Tomorrowland's Wildly Successful Virtual Experiment

By Ryan Hayes

Last weekend Tomorrowland gambled big with dance music's first pay to attend virtual festival; Tomorrowland Around The World. While events like Room Service Festival previously featured over 100 artists for free, Tomorrowland showcased 60 high profile artists while attempting to create a truly immersive digital festival experience.

Website interface to get in between stages

In order to capture true to life movements Tomorrowland reportedly built four green screen studios around the world in: Boom Belgium, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, and Sydney. Each production space featured 38 digital cameras which jointly amassed over 300 terabytes of raw footage. The 60 artists were spread out over 8 themed stages each built from the ground up and housed in the digital wonderland dubbed Pāpiliōnem.

Upon entering the festival grounds it was immediately apparent that Tomorrowland Around The World was in a league of its own. Different stages opened at different times, there were set time conflicts, cheesy drink recipes, motivational interviews, and a slew of the regular nonsense you find at real life festivals designed to fill your musical downtown. Pāpiliōnem itself was beautiful, especially after nightfall when the island burst to life with hundreds of glowing multicoloured lights.

Day 1:

Oliver Heldens held down the festivals opening slot with an hour and a half long Day Break Session. The attention to detail was impressive, and the events theatrics progressed seamlessly mirroring true to life sequencing. Being the first act the digital crowd was dispersed for Heldens; the sun was high in the sky, there were no fireworks, and the visuals were toned way down. Unfortunately, so much work was put in to the main stage itself that the audience looked uncanny and low resolution. To a degree it broke the immersion. Nonetheless as the day progressed and the sun went down the focus shifted to the stage and its light show refocusing the viewer on what mattered. Helden's performance was great, he is one of the few artists who has effectively utilized the pandemic to raise his stature within the EDM community, and he deserves every ounce of light shown on his talent. 

Day one was ruled by the Freedom Stage and house music. David Guetta's Jack Back alias played an early morning set fulling legitimizing the artistic abilities of his side project. The set was easily a highlight of the day and proof that act should appear on more festival lineups. After Jack Back, Fedde Le Grand provided the only break from the Freedom Stage's programming. His set was at the Elixir Club; a secret stage housed within the Main Stage's compound. Fedde Le Grand doesn't play many North American festivals, so any set from the seasoned Dutch maestro is always welcome. 

Tiesto AKA VER:WEST

After that is was back to the Freedom Stage for a world premier performance from Tiesto's newly minted progressive house alias VER:WEST. The set was moody, atmospheric, and polished—for fans expecting anything resembling his old trance days...it would have been a disappointment. The set was good enough to leave me curious to see where to Tiesto takes VER:WEST from here; and his late addition to the lineup was the kind of massive get an all digital festival like Tomorrowland needs to sell tickets.

It was during VER:WEST's set that the Freedom Stage's visuals truly popped. The dark enclosure downplayed the audience and focused on the laser/light show which was beautifully synced with the music. Tomorrowland's team really outdid itself, I was doubtful, but the visuals really brought the experience home.

Eric Prydz [CELL.]

After VER:WEST Eric Prydz closed out the Freedom Stage with his new [CELL.] concept. It was immaculate. Tomorrowland's visuals may have exceeded my expectations, but the [CELL.] was in a league of its own. Prydz team painstakingly created the kind of genuinely unique journey that his fans have come to expect—it needs to be fully experienced to truly be appreciated. The [CELL.] didn't disappoint and was undoubtedly as good as it gets until we can all return to real life events.    

The only real time the main stage came to life on day one was during Afrojack and Armin van Buuren's sets. As soon as Afrojack hit the stage it became clear that an artists performance was just as important as the tracks they selected for their set. Filming a festival set in an empty studio is no easy task, but Afrojack brought the same energy he would to an Ultra set, and it really set him apart. During all of the sets at the Freedom Stage none of the artists uttered a single word, and while the music spoke for itself, it took the bombastic nature of the main stage and an artist like Afojack to fully complete the illusion of a live festival act.

