The 10th Veld music festival has just unveiled their 2023 and it’s huge! Rezzmau5 (Rezz + Deadmau5) will be headlining which is sure to be a future classic. That massive combo will be joined by fellow headliners Above & Beyond, Illenium (live set), Tiesto, Zedd, and Loud Luxury. Set over 3 days in early August, Veld is bringing back the festival vibes in a big way.
For people that love that deeper musical vibe from Anjunadeep, and I know many of you do, since Anjunadeep events almost always sell out in Canada, then you’re in for a special treat. Prior to their mega #ABGT300 live broadcast, the UK trio played a warm-up set on a junk boat at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. The views are stunning, and the music is perfect, how can you ask for anything more? Watch it below:
Above & Beyond have started their headlining performance at Dreams #dreamsfestival
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The British trio (Paavo and Jono behind the decks) made a triumphant return to Toronto to a crowd that was eager to let loose and get back the festival on track following the rain delay. The vibe at Above & Beyond performances are unique as there is a special sense of euphoria that is created between A&B and the crowd. An Anjuna crowd are the nicest and happiest fans within the scene and they showed their enthusiasm for the entire set.
Above & Beyond showcased a mix of their own tracks (usually the club mix versions) with tunes from others within the Anjunabeats roster like "Endorphin" by Oliver Smith. Paavo and Jono made sure to remind the audience that they are able to bring the heat as the driving beat from Fatum's "Pharaoh" filled that need perfectly.
What So Not
The Australian artist Emoh Instead (Chris Emerson) of What So Not got his set to a quick start with an ID that led into a remix of the intro of "Stranger Things" from the hit Netlix show. The early time slot was ideal as he got to showcase his growing repertoire of chiller tracks, including many from his Divide & Conquer EP. When he wanted the crowd to move he dropped classic Baauer edit of "Tell Me" by RL Grime/What So Not or "Waiting", his collab with Skrillex and RL Grime to great effect. Since the end of the partnership with Flume, Emoh Instead has made What So Not into his own and has successfully given it a fresh direction.
Green Velvet
Green Velvet was relentless as he brought driving beats and kept up the tempo throughout the set following the rain delay. The waterfront stage is covered in greenery and is one of the most intimate stage at a festival that I've ever seen while sporting a powerful sound system. Fans were eager to dance after been held up due to the weather. The atmosphere was electric.
If you went on the search for the most enthusiastic crowd for day 1, you would find them all at the bass tent. The shufflers, the ragers, the headbangers, and the bass heads were there in full force to show every DJ love from the beginning to the end. When the rain poured down, the tent's vibe got even more heavy as both the DJ and the crowd doubled down on getting even crazier. Whether it was drum and bass, dubstep, hip hop remixes, or bass being played - the crowd loved every moment.
Rain continues to plague our beloved summer festival season as it rained down hard midway through day 1 of Dreams Festival. Some lucky fans managed to seek shelter within the bass tent as the crowd raged hard to TrollPhace and Delta Heavy. With reports of golf sized hail and severe thunderstorms threatening to rain down at Echo Beach, organizers decided to temporarily shut down the festival. Fans sought shelter at the adjacent Budweiser stage, and after about an hour, Dreams Festival was back on as the storm never came. Thankfully for day 2 the weather promises clear skies, so at least we have that to look forward to.
Day 2 starts at 2 pm today, make sure to follow the live coverage on Twitter by following https://twitter.com/edmtoronto and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/edm_canada/
Ekali
Escapade is a 2-day festival happening this weekend at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa that is 93% sold out which will showcase some of the best DJs on the planet over 3 stages. Taking place just a few days before Canada day, Escapade is a special event in Ottawa that lets fans have a great time on the eve of Canada's 150 birthday. EDM Canada had a chance to speak with Ali Shafaee, the director of partnerships for Escapade, about the history of the festival, the lineup, location change, and how they made Escapade extra special for Canada's 150th birthday.
Can you give fans the history of Escapade?
We're going into our 7th year, we kinda grew from an idea which is a one day downtown parking lot party for Canada Day. After 2 years of doing that we grew into a 2-day festival with 3 stages and 30,000 attendance. So it's grown a lot. We're based in Ottawa but a significant part of our attendance comes from the GTA area, Quebec, upstate New York, and even out east.
