By Bailey Cadelina
I sadly could not attend Phoenix Lights this year. Luckily, I had a good friend of mine attend and was able to report back on what happened when the lights returned. Keep reading to learn about Bailey’s experience.
A few hundred yards across the popular Arizona venue, Rawhide, lies the new festival playground for EDM lovers from all over the state to witness their favorite artists perform. Inspired from the historical UFO sighting on the Tuesday night of March 13, 1997, Relentless Beats hosted one of their biggest annual festivals rightfully called Phoenix Lights. Consisting of over 54 talented artists, from EDM headliners such as Diplo, Martin Garrix & Zomboy, to big name rappers like Travis Scott & Gucci Mane, this two day festival was the perfect hurrah before summer arrives.
Another Dimension…
Upon arrival at the venue, patrons can instantly feel the difference in the amount of work Relentless Beats went through to make visitors feel as if the alien invasion happened. Immediately after the routine pat-down to get into the event, visitors are cordially welcomed by the staff to take professionally shot photos for their Instagrams in front of the 60 foot tall Alien Spaceship that appears to have crashed into the ground, the monstrous pinata equivalent of Gerald at Coachella.
The Stages
From here, we are given the freedom to roam around with friends between any of the four stages. Hailed as the “Mothership” for having LED panels for visuals to be in the shape of a UFO, this is where most crowds would naturally gravitate to. At the mainstage, headliners such Seven Lions, Travis Scott, and Martin Garrix can be found. Furthermore, with another giant decoration shaped as an alien portal that one can only see in movies or video games, you truly feel like you are not in Rawhide anymore because of the grass field that this stage was built on top of – a huge plus for Rawhide veterans who had to deal with dust getting kicked up in the air from the usual concert venue.
Not feeling like going to the mainstage and possibly exploring different subgenres of EDM? No worries, Relentless got you covered. On the two other stages named “Invasion” and “Colony”, here we can find artists purely playing music styles such as Dubstep and House.It truly felt that if there was a particular genre you were looking for, the set times were set up in a such a way where you could instantly walk over to another stage and instantly have a change of pace. For example, on Sunday at 5:50 PM, you had the option to go to Metro Boomin at Mothership who predominantly plays Hip-Hop or rage face at Midnight Tyrannosaurus who spins Dubstep (the set I chose that led to me injuring my hand in a mosh pit RIP).
It was quite wonderful that the smaller stages were built in a fashion that gave them a unique personality. Unlike most festivals, it felt as if the creators did not put all the effort into the development of the mainstage, but still gave love to the others both with its artists and aesthetics. Because of this, I truly felt that you could still have an amazing experience just chilling at these smaller stages with artists that were all amazing. Predominantly Dubstep heavy, the second stage called “Invasion” was home to fantastic artists such as Wuki, Boombox Cartel, Oshi, and Bear Grillz. Although the stage was not built on top of grass, I felt like this stage held its own purely on the sets that were there. In fact, there were times that it was actually more crowded here than mainstage! I made it a point for myself to not just stay at Mothership the entire festival and explore the other stages. It was electric to say the least, making new and beautiful friends while expanding my music palette.
If you felt like chilling out and taking a breather, the third stage named “Colony” was the ultimate place to be. Aesthetically, this was possibly one of my favorite stages I have ever been in out of all the festivals I have been to. Although the stage itself was small, Relentless constructed blow-up arches that changed color! You felt as if you were in a portal being put into a transitive state listening to all the underground House music your heart could desire. With artists such as MK (Marc Kinchen), Umek, and Green Velvet, you were taken care of with the hypnotic beats that played.
Let’s also not forget about the last and smallest stage out of the four. Not given a specific name, there was a fourth stage that could be found around the tables that listeners could eat at. At this stage, we would find up and coming local artists play their tunes on a stage built inside military trucks that added more to the feeling of being in an alien invasion, setting a distinct and remarkable feeling to the experience of Phoenix Lights.
The Experience
Overall, I felt that Phoenix Lights was an amazing and magical experience. I personally fulfilled my desire to listen to specific artists I have been wanting to finally see for years as well as serendipitously discover artists that I never heard of and loved. On the first day, my favorites were Seven Lions and Martin Garrix. Seven Lions specifically catered to my preference in music taste and his hyper-realistic visuals were absolutely beautiful. One moment you see clips of wolves in the snow and then another moment you are thrown into the peaceful dunes of the Sahara desert. I knew when he was closing his set with “Strangers”, it was inevitable that I would cry. Also, it is important to note that it was Martin Garrix’s first time ever performing in Arizona. Naturally, he put on one of his best performances and knew how to hype up the crowd. One of my favorite highlights from festival was when he threw in Daft Punk’s “One More Time” and the entire stage became a lightshow of rainbows, displaying one of the most beautiful lasers you could ever see in person at a festival that would leave your jaw dropped and heart filled with warmth.
On the final day, I lived between Mothership and Invasion. My personal picks that I recommend anyone should check out if given the opportunity to see live are: Wuki, Boombox Cartel, Zomboy, Diplo, and Bear Grillz. All these sets were filled with absolute fun and energy. Having a balance between throwing music to rage to as well as sneaking in throwbacks of the 2000’s made it easy for new and veteran festival goers to enjoy in happiness together.
It is also important to note that although this festival was heavily EDM, it attracted a crowd for Rap and Hip-Hop lovers to attend. With headliners such as Travis Scott and Gucci Mane, it allowed for a fresh and different vibe to exist at the festival. Having live lyrics sung and the crowd going wild when the ominous beat of “Goosebumps” play definitely set a different pace from the sounds of EDM.
Regardless of whether you came for EDM or Rap, the people in the crowd itself were loving and beautiful human beings. I felt that although you may have never met anybody in the crowd before, you will not truly be treated as a stranger. When you’re dying of thirst or need a quick massage from standing for too long, there is always a person who will go out of there way to ensure you are taken care of. Also, a shout out to the ladies who go all out into their outfits, putting crystals and glitter in an amazing fashion, your effort does not go unnoticed! This can also be said about the trippy and intricate totems that were made. From the common trippy Rick and Morty totems to the last minute La Croix box attached to a pole, all of the flying home beacons only added to the lovely view of the crowd.
Phoenix Lights this year rightfully deserves its place as one of the best festivals to attend here in Arizona. In the ranks of New Year’s Celebration, “Decadence” and summer kick off, “Gold Rush”, this year’s experience was truly one for the books. Being my first time attending this festival, I could say that I would make it a goal to come back for the next following years. Bravo to the team that made this all happen, it was a unique and fun experience that further expresses the reality of how lucky we people in Arizona have it in terms of the music scene.
Thank you Bailey for this incredible review. What were your thoughts on Phoenix Lights this year? Let us know in the comments below. You can find Bailey on Twitter and Instagram: @thebaely 🙂
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