In an attempt to connect with the avid reader, it should be noted that I am a music addict. Since I was +/- 0 years old, music has been a passion of mine. I’ve been to over a dozen music festivals, seen probably a hundred live performances, and spent 15 years playing the drums and piano, but never have I ever seen an EDM show. Spring Awakening 2018 was my first experience seeing a DJ perform live, and boy was my world turned upside down.
For what it’s worth, I have always had doubts about the superficial nature and ‘stigma’ of EDM and electronic music being developed on a computer. Walking into the grounds, I seriously had my doubts if this would be fun for me – especially having to wait about an hour to fill up my CamelBak.
I showed up to the venue with a group of friends who had been hyping up this festival for weeks and assuring me that this was going to change my life. I had ZERO idea who any of the artists were, what the music was going to be like, or even what the demographic of people attending would look like. Fortunately for me, we ran into the Backpacks and Beat Drops team, who were able to coach me through my new endeavors into the EDM world.
We started the night at the Solstice stage with Sam Feldt, who I quite honestly wasn’t too impressed with. Regardless, 3lau got into his set right after, the sun had started to go down, and I felt the energy really start to develop in the crowds. Again, I have been to many live shows in my life, but when 3lau got into it and these BIG YELLOW BALLS exploded out of the top of the stage, it turned into more than a show – I had fallen in love with whatever was happening that night in Chicago.
This wasn’t just another day on the lawn at Ravinia or a night at Tinley; this was something that had energy I didn’t think was real. As cliche as that might seem, you know what I mean if you’ve been to an EDM show…
In between 3lau and the next set, Afrojack, we decided to head on over to the Equinox stage to catch the names that everyone wanted to see that day: Flux Pavilion and Big Gigantic.
Long story short, Big G knocked my socks off. The combination of sax, drums, and good vibes gave me that unexplainable high that I typically only get at Dave Matthews Band or Red Hot Chili Peppers shows. It opened my perspective on music as an art and a profession. Yeah, it’s elementary to some, but I found there to be a creative beauty here that made me appreciate the linking of digitized sounds with instruments that I was never able to before.
The likes of Phish, DMB, Dead and Co, and their ability to extend a 5-minute song into a 35-minute jam has always been the epitome of musical genius to me. With that said, never have I seen people bond and groove the way they did as the night moved on at SAMF. The way the lights and visuals artfully sync with the music and influence the crowd creates a synergy that exists only within EDM.
Odds are, you, the reader, have experienced these infatuations at festivals all over the country. Let me say this as a jam band fanatic: if you have NOT been to Spring Awakening or an EDM festival in your life, I would encourage you to get out of your bubble and explore. Yeah, it’s nothing you’d ever hear on 101.1 WKQX (a popular alternative radio station in Chicago), but it’s a musical venture that you will appreciate.
I was lucky enough to not only enjoy the music, but I was also privileged to meet and hang out with some of the most amazing people in an atmosphere that, in my opinion, shows true colors. Thanks again to BP+BD for the love. Jam on.
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