The Meghalaya monsoon music scene: how rain became a genre

Shillong receives more than 11,000 millimetres of rain a year, and its musicians have long treated the monsoon as a collaborator — the rhythm section no one can silence.

A wave of ‘rain albums’ has formalised the love affair, and venues now build monsoon-proof stages with covered seating as standard.

‘The rain is not the enemy of the show,’ one producer said. ‘It is the opening act.’