Armin Van Buuren

Armin previously stated the importance of his Tomorrowland set in an interview leading up to the event. His hour was full of IDs fulfilling my hunch that Tomorrowland Around the World would replace Ultra as 2020's preeminent festival and the industries most importance testing ground. This was Armin's one quarantine live stream, and his chance to temporarily dominate a blog news cycle.

As much as I want to dislike Carnage...who was playing at the same time as Armin...he remains a highlight. It is  impossible not to get swept up in the pure energetic madness that takes over when he graces the stage. It's delirium, it kills brain cells, and if you let it seep in to your bloodstream it provides a full body escape from reality. 

CORE stage

By the end of day one it was clear just how much work was put in to the design of each individual stage. While Freedom provided the best lighting effects. Core brought Shambhala forest party vibes (Anna's set was a highlight), and The Cave conjured a otherworldly shipwrecked fantasy—if Han Solo, Netsky, or NGHTMRE ever really play in a cave with floating boulders alight with the glow of hundreds of luminous sparks...sign me up.

Day 2:

An early day two highlight was EDX on the Elixer Stage. His pacing and energy was the perfect way to warm up and get back in the groove for another day of music. With the original festival time table made for European audiences a few of the sets came out of the gate a little too strong for 9 AM on a Sunday morning; in retrospect Marlo put on a fantastic show, albeit at the wrong time of day for Western hemisphere audiences.

Transitioning from house to trance, the Freedom stage once again pumped out solid sets throughout the day. NWYR was a lighthearted standout. Less bombastic than Armin van Buuren's main stage set—both artists played very different edits of Blah Blah Blah, exemplifying the varied approach trance artists took on each stage. It lent credence to the authenticity of Tomorrowland's thoughtful stage curation.  

The highlight of day two was the absolutely stacked main stage lineup culminating in the one-two-punch of Tiesto, David Guetta, and Martin Garrix. Tiesto put on a middle of the road, well constructed, traditional main stage set; tracks from his latest album play much better live than they do as a casual listen. Guetta took to the stage with his near perfect Future Rave intro edit of Titanium. His selection was a mixture of Future Rave, remixed Guetta classics, a token Jack Back offering, and a handful of IDs. Guetta's set was everything his Ultra closing slot was meant to be. It was the beginning of a new era in his career; he has entirely modernized his main stage persona in a way no other legacy artist has managed to accomplish. It's unique while still being wildly digestible and it will propel him back to the top of his game.

Martin Garrix

Garrix closed out the festival with the most believable performance of the weekend. The energy he put in to creating a realistic performance was unparalleled. Not to mention it has since been confirmed that he played 8 new STMPD RCRD IDs during his set. This was Garrix at his best.

Ultimately the entire event was a resounding success. A masterclass in digitizing and bottling a festival atmosphere. The stream inevitably would have been more fun with a room full of friends...or a field of like minded festival-goers—but that would negate the very reason the virtual experience exists. Tomorrowland Around the World legitimized a new way of consuming top-tier DJ sets that will only continue to gain prominence well past COVID's current stranglehold on the market. The event may not have made many waves in Western North America, due at least in part to the time difference, but it severed as proof of concept. A million people around the world tuned in, and the next iteration will only bring more eyes.

If you missed the festival the Relive platform is now up and running with every set on demand until August 14th for just over 12 Euros. That comes to roughly $18 for over 60 hours of music. Not bad.

Until next time  Pāpiliōnem.

Digital Mirage: The Pandemic’s First True Virtual Festival

By Ryan Hayes

In recent weeks live streams have become important for both artists and music fans. The current pandemic has presented the music industry with an unprecedented level of uncertainty; luckily for fans, many artists have chosen to respond to the overwhelming shutdown by staying connected with their passion and their fan base via social platforms. For everyone stuck at home artist live streams have become a beacon of normalcy that help tether our sanity to a community we all feel akin.

