For lovers of electronic dance music, no place is quite as capable of changing lives and creating memories like an EDM festival.
Joining thousands of like minded individuals with a shared passion for music, love, and lights is something too great to pass up. We pick up extra shifts at work and save every expendable penny so that we can make that next festival a reality. We circle the dates on our calendar months in advance. We pour countless hours into crafting our costumes and planning our schedules.
We dance until our bodies hurt, hug complete strangers, and stay awake late into the night so that we don’t miss a single moment.
Once the festivals are over we are back stage one until the next time we are brought together by the beats.
Over the past year we have consumed untold hours of music and have had the good fortune of sharing these moments with many of you.
With the season winding down, we look back at 10 of our favorite EDM festival moments from 2014.
10. Gramatik and Flume show Chicago what proper electronic dance music is at Lollapalooza.
As one would expect, Gramatik laid down the funk unlike very few in the game are capable of doing.
The pleasant surprises came in the forms of Gibbs and Russ Liquid who joined the Lowtemp Records founder on Perry’s Stage with for some killer vocals and instrumentals. You can tell that the entire Lowtemp Records family is exactly that – a family. The passion that bleeds through the speakers was magnified when when their numbers multiplied on stage.
Shortly thereafter it was over to The Grove where Flume does what Flume does. Having the Chicago skyline as a backdrop brought the entire experience to an astonishing level.
9. Adventure Club puts a ribbon on Imagine Music Festival.
In it’s first year, Imagine Music Festival proved why it deserves a long-term home. The boys of Adventure Club played a large role in this.
The artistic stage design of Iris Presents and the production of the Canadian dubstep duo created the perfect synthesis for a headlining act. Those in attendance were treated to classics like “Gold” and “Rise and Fall” and live debut of “Fade” with Zak Waters.
Hard to imagine a better way to close out a first year festival than hugging your best friend to the emotionally charged tracks that Adventure Club is known for.
8. The Polish Ambassador teases us with new tunes at CounterPoint Music Festival.
The World’s Funkiest Diplomat is known for sharing the spotlight with his Jumpsuit Records family and that is exactly what occurred at CounterPoint.
The Polish Ambassador’s cult following gathered at the Underground Stage where the TPA Family was treated to the ultimate showcase of glitchy, wobbly funk. With the release of his Pushing Through The Pavement EP right around the corner, those who made the difficult choice to stray away from GRiZ and STS9 were not disappointed.
Every now and then Ayla Nereo would join The Ambassador on stage where her vocals would make you fall in love a little more with each note. The call and response interaction with the crowd to close out the session revealed a new track, “Put All Your Heart In This,” that had never before been performed.
7. The Chainsmokers prove they are here to stay on 7UP’s Stage 7 at Ultra Music Festival.
At the height of the “#SELFIE” craze, many people questioned whether or not The Chainsmokers were for real or just a gimmick. Those privy to the production capabilities of the duo knew better.
After the birth of Laidback Luke’s daughter left an empty spot on the Main Stage, The Chainsmokers quickly stepped in and laid down the dirt. If any there were any doubters left, they were quickly put to rest later in the evening.
Surfing a wave of adrenaline from earlier in the day, Alex and Andrew threw down unlike any thing that we have witnessed the entire year. With only a few hundred people allowed on the elevated 7up Stage 7 at a time, the max capacity crowd was treated to a house party atmosphere laced with banger after banger.
6. Dash Berlin closes out Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas.
Closing out the largest electronic dance music festival in the world at the largest stage ever constructed on North American soil should tell you all you need to know. What do you get when you add the production of Insomniac and an international superstar like Dash Berlin?
Hundreds of thousands of ravers gathered in celebration under the electric sky.
5. The String Cheese Incident revisits our favorite video games at Electric Forest.
Though The Grateful Dead of our generation played multiple sets over the weekend, it was the Saturday night performance that stole the show.
The elements of the production stimulated every sense imagineable. The band referenced classic video games such as Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man while giant inflatable dice bounced through the crowd, confetti rained over The Forest, and fireworks lit up the sky. This was just the beginning.
After an epic display of pageantry The String Cheese Incident was joined on stage by Ms. Lauryn Hill for a jaw-dropping collaboration that took us deep into the night.
4. Thomas Jack gets deeply tropical at Hard Day of the Dead
In his first ever music festival performance, Thomas Jack brought those warm-sunshiney vibes to the 7UP Stage 7.
Though he was scheduled to play festivals earlier in the summer, those plans were axed due to visa issues. This surely created an anticipation to finally rock the crowd while allowing Jack time to refine his debut festival set.
Donning a Hawaiian shirt, the Australian native and pioneer of tropical house laid down a set that had the crowd screaming by the time he wrapped up with his remix of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
3. Jamie Jones taps into a multi-dimensional wavelength at TomorrowWorld
Credited with demolishing the framework of minimal techno and laying the foundation for a more melodic sound, Jamie Jones brought his ‘A-game’ to the All Gone Pete Tong tent.
The Welsh revolutionary unleashed a new era of house that seemed to have the entire crowd moving as one. For two hours the founder of Hot Creations was dialed in, reading the crowd and dishing out auditory prescriptions at the perfect moments.
2. Bassnectar leads a group meditation on top of a mountain at Wakarusa
For those who have not attended Wakarusa, it is difficult to describe how ‘out there’ you truly are.
Imagine driving hours away from civilization, another hour down a desolate country road, and a couple more miles climbing winding mountain roads. Not quite yet. After setting up camp you still have to be bused three miles up the mountain until you reach the venue from the furthest campsite. Even from the drop off point, it is still a solid half mile walk until you find yourself in the vicinity of the Main Stage.
Just a few weeks away from the release of Noise Versus Beauty, Bassnectar took the stage and gave a performance that was borderline religious. With the brightest stars you could ever see in your life shining overhead, Lorin supplied enough bass to cause rock slides on the surrounding mountains.
After sprinkling in classic tunes and introducing the crowd to upcoming releases, Bassnectar wrapped up with a meditation that would leave everyone a little more introspective. As the music faded and we began to regain sensation in our eardrums, an automated voice declared the following message:
Taking just a minute. Gently. I bring my energy away from the external. I bring all my attention up through my body to a point in the middle of my forehead just above and behind the eyes. Towards a single point of focus inside. I now look through my eyes as if they are windows. I am the still point of awareness looking through the eyes to the world out there. I am the still point, silent and powerful.
1. Minnesota closes out Counterpoint at the silent disco
A mid-day thunderstorm on Sunday meant that multiple shows were cancelled. Unfortunately for those of us that crave stanky, wobbly, dub, one of those sets was Minnesota.
After the weather subsided, performances went on as planned. Michal Menert was scheduled to perform until 2:00 AM at the silent disco but those who stuck around were in for a much bigger surprise. Not only did GRiZ join Menert to lay down a tag team of funk, but Minnesota decided that he wasn’t leaving without giving fans their money’s worth.
With the release of his Voyagers EP just a few weeks away, those who stuck around were treated to a sneak peak of new tunes from the bass music connoisseur. Instead of ending at 2:00 AM as planned, Minnesota decided to lay down a 3 hour set.
As the sun began to rise, the few hundred people still boogyin’ continued to rock out as cars exited the festival grounds.
The icing on the cake? Ending out with “You Know You Like It” by DJ Snake and Aluna George.
What are some of your favorite EDM festival moments from this year?
Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know!
electric forest; paper diamond, glitch mob, and zeds dead all back to back to back at the ranch arena, without a doubt deserves to be on this list!!!!!