What makes Escapade special?
What we hear from fans is that Escapade is a “really large small festival”, if that makes sense. We have a lot of attendees and some of the biggest acts in the world, but when they come here they all remark at how “intimate” the vibe is. Everybody gets along with everyone, everyone is really friendly. We don't have massive distances in between our stages, which makes it more like a homey feel, where people feel comfortable.
We get the same thing with the artists, as they feel how into the crowd are into their sets and they have a great time. We're this big festival, but in a small city like Ottawa that has had great success.
Escapade has changed locations to Lansdowne Park - how will this new location change how the fans interact with the festival?
Lansdowne Park is a 5-minute drive from the downtown core making it a central location for all festival goers and will be easier to get to using multiple forms of transportation. Our new home will also include free transportation via OC Transpo from anywhere in the city, two outdoor stages looking over the historic Rideau Canal and an Indoor arena stage with enhanced production.
Escapade is known for its diverse lineups – can you tell me the thought process on how you created the 2017 edition?
We tried to analyze what the fans want by doing a lot of polls throughout the year, and doing a recap at the end of the year with a survey. We want to know what the fan base wants in terms of music and festival. We've always been diverse in what we want to achieve and try to cover off as many genres as possible.
Richie Hawtin is an artist that is playing Escapade for the very first time and it's Canada's 150th birthday and he really wanted to make an impact by being in Canada and doing as many shows as possible and Escapade was a target of his. We're extremely excited to have Richie come and play the festival for the first time.
Tiesto also wanted to be a part of the 150th birthday for Canada and he's an icon who's played sold out shows all across the country. We jumped at the opportunity for him to come on board. We curated a Snails stage and he's Canadian from Montreal. So we tried our best to bring in as many genres and appease our fan base.
How many do you expect for the 2017 edition of Escapade?
We are on par from where we were from last year. 30 – 40% of our festival attendees come from outside of town. This is good for businesses and hotels in Ottawa to have that many people come from out of town to Escapade.
Who are you most excited to see at Escapade this year?
Richie Hawtin is definitely one that will be on my list. I don't think I've ever seen live so he's up there. I'm pretty excited to see Alan Walker, he's an up and coming act with a great show behind him. I think Alan Walker will be the surprise act of Escapade if I had to pick one.
What's your view on the current health of the festival outlook for 2017 and beyond?
There are festivals that are struggling or have been canceled in the last few years. A lot of factors go into that, like the over saturation of too many festivals. It could be the economy, the low Canadian dollar versus the American dollar, so there's a lot of different factors.
With Escapade, just as long as we evolve into what our fans are looking for, and looking at the trends on what our fans want, then we'll be okay. As soon as you start doing something that your audience isn't looking for, then you might have difficulties. Escapade tries to evolve every year and we'll continue to do that to 2018 and beyond.
Make your best pitch: why should fans go to Escapade this year?
To celebrate Canada's 150th, with in our opinion, the best lineup to date. A lot of people say that Escapade is one of the most fun weekends of their life.
Thank you to Ali Shafaee for the interview. For the latest information on Escapade including tickets, lineups, and upcoming set times - click here.
Escapade Music Festival is the National Capital Region's premiere EDM festival that will attract 30,000 fans to Lansdowne Park (new location) in late June for 2 days non stop music. Huge names like Above & Beyond, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, and Dada Life will be rocking the mainstage, while trance, bass, and underground artists will be on full display on the other 2 stages.
To mark Canada's 150th anniversary, Escapade has invited some of Canada's best artists to headline the festival including a rare festival appearance by Richie Hawtin, Montreal's bass king Snails who's getting his own stage on day 2, and Toronto's bass duo Zeds Dead will be delivering a headlining performance on the mainstage on day 1.
EDM Canada is giving 2 GA tickets to Escapade Music Festival happening on Saturday, June 24th until Sunday, June 25th at Lansdowne Park y in Ottawa. To enter, simply log into the widget above (counts as an entry), and choose the various other ways to enter if you wish to do so. The contest starts now and will end on Friday, June 9th. You must be 16+ to enter - good luck!