Music has always been important, but it has become essential.

Not only have individual artists delved heavily in to live streaming, but we have already seen a slew of Virtual festivals emerge. First was SirisuXM's Virtual Ultra which presented fans with a few new mixes from artists set to play the 2020 edition of Ultra that never was. Then we had Insomniac's Beyond Wonderland & Countdown's Virtual-A-Thon which featured fourteen and sixteen artists respectively. Finally Beatport brought us ReConnect, a fundraiser hosting twenty four artists over twenty four hours.

This weekend Brownies & Lemonade have teamed up with Proximity to change the virtual festival landscape. Digital Mirage Online Music Festival takes place April 3-5, and currently bolsters a lineup of forty six artists—with more to be announced. Comparatively speaking Mirage's lineup, in terms of pure numbers, stands toe-to-toe with some major Canadian festivals, including; Veld, FVDED in the Park, Bomfest, Escapade, & Chasing Summer.

Digital Mirage is the pandemics first full-fledged online music festival. Not holding punches it features; Kaskade, Alison Wonderland, Don Diablo, & Adventure Club. Along with special back-back sets, and acoustic performances. Brownies & Lemonade have always had a a flare for the dramatic and their special guests are sure to put on rare and truly one of a kind performances. There is also a good chance that Digital Mirage will unveil additional artists leading up to April 3rd.

This year dance music fans didn't get an Ultra weekend to rally around their computer screens and simultaneously experience all of our favourite artists at their best. However, making the best of a bad situation, this year we do get Digital Mirage.

Not only will this upcoming weekend provide us with hours of social distancing at its best...it is all for a good cause. 100% of proceeds from Digital Mirage will be going to the Sweet Relief Foundation to help support musicians and music creatives who are suffering from financial instability.

RSVP to the festival now, and a streaming link along with all information for each day will be sent to you on the morning of.

See you all on April 3rd!

Update: Here is the official schedule - starting tomorrow!

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Both Veld & FVDED Mark Change For Canada's Dance Music Festival Circuit

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By Ryan Hayes

With the recent release of the Veld's 2020 lineup an official shift has begun within the Canadian festival landscape. This year Veld will be helmed by four powerhouse dance music artists; Armin Van Buuren, Illenium, Marshmello, & Martin Garrix. This slate of headliners marks the first time that Veld has not had a major rap act gracing the top of their roster since 2015 when the festival was still, for all intents and purposes, a dedicated EDM festival; the 2015 lineup did present patrons with two rap acts, A$AP Rocky and I Love Makonnen.

In the four years that followed (2016-2019) Veld became a full on hybrid festival riding the wave of rap and hip-hops integration in to the world of dance music, in an attempt to feel fresh and relevant. During this time period festival headliners included;  Travis Scott, Future, Migos, and most recently Cardi B.

However, it takes more than a few big names to make a festival a true hybrid. 2020 marks Veld's lowest percentage of rap/hip-hop acts since 2016; over a 10% drop in non-EDM performers when compared to the 2019 iteration. Currently under 20% of the festivals scheduled talent is drawn from outside of the realm of EDM.

Outside of Veld, in the Canadian festival circuit as a whole, there has been a reshuffling of dance music talent.  House music leaning acts continue to increase their presence while EDM artists who focus more heavily on integrating rap in to their sets have begun to wane.  This shift can be seen on top of the diminishing power of rap and hip-hop artists, both as a result, and a contributing factor, to the continued evolution of the festival landscape.

The major question now is, will the 2020 festival season be more successful than 2019—and if it is, does that mark the end of the major push for hybrid festivals?

Coupled with the evolution away from rap integration is the deconstruction of the headliners reign of power. This year lineups are bigger than ever—Veld's 2020 lineup is, by far, it's largest offering to date in terms of pure numbers. Within the festival circuit there is a trend away from spending all your money on headliners, and through these means focusing on a really flushed out middle tier of talented dance music artists.

