Sonic Bloom 2016
Sonic Bloom 2016 has a stacked lineup producing incredible performances too numerous to describe here. It is safe to say, “SonicBloom has become one of the best electronic music festivals in North America!” It is worth noting the international talent attracted to the base of the Colorado Rockies to share their vision, talent and art. To see the full lineup click here.
The mindfulness and vision to attract the top talent from across the globe, must be recognized and commended. The three official stages vibrated with historic house music. This festival is the nexus of the Colorado electronic music scene. The location is perched atop a beautiful space of land with the foothills of the Rockies to the west and windmill filled fields that go on to meet the eastern horizon. The festival has succeeded at curating a fertile ground for the world-wide cutting edge of musical maneuvering.
The sound systems are tuned to the valley and can bump through the entire festival grounds. The security is appropriately staffed and energetically aligned. The friendly faces can be found throughout the campgrounds, stages, in swinging hammocks, in high fiveing security guards, or the dancing chefs who happily serve nourishing food at reasonable prices. The ice, in high demand in the hot sun is the only noticeably overpriced product at $1/lb. The showers run at full capacity as people line up for their chance to clean off that layer of accumulated dust and dirt that is kicked up from all of the movement. The sunny and beautiful weather also brings with it the dryness enabling the dirt to turn to dust. The wind is welcome and the stream is an oasis for people looking to take a dip and cool off.
The unofficial or ‘renegade’ stages include tipis and camp sites stacked with speakers and subs. The colorful crowd and the apex of art have arrived to create an immersive experience that people are willing to dedicate four days to. Some of the crowd has traveled from across the continent to enjoy the this dreamed up reality.
This festival has become a small close nit group of people who are looking out for one another to form a utopic village for just under a week. The production continues after the last set as everything needs to return to its original order; stages must come down, lasers, lights, projectors, sound & lighting boards, 1,000’s of yards of electric wiring, speakers, microphones, instruments, and framework to name a few. The thankless work of setting up all of the stages and hauling in the gear was executed with time to spare and enough technology to entertain even the most avid of festival goers.
People in their ‘A-Game’ costumes come energetically into the festival entrance in groups. Everyone has made 10+ new friends and friendly neighbors. The exchange of ideas, paints, music and visual art permeate the mind of every attendee. One cannot help but be inspired by something of unique beauty.
Day in the Life; at Sonic Bloom:
Winds whip down the hills and across the plains. Dust moves in a hurried Eastwood direction. Every walk of electronic culture strolls through the grounds interacting with experiences, sonic vibrations and frequencies across the perceptible spectrum. Cars have been rolling in for over 12 hours at a steady pace filling up the campgrounds. The lucky and wise are nestled among the 6′ shrubbery whose neighbors are bushes and trees. My neighbors on the other hand-made the pilgrimage to SonicBloom from Louisiana. A tightly packed vehicle of four young energetic and enthusiastic beautiful artistic human beings. As a group, it does not seem possible to gather so many like-minded humans in a place to enjoy and thrive in a collaborative environment.
Friendly staff greet the goers. The hippy chicks and the electric glowers.
From the lighting to the sound, from the stages to the camp ground, there are smiles to go around. With the hammocks from Yammocks, and the beats from the peeps the festi is full of fun-loving music geeks.
Three stages of stacked sets featuring some of the top electronic acts from around the world. American electronic music lovers treat this event as an annual pilgrimage to discover and reunite with the music, people and source of creative energy that is the foundation of a festival. Creativity flows from the ornately decorated stages and sublimely composed tracks that suddenly take hold of the listeners and create a simultaneous bodily expression of enjoyment including but not limited to twerking, spinning, jumping, dropping, exploding or floating.
The breeze kicked up into a howl for Nightmares on Wax’s last song featuring one of the most recognizable guitar riffs around. The high energy Bonobo set was filled with masterfully woven bass lines pulsing through the night. The crowd can be heard cheering for miles.
