In a deal that has been in the works for almost two years, Rock-It Cargo – recently crowned the industry’s Favourite Freight Company at the TPi Awards 2025 – announced an expansion to its global services with new access and opportunities throughout India in collaboration with Buhariwala Live. Having worked in partnership for over a decade, the family-run, Mumbai-based business will officially rebrand its live touring arm to Rock-It Cargo India.
“We’ve been moving shows in an out of India for years, with one of the biggest in recent memory being Metallica,” Rock-It Cargo’s Chris Palmer recalled, explaining why the region wasn’t previously as much of a draw for international touring as it is today. “Historically, there haven’t been huge numbers of artists attempting to tour through the region. One of the big reasons for this was that India, for a long time, did not accept Carnets.”
This meant acts wishing to travel to India had to pay a bond based on the value of their equipment, which might not be released for several months. “It did not make sense to include India as part of a global tour,” he said.
However, with the country now accepting Carnets, Palmer cited the numerous A-tier artists that have recently included India in their touring campaigns, including Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa.
“I think we’re going to see more acts adding India to their schedules,” he prophesied, suggesting that the country is the ideal link to the Middle East and the likes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE – the former of which also only recently started accepting carnets in 2024.
On the topic of carnets, Palmer shared a status update on the incorporation of ecarnets. “Our last update from the Chamber of Commerce was that implementation will be brought in for 2026. Then for two years we’ll use a hybrid system using both electronic and paper carnets with the goal of a full move to digital in 2028,” he stated. “With more regions’ acceptance of carnets making movement of equipment much easier, and with another regional base, clients will not have to deal with multiple companies when going from region to region. There have been productions in the past that have been nervous about touring in India, but now with Rock-it Cargo, a trusted brand out there, it will build confidence that their kit will be moved safely into and out of India.”
Palmer revealed how Lollapalooza India had attracted more touring acts to the region. With Rock-it being involved in the production since its inaugural year in 2023, more and more international acts are now filling the bill, with the 2025 edition featuring the likes of Shawn Mendes, Green Day, Glass Animals and Louis Tomlinson alongside several regional artists.
“This will hopefully expose more productions to India and mean they are more likely to consider touring through the region,” he remarked.
With the announcement of the new Indian base, Palmer explained what the next steps are for this new branch. “The established Buhariwala Live team are still manning the office with the Rock-it team collaborating remotely, but the goal is to put somebody from our established global team in Mumbai permanently soon.”
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Rock-it Cargo