Nowhere is the shift away from rap and towards an EDM heavy mid tier more apparent than BC's FVDED in the Park.  This year FVDED's  heavy hitters (outside of their three headliners) include; Alison Wonderland, Alesso, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Dave, and Gorgon City. Four of the aforementioned acts are EDM artists, and that is a major shift compared to 2019 when three out of five of the festivals largest second tier artists were rappers, and one of two EDM artists had strong hip-hop underpinnings; Tory Lanez, French Montana, Louis The Child, RL Grime, 6lack.

FVDED also supports Veld's move away from a hybrid focused event. Although FVDED has roughly the same amount of rap/hip-hop acts as it always has, the 2020 iteration marks the events most EDM artists since 2017; and the first time the festival has had a dance music headliner on each night since Jack U and Zedd headlined in 2016.

Both Veld and FVDED stand as strong evidence that 2020 marks a turning point. As EDM continues to drift out of the pop-culture ethos the fans who have stuck with the genre are evolving, and finding their own particular niche soundscape. Where this road will ultimately lead is unclear—however—this year seems to be proving pivotal in the shift towards more dance music centric events. Escapade, the dance music diehard, sold out in days, Veld dropped it's rap headliners, and FVDED refocused it's budget on dance music.

Escapade proves itself again with record sell out

By Ryan Hayes

In 2019 Escapade tapped in to something that Canadian dance music festivals had been striving for, to avail, for years—especially during the rap hybrid era. The festival managed to curate a diverse, generation spanning, top tier lineup packed with nothing but pure dance music.

In a April 2019 article entitled, Who Reigns Supreme in the Canadian Dance Festival Circuit, we had this to say about Escapade:

“...it is impossible to ignore the power and diversity of Escapade's lineup—easily the closest a Canadian dance music event can come to achieving those Ultra/EDC feels.”

The above statement speaks to the only thing that should matter to a true dance music fan—the lineup.

With curated stages (Deadbeats, House Party, & Ferry Corsten's Unity), unique back-to-back sets (Felix Cartal B2B Frank Walker, & Chris Lorenzo B2B Jack Beats), and artists spanning the full spectrum of dance music; Escapade embodied a complete experience that few festivals can achieve within Canada's comparatively smaller market.

Building on the good will they created last year during their tenth anniversary, Escapade has returned for it's eleventh year with a record setting sell out—and a modern forward thinking lineup that builds off of 2019's legacy.

We reached out to Escapade for comment, and Alex Primeau—one of the events talent buyer's—had this to say about their forty eight hour sell out;

“After last year's ten year anniversary sell out we knew we had to follow that up with a bang! We really focused on producing a lineup that would put the spotlight on Escapade and on the city of Ottawa...and we believe we achieved that. Even with a 25% increase in capacity, Escapade sold out in record time; less than two days after we announced our lineup. And we are very excited and proud of that"

This year continues to build off of last year's success by focusing on an absolutely stacked lineup of supporting acts. Dance music has evolved to the point that an entire mainstream festival can no longer be held up by the might of a single mammoth headliner. Luckily for Escapade fans their lineup offers a vast array of talented artists all with die-hard followings and the ability to hold down headlining slots in larger markets—GRiZ, Don Diablo, Gareth Emery, NGHTMRE, & Seven Lions...all represent the pinnacle of their respective genres. And that barely scratches the surface; as the volatile festival landscape continues to shift within Canada Escapade now represents pure dance music—and fans have taken notice.

Congratulations Escapade!

Contact 2019: A Snapshot

By Ryan Hayes

In its eighth year Contact Winter Music Festival continued to evolve along with it's core demographic of die hard dance music fans. As Vancouver's only true EDM festival, Contact's success is integral to the strength of our cities electronic scene. Offering a little something for everyone, Contact endeavoured to find a balance between mainstream sounds and niche acts. Rather thank picking a traditional top five—because everyone has different musical tastes—I decided to focus on a slew of unique highlights that made 2019 stand out.