The late night stages rage like there is no finality to human diurnality. The artists continue to stoke the flaming crowd into the next adventure and from one set to the next. The solitude of night embraced with the warmth of bass and faces.With the evolution of the performances, the pulse of the festival was amplified and magnified by the exemplified beat technique. The audible entertainment abruptly ended, with a slow retreating high pass filter that faded out for 15 min or more notifying the audience that the silent disco was starting. With headphones on, the party rolls on…
The nexus of Colorado electronic music counter-culture is here; at Sonic Bloom, on the beautiful property at Humming Bird Ranch.
Gem and Jam Festival 2016
Gem and Jam Festival 2016
Tucson celebrated their 10th anniversary of Gem & Jam Festival over the Valentine’s Day weekend with a star studded lineup accompanying a plethora of beautiful art, rocks, and performers. Every musical act performed flawlessly as if they each could have easily been the main act of the night. Nearly every show had performers across the three intricately designed stages whether they were flipping fire or moving to the groove. For the first time, Gem & Jam added onsite camping to allow attendees to make the venue their temporary home. Every single soul Freio Music met over the weekend was extremely kind and loving, making it easy to feel welcome outside of our home state.
The festival was held over the perfectly weathered weekend as it saw temperatures reaching to almost 90° during the day and dropping to cool summer-like desert nights just in time for the music. Entry into the venue and will call was seamless as there were never burdening lines despite attracting the largest amount of attendees in their history. The venue, located at “The Slaughterhouse,” was a perfect size, allowing minimal walking from one stage to the next. After the music was over for the night, Gem & Jam kept the music going almost until sunrise with three afterparties each night. Two were in downtown, and one inside the venue at the Onyx Stage.
Stunning art was spread throughout the entire venue with a constant crowd watching their creation. Artists were constantly tending to their paintings and putting out some of the most spectacular pieces of art ever seen. There were artists beside each and every stage as well as their entire surroundings, providing their own show of creativity.
It was overwhelming to see so many amazing musical acts under one bill. One could bounce from one stage to the next and see a nationally or internationally renowned act throughout the entire day! The Quartz Stage was beautifully hand decorated with laser cut wooden sculptures and plenty of artsy structures providing both shade and something to gaze at. Pretty Lights Music’s Michal Menert and Eliot Lipp each brought their own uplifting beats and Tycho’s downtempo set took over the main stage Friday night closing out with Minnesota’s heavy bangers. The Jade Stage housed Colorado’s very own Magic Beans who jammed heavily until the festival’s close.
On Saturday, the great music started with Dirtwire’s “swamptronic” music and didn’t stop until Beats Antique and their extremely well choreographed performers who closed out the second night. The night also saw many headline-worthy acts like the always entertaining dance moves of Polish Ambassador, the pulsing beats of Desert Dwellers, and UK’s OTT who definitely got the most people dancing during the whole festival. Once Arizona locals, Brothers Gow are always a pleasure to see as their jammy takes on old songs as well as their own can really get the crowd involved with their awesomely funny dance moves.
On its final day, Gem & Jam certainly did not slow down in terms of musical acts as many quickly-rising electronic acts took over the Jade Stage while legendary DJ’s and numerous live acts shook the main stage. Mark Farina brought his smooth “mushroom jazz” that laid backbeat to some very chill hip hop like A Tribe Called Quest. Marvel Years performed before going back-to-back with Manic Focus who brought the electro-funk to Tucson. Lyrics Born was the biggest hip hop act and gained many new fans with their lively show. Closing out the night, Lettuce’s funk music brought Gem & Jam to a bittersweet end. But before Lettuce, was our favorite of the weekend, Break Science with the Shady Horns. The horn section from Lettuce collaborated with Adam Deitch and Borahm Lee and provided a wonderful addition to Break Science’s electronic sound. Manic Focus even joined the party to put on quite the fun show.
Tucson, Arizona treated us well with open arms and Gem & Jam held a beautiful gathering of thousands of kind-hearted people. Everything from the extremely kind security (thank you), to the savory foods, to the great music provided us with an unforgettable Valentine’s Day weekend. The experience was top-notch and certainly stands out from the other festivals of this time and we are beyond excited to see what they have in store for us next year.
