Baltimore City continues to set the standard for what a festival is SUPPOSED to feel like.
A week removed from Moonrise and I can still hear the VIBEY basslines and feel the HOT summer sun. The production companies behind the festival, Steez Promo and Glow, knew that their reputations would be invested, their futures wagered, and their fanbase tested.
Adventure Club‘s Christian Srigley says that Steez & Glow “put everything they can into the show,” Amit Duvdevani from Infected Mushroom gave his vote of confidence by saying “Steez is our agency. WE LOVE THEM,” and the guys from GTA say that Steez “takes care of everyone and everything. They bring in the right crowd. It’s really perfect. We love playing Steez.”
In America's world of EDM, most festivals stand divided by harsh critics, genre purists, and readied close mindedness. There was no ‘bass arena', ‘live lounge', or ‘main stage' at Moonrise, just 4 stages creatively named with a festival theme – not separated by class. The lines between genres were BLURRED beautifully. Rusko played into Waka Flocka Flame, and Bassnectar followed up Lotus. Under the tent on Saturday at 4:30 we ran into the guys from Firebeatz, playing massive electro house sounds. At the same time, in the same place on Sunday, we saw Figure dropping some hard hitting Bass Music.
Dzeko & Torres saw a unique potential with the sound at Moonrise: “There’s so many different kinds of music going on at the same time. Even if you don’t know a certain artist stand there, find out, discover a new artist.” Talking to them after they played the Stellar Stage on Sunday: “We were shocked by the turnout for an early set but it was packed. They were a great crowd, they had energy, they knew the tracks”
I continue to reminisce on the feeling that the crowd GENERATED throughout the weekend. Gigantor from Evol Intent noted that Moonrise is really “vibey. [Steez] always books great acts. Production is always on point. Looks awesome.” We didn't run into any angry drunks. Everyone was there to have a good time, meet new people, and FEEL THE MUSIC with each other.
Being on the firing lines of innovation and production is just one part of what makes Moonrise an incredible experience. Before their set on Saturday we sat down with Chad & Dave from Tritonal who had never played a festival in Baltimore. They were both extremely excited.
What else was awesome? THE SETUP. It was easy to see everyone because everything was so close. We expect nothing but sound perfection from a veteran production company and that's what we got. There was zero noise overlap from stages running back-to-back. THE MEDICAL STAFF. Huge shoutout here. If you found yourself dehydrated, too hot, or just needed your phone charged so that you could find your friends – these guys had you covered.
At the end of the day it's the people that make a festival noteworthy, and Baltimore didn't disappoint. The crowd was consistently relentless and never dull. Whether it was your first festival or you're a festival veteran, there was a constant fog of love and acceptance throughout the grounds.
In a world of oversaturated music and festival publicity; Moonrise comes out on top. We're excited to see what Steez & Glow have coming next summer!
