Nagaland's Trance Effect leads India's finest as Def Leppard tour opening acts are revealed

When a band with over 110 million albums sold comes to town, the question of who opens for them matters more than people often realise. BookMyShow Live has answered it with a line-up that reads like a roll call of Indian rock's most compelling names — and it begins with a band from Nagaland.

Trance Effect, the Nagaland-based pop-rock outfit, will open for Def Leppard on March 25 in Shillong at RBDSA Sports Complex — a city long regarded as India's rock capital. It is a significant moment for a band that has been steadily making its presence felt well beyond the Northeast.

In January 2026, they performed at Lollapalooza India, sharing the billing with Linkin Park, LANY and Kehlani, among others, and have since played festivals in Thailand and Vietnam. Opening for Def Leppard in Shillong now adds another defining entry to that growing CV.

From there, the tour moves to Mumbai on March 27 at Jio World Garden, where Indus Creed step up. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian rock, the band has been shaping the country's music landscape since the late 1980s, with tracks like Rock N Roll Renegade and Fireflies that have outlasted trends and remained genuinely beloved.

The final night falls on the 29th in Bengaluru at NICE Grounds, where Thermal And A Quarter — cult heroes in their own city — close out the support slot. Over two decades into their career, their genre-blending weave of alternative rock, jazz, funk and soul has earned them a loyal following and a reputation as one of India's most inventive live acts.

Taken together, the three choices say something meaningful about the state of Indian rock. These are not token warm-up acts — they are artists with real histories, real audiences and real stakes in the evening. As international tours of this scale arrive on Indian stages in greater numbers, the decision to place homegrown talent front and centre feels less like a gesture and more like an acknowledgement of what has quietly been building here for years.

The stage is set. Shillong goes first.

The tour is being produced by BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment division of BookMyShow.