Sonic Bloom Lineup Release
“SONIC BLOOM is Colorado’s best electronic music festival”
In case you have missed the last 9 years, this festival has had time to brew and its mix of flavorous sounds seem to be just right this year. Drum roll… The lineup for the 10th annual Sonic Bloom festival….. headliners STS9 (2 sets), Shpongle (Simon Posford DJ set), Emancipator, The Trancident, Talib Kweli, Random Rab, Phutureprimitive and many more.
On stage will be a legendary collaboration session called the SONIC BLOOM SuperJam featuring Dave Watts, Garrett Sayers, Joey Porter, Jans Ingber, Ryan Jalbert, Gabriel Mervine, Matt Pitts, Jason Hann (& more TBA). Additional acts include: Caspa, Manic Focus, Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), ill-esha, Yamn, Nominus, LYNX, The Malah, saQi and Adham Shaikh, to name a few. The 10th annual festival SONIC BLOOM will be held during the Summer Solstice the weekend of June 18-21, 2015, at a gorgeous new location: Hummingbird Ranch in Rye, Colorado.
Dates for The Road to SONIC BLOOM have been announced. This is the second year of The Road to SONIC BLOOM tour, which will send a roving lineup of present, past and future SONIC BLOOM, Sonic Blossom and The Unified Field performers across the country to spread the BLOOM vibe. A combination of wildly varied lineup of DJs, producers, live electronic acts, with painters, dancers and performance artists will criss-cross the country this spring as we approach the summer festival. See a full list of dates and cities below.
SONIC BLOOM has also announced The Unified Field, the official SONIC BLOOM pre-party, a 2-night dual-venue indoor mini-fest that will happen in Denver, CO, on April 24 & 25 at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom & The Other Side. This year’s artists include Thriftworks, Dirtwire ft. David Satori from Beats Antique, Andreilien, That 1 Guy, Fort Knox Five and more. Limited advance early-bloomer pre-sales for The Unified Field are now on sale for only $30 (while they last).
4-Day General Passes include entry into the festival on Thursday, free on-site camping and free drinking water all weekend. VIP 4-Day Passes, parking passes, limited car camping passes and RV passes are also now on sale.
For more information on SONIC BLOOM, please visit the official website: www.sonicbloomfestival.com.
Some music to get you ready for the best four days of your life!
Road to SONIC BLOOM Dates:
3.20 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center
4.11 – Seattle, WA – Columbia City Theater
4.15 – Santa Cruz, CA – Motiv Nightclub
4.25 – Denver, CO – Cervantes Ballroom
5.2 – Wappinger Falls, NY – Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
5.7 – Newark, NJ – Seed Gallery
5.8 – Boston, MA – The Middle East
5.9 – New York, NY – Slake
Envision 2015 Announces 1st Wave Artists
The International Envision Festival-Costa Rica announces first installment of their lineup for their 5th annual festival from Feb 26 – March 1, 2015.
The first headliner announcement for the 5th annual Envision Festival-Costa Rica is here. This year’s lineup includes Groundation, Phaeleh, The Polish Ambassador, Wildlight, Emancipator, Ott, Bluetech, Random Rab, Govinda, Ill-Esha, Dimond-Saints, Stickybirds, AMB, Ayla Nereo, and saQi, with Costa Rican reggae headliner Un Rojo and Guatemala’s Los Miseria Cumbia Band. There are more acts listed below and many more to be announced!
Envision Festival-Costa Rica takes place in the enchanting jungle of Uvita, Costa Rica from February 26- March 1, 2015 and is a favorite destination for international travelers with dozens of international music and performance acts, yoga, workshops, waterfalls, surfing, jungle exploration and more.
An early peek at the yoga and workshop headliners include world-renowned yoga teachers such as Cristi Cristensen, Rachel Brathen, and Kishan Shah, art installations by Chris Dyer, Carey Thompson, and Mugwort Artemisia alongside Permaculture and Education workshops from legendary teachers such as Penny Livingston, Daniel Pinchbeck from Reality Sandwich, Charles Eisenstien, Sarah Wu, plus permaculturist and Envision co-founder, Stephen Brooks.
