Terat band from Mizoram won the ‘Ticket to Hornbill 2026’ during the grand finale held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi on November 6.
New Delhi, November 6 (MExN): Terat band from Mizoram won the coveted ‘Ticket to Hornbill 2026’, emerging victorious at the grand finale held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi on November 6.
Terat beat 221 auditioning bands to win ‘India’s Biggest Band Battle’. Twelve bands performed in the preliminary round, with five competing for the top three prizes. Steel Falcon from Bengaluru were first runners-up and Nchanter from Uttarakhand second runners-up.
The top three bands will perform at the Hornbill Music Festival 2026 in Kisama, Nagaland, from December 1 to 10. The winner received Rs 10 lakh, first runners-up Rs 6 lakh and second runners-up Rs 4 lakh. Individual category prizes worth Rs 5 lakh, sponsored by Furtados and Sennheiser, were also awarded. Casio India is the sponsor of this year’s winners.
This is the third edition of ‘Ticket to Hornbill’ and the first time the event was held outside Nagaland. Theja Meru, Chairman of Task Force Music and Arts (TaFMA), said Delhi was chosen to highlight the state’s thriving music scene, for better accessibility and lower cost, and given the large Naga community presence.
The event was organised by the Tourism Department, Government of Nagaland, in collaboration with TaFMA and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
Judges were Subir Malik, founder of Parikrama; Arpito Gope, Chief Consultant to TaFMA; and Mayank Mittal, frontman of KAPOW.
Secretary, Tourism, Government of Nagaland, Nchumbemo Lotha said music is more than entertainment for Nagas—a form of storytelling, means of preserving history and expression of identity.
