audiences mature and going out becomes more about meaningful experiences than volume. District's new trends report says young consumers are changing how, when and why they go out. It's a cultural reset driven by fatigue, discernment, and appetite for presence. The report 'Touching Grass: How India Will Go Out in 2026' observes that where you are seen says more about you than what you broadcast, that going out signals your identity and that arriving alone isn't seen as a sign of loneliness but autonomy. In fact, Mumbai saw the highest number of singles going out alone, with games emerging as the top category, Swiggy Scenes noted. "As we look ahead, experience-led socializing is expected to become more common, community-driven and culturally rooted, whether through music, sport, food or fun formats. People are increasingly choosing experiences that allow them to participate, connect and take back a story, not just attend an event. This trend will continue," Shankar said....