More clearly than in previous years Contact presented a thoughtfully curated lineup of acts and stages. On night one Said The Sky elevated the main stage with his unique blend of silky smooth vocal laden melodies, and sweeping emotional bass lines. His set was genuinely warm and welcoming and the absolute perfect sonic bridge for San Holo's signature sound. Extending Said The Sky's energy and building on the night's momentum San Holo effortlessly introduced his bouncy and uplifting original productions in to the pantheon of the night. His set melted away leaving the packed stadium feeling empowered and triumphant. It didn't matter if you knew all of the words to his countless hits—his quest for vibrant energy was genuine...and it was heard.

After Solo, Kaskade took the stage acting as the night's catalyst for change, by transitioning the energy towards Major Lazer's party centric atmosphere. Regardless of having just played Sunset Festival in August Kaskade's set was an undeniable pleasure. As one of the industries premiere veterans he knows exactly how to keep a crowd at attention. With an assist from some of his more redux slanted tracks Kaskade flawlessly edged the night away from melodic bass and towards a true bombastic spectacle—all while managing to feel fresh from his previous headlining slot.

On day two Destructo's signature g-house style brought swagger to main stage creating a stadium wide club atmosphere that expertly set up Fisher to take the reigns. Bringing his now iconic blend of house and tech to the largest dance music stage in Western Canada; Fisher's set transcended the standard categorical relevancy of a top of the fest list, and marked the first time Vancouvrites unanimously devoured house music as if it were big room circa 2011. It was just as important to behold, as it was enjoyable to experience.

Taking a detour to the FVDED stage—where bass ruled the weekend—a curated presence was just as responsible for the lineups success. Shout out to Nostalgix for bringing real talent, and fantastic Night Bass vibes, to her opening day one set; proving it pays to show up early and support local talent. On both nights the FVDED stage headliners catered to a more niche, and fervent, audience; showcasing just as much talent as the festivals main stage headlining acts. The biggest surprise of the festival was G Jones raw unbridled energy and authenticity. At this point it's rare for me to walk in to a set with limited knowledge of an artist and genuinely be blown away. His set was heavy, chaotic—at times relentless—but always artistically sound. Cutting through the breakneck BPMs and torrents of bass was an abstract...yet tangible...sense of groove, and musicality, that is rare within the modern landscape blinding bass. G Jones is not to be missed.

On day two Feed Me took the headlining FVDED slot presenting fans with the weekends biggest conflict by going head-to-head with Rezz. For the past decade Feed Me has proven to be a master of his craft. Defying genres—whether it be drum & bass, electro house, or dubstep; Feed Me's productions are always immaculate, and his set did not disappoint. While Feed Me was slaying the FVDED stage Rezz was laying waste to the main stage. As a Vancouver favourite I always fear that she runs the risk of over-saturating audiences with familiar sets, but that could not be further from the truth. Rezz hit Contact with a thunderous assault of slow moving bass. It was her heaviest set to date, it ended with a 2011 Skrillex throwback—and it was exactly what the now packed football stadium needed. The reactions she elicited from the audience were everything.

Any Contact recap would me amiss without mentioning the main stage mastery of Tiesto. Marking his first Blueprint billing in Vancouver the king of dance music took his rightful place atop the cities largest dance music stage and skilfully captured the attention of the stadiums roughly 17,000 festival-goers. At this point in time I think its fair to declare Tiesto the last remaining bastion of true main stage, big room, festival EDM. Tackling an hour and a half set—the rest of the day had standard sixty minute festival slots—Tiesto's closing performance seamlessly melted away. Not only were first-timers blown away; the crowd skewed noticeably older on day two as vintage Tiesto merch dotted the arena. There is something undefinable about a Tiesto set, a craft honed with decades of experience; and they have become a gold standard that cannot be measured against the competition. Honestly when Blueprint first announced Contact back in 2012 I thought Tiesto was a lock as the first iterations headliner and it was nice to finally see him take on BC Place eight years later.