Escapade to another level (Festival review)
/
By Dominic Wren (Photos by Simon Audette)
This wasn’t any ordinary music festival in the nation’s capital. Escapade music festival used their 10-year experience to pull of an event that will be remembered for years to come. I had a great time at the festival and it was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had at a festival. DJ Snake and Tiësto both tore the roof off, but the lesser-known mixers also showed their worth at the beginning of each day. Another major detail that the EDM Canada team noticed was the festival’s capacity. Escapade was 100% sold out and we never felt over crowded with people while still feeling the massive crowd energy even in the main stage crowds at closing sets. This was truly special as it made the experience so much more enjoyable for everyone attending. Now that shows a festivals values; fan’s enjoyment over profits. Big ups for that Escapade MF.
This festival review won’t look at the regular “top 5 shows” or “the best DJ.” There so many other elements that made the event and the sets special. The simple answer is that each set had a spark of it’s own. The long answer is basically listing each set in there own category. But let highlight a couple shall we?
The most exotic show: Keys n Krates
These Canadian artists have rightfully earned their names as true artists. Now they were probably my favorite act of the weekend in the most artistic way. They gave the biggest summer vibes, which was a breath of fresh air. They kept their original trap sound but often crossed over to some house/summer vibes that made their set really special. If you want to see a show that you can dance and enjoy with some exotic feels at the same time, these are the guys you want to see.
The craziest show: DJ Snake
DJ Snake has a way to take his sets to another level of intensity. His whole persona seems to be made to destroy his fans. Just his opening started off the last show of Day 1 took no prisoners. From mixing and dropping tracks like South Side, Propaganda, Pigalle, Gassed Up, and so many more. Although he slowed down his set for the last 20 minutes, he appealed to the hard core ravers and the chiller types of ravers. DJ Snake, there is a reason you’re on top of the world.
Best B2B: Zeds Dead B2B Jauz
This B2B was so diverse in their music that I couldn’t take them away from my top B2B list. They dropped some old school Zeds Dead with Jauz’s signature bass house sound, a sprinkle of hard bass music and a touch of house music while keeping the energy of the main stage at a perfect high. This was an iconic B2B as these guys have had other shows together at Hard Music Festival and Holy Ship so this made an experienced team that adapted really well together.
The most authentic main stage set: Timmy Trumpet
Timmy Trumpet wasn’t in my top 5 shows I was looking for nor did I really pay attention to his sets and his music. I was low key listening to his set while walking through the event area until his charisma, trumpet skills, and mixing decisions really caught my ear so I ran to the main stage a catch a glimpse of his show and it was nothing less then impressive. His charisma on stage shows his true passion for what he does and his trumpet skills were incredibly unique to see up close and you don’t really realize that until you see it for yourself.
Best small crowd handling: Wax Motif
Wax Motif lived up to my expectations coming into the festival and while watching him live. He was playing a mid-day, side stage set so the crowd wasn’t at maximum capacity but his handle of the small crowd drew them in even closer to his show and really made a special up close and personal G-House set. Dropping his tracks such as Tokyo and Fly Kicks (Wax Motif Remix) made the crowd move like if they were twice the size.
Escapade Music Festival was truly unique this year. From the event area never being over crowed, to chilling spots with incredible views, to great music and great artists, this is a festival that should be on most people’s “to do” list for next summer. It is definitely one of my favourite event’s of the yer, I really hope to see you there next year!
