Another orbit around the sun and another opportunity to shoot at Arise Music Festival. Here are some of my favorite moments and photos from the event. Huge shout out to all of the artists who made this festival possible.
This year at Sonic Bloom the music was on fire as usual. Three main stages running until 2am and one stage running until sun-rise with music until 6am. The workshops begin at 8 am so there is really only two hours of 'off-time' per day all four days of the festival. The music and grooves transitioned seamlessly as different artists plugged in while others finished out their set. The main stage has a 'tween' stage, which if you are not familiar with the term is a small stage right next to the main stage and features short usually under 30min performances while the main stage undergoes a set change. This is the optimal way to transition on a large stage while maintaining the audience's attention and attendance.
With thee stages going simultaneously for 8 hours (with three stages that is actually 24 hours of live performances compressed in time and space within walking distance), which provides an opportunity for more musicians to be heard and benefit from the cross-pollination of musical audiences. The river ran dry but the music and shaded hammocks at the hummingbird stage provided a welcome mid day napping location. There is no shortage of amazing talent and the careful curation of musical acts that preform ensure a high threshold and a healthy diversity while still being true to the festivals electronic roots.
Photos will never capture sound so seek out good listen to new music. Click here to listen to live tracks from Sonic Bloom 2018.
Some more music the official Sonic Bloom Playlist on Spotify:
Wow! What a trip... It started out fortuitously but not without some typical last minute "oh, shits", a rushed amazon delivery and the realization of a 20 hour drive to attend. With a co-pilot, a Prius, plenty of snacks and a 4am departure, we made good time all the way Nevada on day one. The second day completed the travel to the fest where we showed up just as the first act was coming on stage. We rushed to get our tent set up and then strolled onto the dance floor.
The festival had three main stages, each decorated with care and finesse. The Knoll stage seemed to be dedicated to a lively variety of genres, and featured some of my favorite sets of the whole fest including 'Diggin Dirt' 'Dirtwire' (no there was not a dirt theme), and Ozomatli. The main stage, aka the Groove Stage, was settled into the forest in a nice natural clearing. The stage was framed with beautifully cut wood circles and shapes that rounded the LED walls into an aesthetic art piece. The Saucy Spa, the late night stage, pumped the music through a quadraphonic sound-system into the sunrise hours. Check out our photos to see the stages in action.
Every stage had great sound quality but two of the three stages had 'Funktion-One' speakers. If you have never heard of Function One's or have heard of it but never experienced music played through a Function One sound system, it rocks, rumbles, and rips through the air with surprising clarity and vibrance. This is the current state of the art speaker system. Enchanted Forest even took the sound quality even further. At the Saucy Spa, the late night stage, four stacks of Funktion-One speakers positioned at every corner of the dance area, all angled to the center of the dance floor. Why is this special or notable? Damn, I am glad you asked! A quadraphonic speaker setup enables artists to shape sounds in a 3D environment and can 'pan' audio to all four speakers (front left, front right, back right, back left).
Below was a brotherly collaboration in an attempt to translate the musical event through photos.