Somewhere along the rocky winding roads of the East Khasi Hills in Shillong, we find ourselves cruising between two armoured jeeps in the Meghalaya Chief Minister’s convoy. In the dense fog of the hills, lit only by the strobing red-and-blue beacon lights, the convoy is picking up speed by the minute to track down bandits — the chart-topping kind, of course. It is British electronic music group Clean Bandit, known for hits like Rockabye Baby and Symphony, who are gearing to take stage at the two-day long Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival that was also host to old-school icons like Akon and Boney M.

Confetti fills the air at the festival