“Pretty Lights in Telluride 2015 was more than I ever hoped it would be, and I was not the same person when I left. The energy of that place and the people and the music literally had me feeling like I was struck by a lightning bolt… And we get to do it again!! I can only imagine what might happen in 2016.”
-Derek Smith
So there we were at Pretty Lights in Telluride 2016, surrounded by towering mountains, with only the dedicated fans getting down by the “Shark Tank” as Derek Vincent Smith opened with “Country Roads”.
Who opens with “Country Roads”?! is the question we would ask ourselves the rest of the weekend and probably our lives… The setting was bliss with mist floating low from the rain earlier in the day. The natural and artificial fog would seemingly cast an entire weather channel over us.
The lasers and lights played with the fog creating abstract clouds while the rain drizzling down created “glitter lights”.
Derek held down the first set alone, teasing us before the full band joined him on stage for a deeper and more intricate second set. Along his side were EDM surgeons, Borahm Lee (keys), Brian Coogan (keys), Alvin Ford Jr. (drums) and Chris Karns (vinyl).
The band brought out an old school jammy and funky side to Pretty Lights and gave Derek space to experiment. The incorporation of real vinyl gave a fresh sound, which surprising sounded similar to Tipper at points.
They are definitely keeping up with this era of sound and explored countless avenues of electronic music. Derek and his crew and were constantly in communication with each other during the show. We were all wondering what they were saying to each other over the mics, so I found out first hand
I reached out to the light designer, Greg Ellis, to find out what is being said behind the scenes. Here is what Greg had to say:
For years people have wondered what Derek and I are saying to each other over those mics… It started when we debuted the Tower Stage as a means for us to stay synced up. As time went on, we moved away from a perfectly synced show, it became a much more casual system. He could call ideas or song suggestions, or whatever random thought that popped in his head. I think it helped him feel more comfortable when it was just him on stage. Now, he is orchestrating to the rest of the guys and they are all in communication with each other. It is a very elaborate system which includes members of the crew as well. Whit Hawkins bears the responsibility of making sure everyone hears who they need to hear. It is no easy task.
We could feel the excitement in Derek’s voice as he intimately spoke to us throughout the set. At one point, he mentioned the dank bagels in town and how we give him clarity. To show his appreciation for us, Derek cruised through the campgrounds with the window down giving everyone around eye contact and head nods. Also, Friday’s sound check lasted through happy hour, giving us campers great tunes for the pre-gaming. He even threw down a secret set out of his bass-truck Saturday on Lawson Hill.
The sets comprised of his beloved tracks and some of his newer feels. A couple highlights were, “Yellow Bird” when yellow birds floated down the light board and also a powerful “I Know the Truth”. The energy kept us shining bright. I have never seen Pretty Lights with so much space and time as I did those two nights.
Derek has raised my appreciation for his abilities and he is proving to be timeless.
Night two Derek was slinging hip-hop beats all night, bringing a new light and feel to the hip hop genre. The second set was complete with a profound freestyle that no one saw coming but hit home.
Beyond the extended Pretty Lights sets there were pre-parties and after-parties that created a festival feel to the weekend. The Thursday night pre-party spread out across two venues, Fly Me To The Moon Salon and The Sheridan. The sets at Fly Me To The Moon Salon opened with Cofresi, a master of the drum pads and loopers.
Watch Cofresi wailing away at the Sacred Studios:
Then, Bass Physics brought their smooth and passionate sound. Before their set I got the chance to chat with them. Click here to read what Bass Physics had to say about their tour, musical journey, and their empowering new track, “Let Me Go”.
Vibe Street slayed the night next with an uplifting set. His playful future folk is fun to get down to and subtly set the tone for Pretty Light’s “Country Roads” opener the following night.
Closing out the night was a heavy and energetic set from a Denver favorite Late Night Radio.
His soul and hip hop beats was a good precursor for night two of Pretty Lights. It is easy to have a great time at this duos set since their positive vibes project through the crowd. To finish the set, special guest, Kevin Donohue, the guitarist of SunSquabi came out to lay down his soothing riffs.
The Sheridan hosted the other pre-party with Unfold Music, Maddy O’Neal, Thriftworks, and Russ Liquid. Thriftworks has recently come out with a flawless album you must check out called, “Low Speed High Drag”. Then Friday night at the Sheridan, Phantom Lights played, which is a incredible collaboration of Borahm Lee, Chris Karns, Alvin Ford Jr., Brian Coogan, and Phil Salvaggio.
They provided a great after-party for the first night, making sure all our hearts were full of music, light, and love. Saturday night Borahm Lee, Chris Karns, Thriftworks, and Eliot Lipp winded down the weekend of music beautifully. The Episodic Festival would not have been complete without Pretty Light‘s friends.
Like Derek said about last year in Telluride, the energy of the weekend was tangible as if being stuck by lightening.
The love the Pretty Lights family radiates will continue to make a positive impact on our society. Online, an open letter was found written by a Telluride resident to the Pretty Lights fans that read, “I’m 56 and while the music was nice it might not be my first choice. What made the price of admission worth it was to experience the crowd. You have rejuvenated my hope in the youth of America.”
Keep it up Pretty Lights family, good will prevail.
