Sunset Festival takes on dance music

By Ryan Hayes

Last Saturday was a first— a Lululemon festival headlined by Diplo, acting as the official after party for a half marathon. Initially filled with apprehension, past iterations of the Sunset Festival have hosted more eclectic indie rocker bands like Young, but the night continually surprised. As the event unfolded it exceeded my expectations at every turn. From a purely organizational standpoint there were no lines, no one waited for food or drinks for longer than a few minutes, everyone had space, the vendors/market were varied, and most importantly everyone in the crowd was respectful. There was definitely a clear divide between attendees who had purchased their tickets to see Diplo/Felix Cartal and those who were there as an extension of the half marathon; but everyone enjoyed themselves.

Felix Cartal took the stage first and weaved together an hour long set packed with originals like Mood, Faces, and a stellar intro edit of Fakin It. What impressed me the most about Cartal's set was it's cohesion; even when he was playing other artist's tracks. Every twist and turn fit neatly within the new soundscape that Cartal has carved out for himself over the last few years. It was a tight, well selected set, welcoming the diverse crowd at Seawheeze and easing them in to a world they may not be accustomed to. As the hour progressed Cartal picked up tempo preparing the audience for Diplo. Britney Spear's Toxic (played in full), and Cartal's final track, his rendition 1998's hit Get What You Give, unified the crowd of over 10,000 runners and dance music fans.

As a musical curator and track selector, Diplo is unrivaled in his field. Weaving together Diplo originals from all four of his side projects (Jack Ü, Major Lazer, LDS & Silk City), his set defied genre's. After announcing that this was his last festival of the 'summer season' (it was the first day of Fall) Diplo laid down one of the most fun, and free, festival sets I had seen in ages. The secret was that it didn't take itself too seriously. From decade spanning hits for the Seawheeze mainstream—Vengaboys' We like to Party & the Macarena, through to Kelis' Milkshake & Drake's In My Feelings—to future bass, house, & festival mainstay mashups—Ping Pong vs Tremor vs Freak & Beyonce Run The World (Girls) vs Duke Dumont's remix of Swish Swish—Diplo blazed relentlessly through his hour long set surprising marathon runner's and exceeding the expectations of dance music fans.

After declaring he had one last track for us, Diplo proceeded to play for an extended twenty minutes past his scheduled set time. While many Seawheeze attendees proceeded to file out, hoping to be the first in line at the shuttles, Diplo delved in to Shiba San's Okay; seemingly signifying it was time for the pure house portion of the night. Whether it was Anti Up's Pizza, Fisher's Stop It, or Camelphat & Elderbrook Cola...Diplo didn't seem to have a road map anymore, he was simply feeling house music. It was an after party hidden within a festival. Traversing through extended mixes of tacks void of traditional festival drops/hooks groups of die hard dance music fans began to pop up and cluster together throughout the crowd—smiling because they knew what was going on and were excited, even if the majority of the audience didn't. It was a risk, but that's what Diplo does best, he exposes people to new genre's of music and pushes them to the forefront.

When all was said and down Seawheeze Sunset Festival was a massive success. Everyone, regardless of their musical leanings, enjoyed themselves, and both artists walked away from the night with legions of new fans. Here's to hoping Seawheeze 2019 also has a dance music lineup.