The Coachella Valley was crammed with a distinct sort of vitality over the weekend. Ravers throughout generations descended on the desert for Head Journey, Goldenvoice’s bold, doubtlessly one-time-only pageant constructed round a number of the most influential names in EDM.
The query now could be easy: Ought to Goldenvoice Head Journey once more?
The thrill surrounding a pageant constructed round one essential stage, no overlapping headliner units, and a lineup stacked with heavyweights like Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Swedish Home Mafia drew followers from throughout the nation. In the meantime in in the present day’s digital hellscape, social media shortly dubbed Head Journey “Unc Fest,” however the expertise, manufacturing and general expertise proved that digital music doesn’t belong to anyone technology.
From followers of their 20s to ravers of their 50s and past, the response from these we spoke with was remarkably constant: Head Journey was a ten out of 10.
Credit score: Scott HutchinsonOne Stage, two days, no compromises
One factor turned clear all through the weekend: the small print have been essential.
With Goldenvoice behind the manufacturing, comparisons to Coachella have been inevitable. The promoter has constructed a repute throughout Coachella, Stagecoach, Portola and extra however Head Journey felt completely different, and it was refreshing to listen to attendees articulate precisely why.
The reply got here up repeatedly: no overlapping headliner units, uniquely intentional manufacturing, and extra time to spend with mates dancing and connecting with the individuals round them. Reasonably than forcing followers to decide on between competing headliners, Head Journey allowed the mainstage expertise to unfold as one steady journey.
No sprinting between phases, no agonizing over missed units, and no have to sacrifice one favourite artist for one more. For a pageant constructed round a handful of digital music icons, that simplicity was a serious a part of the attraction.
A manufacturing expertise well worth the journey
Regardless of just a few technical hiccups all through the weekend, the audio and visible groups delivered an expertise that usually felt bigger than life.
French stage designer Romain Pissenem and his inventive manufacturing firm, Excessive Scream, formed a sci-fi-inspired surroundings that remodeled the Empire Polo Membership right into a markedly completely different environment than the enormous Instagram filter that’s Coachella. It was additionally exhausting to not admire the distinction from the dust-filled, Dune-like situations which have change into synonymous with the nation’s largest music pageant.
The Empire Polo Membership got here alive with the kind of rave magic that Coachella’s expertise patrons have been actively attempting to channel in the previous couple of years. Trying on the expansive mainstage display screen was in a league of its personal, whereas the mix of lighting, lasers, visuals and sound gave the manufacturing an unmistakably cinematic really feel.
Credit score: James WiggerSunflower Sound System: A pageant inside a pageant
The Sunflower Sound System deserved its personal highlight. British digital music virtuoso Floating Factors introduced the set up to North America for the primary time, creating one of many weekend’s most distinctive experiences.
Developed with collaborators together with FIG G, Michael Parker, and “Cosmic” Tom Smith, Sunflower is a a purpose-built listening surroundings designed round immersive sound and experimental music discovery.
Contained in the acoustically handled dome, the set up felt nearly otherworldly. The 360° sound surroundings, tapestries, intricate visible particulars, and kooky characters cultivated an environment that felt nearer to entering into an alternate actuality than strolling into one other pageant stage. As an alternative of competing with the juggernaut mainstage, Sunflower supplied a extra intimate option to expertise digital music.
The system’s roots in membership tradition made the set up particularly compelling. Its programming introduced collectively artists whose approaches span home, techno, dub, and extra. It was a reminder that digital music may be skilled by means of greater than quantity, visuals, and acquainted drops.
Lightning strikes on day one
Head Journey wasn’t with out its challenges. Mom Nature had different plans for the pageant’s opening evening, and the climate in the end modified your entire course of the weekend.
After collaborative units from Seth Troxler b2b Ben Sterling and Peggy Gou b2b 4 Tet, the vitality was constructing towards FISHER and Chris Lake’s ‘Below Development’ set. The gang was approaching a fever pitch when a lightning alert abruptly introduced the efficiency to a halt.
At first, many thought the interruption was a joke or an elaborate troll, however it shortly turned clear that the risk was actual. The present was suspended due to lightning, and attendees have been instructed to go away the venue or search shelter of their automobiles. Inside roughly half an hour, organizers confirmed that the rest of the evening’s performances wouldn’t resume.
For a lot of, the most important disappointment was that Calvin Harris by no means made it to the stage. It was an unlucky ending to a day that had been constructing towards one of many pageant’s largest moments.
Nonetheless, Head Journey’s defining problem wasn’t merely the lack of a headliner. It was the uncertainty that adopted. Followers had traveled from throughout the nation for a pageant marketed as a once-in-a-lifetime expertise, and instantly, nobody knew precisely what the subsequent day would appear like.
Goldenvoice in the end adjusted the schedule and communicated the revised lineup, which delivered what all of us thought had change into inconceivable: Calvin Harris. The dance music icon was added to Sunday’s closing invoice.
Skrillex reminds us why we’re right here
On day two, Skrillex delivered one other defining second when he inspired the group to place their telephones down and reside within the second.
For longtime ravers, significantly those that got here up in the course of the early-2010s EDM increase, the message landed. A pageant isn’t meant to be skilled solely by means of a display screen.
The dubstep legend later urged on social media that he felt he had delivered an “L” because of sporadic audio points, however the reactions within the crowd instructed a distinct story.
His heavy-hitting set ran roughshod with genre-bending bangers and contrarian bass music, providing a reminder of the adventurous instincts that proceed to encourage generations of producers.
Competition Calvin is undefeated
If there was one phrase that saved circulating after Calvin Harris lastly took the stage, it was this: Competition Calvin is undefeated.
His rescheduled 75-minute efficiency delivered the sort of high-energy, hit-filled expertise that makes his reside units so addictive. VIP variations of classics and crowd favorites, together with ‘Launch the Strain’ and ‘This Is What You Got here For,’ helped flip the sector into one huge singalong.
Even famous person artists who had carried out earlier within the weekend have been there to benefit from the music. At one level, Peggy Gou was noticed singing alongside from somebody’s shoulders within the crowd.
Harris’ skill to attach with large crowds doesn’t rely upon elaborate explanations or obscure picks. It comes all the way down to the songs embedded of their recollections and an intuition for what a pageant viewers needs.
The climate had taken away his unique slot, however the rescheduled efficiency turned one of many defining moments of the weekend. Only a few days later, he introduced his first-ever headlining tour of North America.
Swedish Home Mafia closes the circle
Closing out the weekend, Swedish Home Mafia confronted the problem of following Harris’ epic set. True to kind, they discovered their very own option to do it.
Their nostalgic set introduced the group again to the period when EDM was turning into a mainstream pressure, whereas nonetheless giving the efficiency the dimensions anticipated of a pageant nearer.
A spotlight got here once they blended The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ with their very own generational dance anthem ‘Don’t You Fear Childm’ which sparked one of many pageant’s largest singalongs. For a couple of minutes, the sector felt like an enormous group of mates sharing a music all of them knew by coronary heart.
The second captured what Head Journey did greatest: It created area for various musical histories to exist collectively.
So, ought to Goldenvoice Head Journey once more?
The most important takeaway from Head Journey? A pageant doesn’t need to be excellent to be memorable. It has to provide individuals one thing they will’t simply discover some other place.
Head Journey was billed as “simply this as soon as.” However after final weekend, that feels inconceivable.
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