Rolling Stone India – December 2024

Summary

Bruce Springsteen and Zach Bryan share the cover of Rolling Stone India's sixth-annual Musicians on Musicians issue (December 2024, Issue 204), photographed by Danny Clinch in New Jersey on 23 April 2024. Bryan Adams tells Anurag Tagat why India keeps pulling him back at 65, and Stevie Nicks sits for a nearly 4-hour interview on longevity, Kamala Harris, Fleetwood Mac and more. The issue bridges Nashville, Mumbai and London across 10 features.

The Musicians on Musicians format pairs artists for joint interviews — the Springsteen-Bryan conversation covers songwriting process, state-of-the-union themes and the experience of recording in the same room versus sending files. Saba teams with producer No I.D. for a feature on making the album that became his new chapter. Cifika discusses authenticity and perfection in her new album. Cousin Kula talk about their India debut at the Magnetic Fields Festival 2024.

The Rolling Stone Interview with Stevie Nicks runs as the book's deepest piece. Bryan Adams's India feature includes venue and fan-culture specifics that differentiate his loyalty from artists who tour India once and never return. The issue's cover line — "In the Magic of Songwriting and the State of the Union" — frames the musician-to-musician format as the core editorial identity.

—————

Content Guide

▸ Musicians on Musicians

p.37 · When The Stars Collide
Introduction to the sixth-annual Musicians on Musicians package. The editors explain why they paired Springsteen with Bryan and Saba with No I.D. — each pair shares a geographical or thematic root. The format requires both artists to be in the same room for at least 30 minutes of the interview.

p.22 · Bryan Adams Feels the Love in India
The 65-year-old singer talks about his 18 tours to India across 3 decades, singling out the 2018 Pune show where the crowd sang "Summer of '69" for 8 minutes after he stopped playing. His rider now includes a specific request for masala chai from a Mumbai vendor.

▸ The Rolling Stone Interview

p.30 · The Rolling Stone Interview: Stevie Nicks
Nearly 4 hours in a Los Angeles hotel suite covering her 2024 endorsement of Kamala Harris, the Fleetwood Mac reunion that nearly happened, and the song she wrote the week Christine McVie died. She reveals she keeps notebooks from 1975 and re-reads them before every tour. The interview was unedited in its first 3,000-word run.

▸ Artist Features

p.12 · Cousin Kula Talk India Debut at Magnetic Fields Festival 2024
The British psychedelic-jazz band describes their first Indian performance at the Magnetic Fields Festival in Rajasthan. The setlist was adjusted after a soundcheck at the venue's stepwell. Their advice for bands playing Indian festivals for the first time: bring your own monitor engineer.

p.14 · Cifika: 'It's Less About Perfection and More About Authenticity'
The Korean-French artist speaks about her new album. She produced the entire record on a single laptop in a Berlin apartment. The final track was recorded in one take after 22 failed attempts — she kept the 23rd because her voice cracked on the last word.

▸ Features

p.30 · Saba Begins a New Story: Dynamic Duo
Chicago rapper Saba teams with producer No I.D. for a joint feature. The album was built from 3-day sessions in a rented Chicago warehouse, with No I.D. bringing beat sketches and Saba writing lyrics on the studio wall. The track that samples a 1996 Common record is the key listen.

—————

Editor's Take

Rolling Stone India's Musicians on Musicians issue is the strongest editorial package the magazine produces each year, and 2024's edition benefits from the Springsteen-Bryan draw. The Stevie Nicks interview is genuinely substantial — 4 hours of access that produced material no other outlet got, including her reaction to McVie's death. The weakness is the thinness of the non-headline features: Cousin Kula gets only 2 pages and Cifika's piece reads more like a press release than a profile. The India-specific content (Bryan Adams, Cousin Kula) is what differentiates this edition from the US flagship, but there should be more of it. This issue is for the committed music-head who wants long-form artist interviews, not for someone looking for album reviews or festival coverage.

Strengths
• Stevie Nicks 4-hour interview with exclusive McVie content
• Springsteen-Bryan Musicians on Musicians pairing
• Bryan Adams India-specific venue and fan-culture details

Weaknesses
• Lower-tier features (Cifika, Cousin Kula) lack depth
• No album reviews, gig listings or festival calendar sections

Verdict: Recommended — The Nicks interview alone justifies the purchase, but the back-of-book filler drags the overall package down.