The full lineup of musicians, performers, teachers, and artists will be announced mid-November.
Check out the newly launched Envision website with interactive site map, early line-up, survival guide, and travel information. Then take a peek into the Envision mystique and be inspired by this newly released “Vive La Experiencia!” video.
Envision’s unique gathering offers so much for the adventurous travelers. Dance under the stars, paddle into the surf, explore waterfalls and lush canopies, camp in the jungle, be inspired by live art installations, and learn something new at a life changing workshop.
With the collaboration of a myriad of renowned artists and visionaries, both local and international, Envision provides a multi-dimensional community forum focused on art, music, movement, education and co-creation. Be part of a global eco-conscious movement that is shaping our future and experience the beauty of the landscape, healing undertones, artistic expression, and the “Pura Vida!” way of life. This is Envision Festival.
Stay tuned for more announcements on music, yoga, speakers, and workshops. Early Bird discount tickets are on sale now and will sell out quickly.
Please visit the Envision website and links below to find out more. Pura Vida!
http://www.2015.envisionfestival.com/
Envision Media Links:
Phase 1 Lineup Below – Phase 2 coming soon!
Music: The Polish Ambassador * Wildlight * Groundation * Phaeleh * Emancipator * Ott * Bluetech * Random Rab and friends * Ayla Nereo * Govinda * Ill-esha * Dimond Saints * Faceblind * Los Miseria Cumbia Band * Un Rojo * saQi * AMB * Stickybuds * Santos y Zurdo * Passiflora * Infibeat * Ivan Cespedes * Lapa * Portilla * Living Light * Mikey Lion * Melissa O * Social Club * Bartosz Brenes * Mario Miranda* Tara Brooks * Matt Haze* PjOE * aTyYa *
Yoga Instruction: Cristi Cristensen * Rachel Brathen * Kishan Shah * Esteban Salazar * Juan Pablo Barahona * Edgar Ortiz * Inez Aires
Art & Installations: Chris Dyer * Carey Thompson * Mugwort Artemisia * Mark Henson * Hoodie & Tigre * Tribe13 * Living Spaces
Permaculture & Education: Penny Livingston * Charles Eisenstien * Sarah Wu * Stephen Brooks * Daniel Pinchbeck * Rosemary Gladstar * Project Nuevo Mundo * Kaypacha
About Envision Festival-Costa Rica:
In just four years, Envision has blossomed from a backyard event into an internationally acclaimed community gathering. Envision is continuing its journey to break down cultural barriers, representing an elevated festival experience of spirit and community. By bringing people together in the lush landscape of Costa Rica, Envision offers opportunities to celebrate the spirit, heal our bodies and minds, and revitalize our souls. Be a part of a global movement that is destined to shape our global future while experiencing the beauty of the landscape, healing undertones, artistic expression, and the “Pura Vida!” way of life. This is Envision Festival.
The Confluence
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Arise 2014 Video
Official FreioMusic Arise Festival 2014 Video
Arise Festival 2014 in Loveland, Colorado. Freio Music’s talented team captures the cultural gathering with energy with style. Arise Festival features artists from across the musical spectrum. Share it. Enjoy it. See you next year!
Credits:
Produced by Freio Music
Directed by Joe Morahan & Daniel “Buddy” Thomas
DP by Daniel “Buddy” Thomas
Editing by Daniel “Buddy” Thomas
Time-Lapse Photography by
Melissa Harrison, Isaiah ‘Scott’ Brown, & Michael Morahan
Music by
Polish Ambassador
Top 5 Moments of Unexpected Sonic Perfection at Sonic Bloom ’14
Sonic Bloom 2014-American Safari Ranch
My favorite part about music festivals is discovering new artists to incorporate into my daily repertoire of jams. While I was beyond stoked for some of my highly anticipated favorites like Opiuo, the reigning king of future funk, Kalya Scintilla’s sweaty tribal inspired bass, or Tipper’s careful dissection and rearrangement of the contents of my brain with the scratching mastery of a surgeon, these were all very predictable (and immensely enjoyed) highlights of my weekend. My most authentic musical experiences of Sonic Bloom came from the unexpected sets and unfamiliar artists that I have not had the chance to fully explore and appreciate. Whether the artists were newer cats on the scene or seasoned veterans to which I simply hadn’t yet been exposed, I came back from Bloom with an inspired and expanded understanding of some of the dopest jams to ever rattle my eardrums.
1. Mr. Bill
Okay, Mr. Bill is certainly no newcomer on the scene. Prior to Bloom I was familiar with Mr. Bill’s status as a veteran of the rich Australian glitch movement. My expectations were absolutely blown out of the water after, what was easily, my favorite set of the weekend. Late Sunday night in the middle of the dusty and heavy vibin’ coDome audience, I found myself wondering how something so unconventionally melodic can get a crowd moving so hard. Mr. Bill’s heavy bass lines, break beat switches and a cornucopia of strange tunes and tones meld together into an unpredictably perfect stew of glitch perfection.
Mr. Bill will be holding down the Souls Rising EDM stage at Arise Music Festival August 8-10th this year in Loveland, CO for what will surely be another set not to miss.
2. The Librarian
I took a leap of faith on Friday night as we left Tipper’s downtempo set in search of something to get my booty shaking a bit more. We encountered what I quickly realized to be one of the baddest bitches of bass, Andrea Graham, throwing down a super sexy low-end set that had me floating on a cloud of sweet, sweet ghetto booty bass. The Librarian’s nuanced, sexy bass stood out from the overtly raw and in your face bass that tends to dominate the scene. Her riddim inspired jams and seriously hard drops that got the crowd moving for one of the greatest booty bass grooves of the weekend.
The Librarian is also a founding organizer of Bass Coast and will be playing this August 1-4th in Merritt, British Columbia.
3. Sixis
If you know me, you know that I am a serious sucker for smooth psychedelic dubby sounds that seem more likely to be alien transmissions than creations from the human kind. When I cruised over to Sixis’s midday Friday set, I didn’t know much about his music and was just looking for a solid warm-up for the stacked schedule with the future glitch goodness of kLL sMTH, Fort Knox Five and then onto the highly anticipated psychedelic trance-inspired Aussie master Whitebear. But when I got to the dusty coDome, I was totally blown away by Sixis’s melodic, spacious and layered sounds. In an increasingly saturated psy-bass scene, Sixis stood out with his consciously more minimal, understated approach to interplanetary auditory travel. Sixis created intricate, imaginative soundscapes that resonated in my ears for the rest of the weekend.
Up next, Sixis will be playing at Stilldream Festival in Belden, California July 31st- August 4th.
4. Defunk
If you don’t know of Defunk yet, you better educate yourself! Canada native Defunk dropped one of the funkiest sets of the weekend for a serious dance party in the coDome late Saturday afternoon. Addicting hooks, glitchy breaks, and inspired retro influences drive his music in a future forward way. Collaborations with soulful female vocalists and looping guitarist Sam Klass gives Defunk’s glitchy tunes a sense of soulful authenticity.
Catch Defunk at the Valhalla Sound Circus this Thursday, July 3rd in Quebec.
5. The Malah
Live electronic artists The Malah brought their A-game to wrap up the first evening of Bloom in a most epic fashion. Intricate, precise guitar licks and organic high-energy rhythms create a driven sound that got the coDome moving and grooving along properly. I thought their jam-inspired approach was a refreshing addition to Bloom’s bass heavy lineup, and by the infectious buzz from the crowd on Thursday night I’m certain they all agreed.
The Malah doesn’t have any immediate shows coming up but the Denver-local band is surely not one to miss when they come through your town.
Sonic Bloom 2014
The Unified Field
The 9th annual Sonic Bloom music festival took place over the weekend of July 19-22nd in the airy high desert of South Park, Colorado. The site, fully encompassed by the Rocky Mountains, created a beautiful backdrop of breathtaking sunrises and sunsets that lit up the numerous stages.
As usual, Bloom offered a plethora of experiences for every attendee. Music was continuously playing at various stages with the highest quality of sound. Workshops covering hooping, massage, dance, yoga, and many others were available and well attended. Outstanding visuals met the eye everywhere you looked, ready to be soaked in and admired, whether it be a performance, installation, or projection.
The weekend had much to offer, but you would have to have been a super human to experience it all!
Here are some highlights from throughout the weekend.
1. TWO nights of Tipper!! (not enough)
2. The Three Stages
–The Bloom Stage with the Funktion-One sound system and the massive LED screen backdrop.
–The Hummingbird Stage with the spinning woodcut mandala and unique handcrafted details.
–The CO Dome with its intimate feel and psychedelic projections by Illuminated Dimensions.
3.Surprise sunrise set by Kalya Scintilla and Kaminanda with an epic pink sunrise.
4. OPIOU.
5. Whitebear making everything so dark and weird at only 7PM, when the sun was still shining.
6. Kaminanda playing guitar live for the first and only time in Colorado, then busting out a cover of Grateful Dead-Shakedown Street.
7. The captivating “flower-dance-presentations” by Anthony Ward all weekend.
8. The Gong Experience that vibrates into your soul.
9. Quixotic’s unbelievably talented performers.
10. Looking around and realizing you love everyone and everything you are surrounded by!
Sonic Bloom Announces Mystery Headliner!
The Lineup is Complete!
Shpongle (Simon Posford) joins the epic lineup for the Sonic Bloom 2014 festival! He will be playing alongside: Tipper, EOTO, Opiuo, The Polish Ambassador and so many more artists making this the most looked forward to festival of the summer!
In Colorado last weekend, Shpongle sold out the 9,450 capacity at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Then, following the concert was the after party at Cluster Studios, where: Plantrae, Snubluck, Digital Vagabond, Toy Box, Erothyme, Whitebear and Desert Dwellers tore it up until sunrise.
The previous weekend was two nights of ‘The Road to Sonic Bloom” tour at Cervantes, selling out the dual venue the first night. These shows featured: Opiuo, Random Rab, Whitebear, Defunk, Zoogma, Paul Basic, Ill-Esha, Janover & Resunator, Nominus, Young Blood Brass Band, Templo, Fillibusta, Yuyu, and Easy Company. It was nothing short of a good time.
So, if you didn’t already do it, you better grab that ticket to this years Sonic Bloom because it will be four days of unbelievable magic you won’t be able to find anywhere else!
**Final Wave of Artists Added:
Shpongle (Simon Posford DJ Set), Futexture + Deloscinari, SunSquabi & Friends, Polar Vortex, Marvel Years, Krooked Drivers, Lunar Fire, SIXIS, Jon Wayne & The Pain, Dynohunter, Michael Garfield, Psymbionic, 2NUTZ, sAuce, Supreme, Coult-45, Subliminal, Caustik, Filibusta, TROPO, VerDarluz, Tnertle, EO, Dillard, Sam Klass, Fun Factory, White Robot, Shiba, Adam Apollo, SoDown, Shaman’s Dream, Urban, G.O.A., Ryan Viser, Kruza Kid and Silent Frisco feat. Motion Potion & Mancub
SONIC BLOOM MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014
Counting down the days until Colorado’s best summer festival, Sonic Bloom 2014
Sixty five days and counting down to the best festival in Colorado this summer! The lineup is stacked and another headliner is yet to be announced! The venue is new this year, taking place at the spacious American Safari Ranch in South Park, CO. The early bloomer and tier one tickers have quickly sold out and tier two is now on sale for $195. Get ’em quick before these too sell out and the price rises yet again! Included in your festival ticket is camping and if you feel like spending a bit more, you can purchase car camping or lodging available on site. Check out the lineup (below) and get your tickets, this is truly a festival you do NOT want to miss!
Get tickets and more information here!
If you do not know the line up well, its ok we’ve got you. Listen to our sneak peak playlist on SoundCloud: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/29961486″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]