This past Memorial Day weekend TekSupport took over Holiday Moutain in the Catskills just a few hours north of New York City for Gather Outdoors. Gather Outdoors boasted a star-studded techno and house lineup including Amelie Lens, MK, Victor Calderone, Jamie XX, Mr. G, Desert Hearts Crew, & many, many more. While the 1st ever edition of this festival didn't go without some hiccups, overall the massive lineup and unbelievable sound made the weekend an absolute blast and hopefully is the 1st of many to come.
Gather Outdoor Photo Credit – Chris Lavado (Main Stage)
As I mentioned above, the festival had a few hiccups, as to be expected in their 1st ever edition of the event. Most of the issues came if you were camping as the camping was very chaotic and had little to no organization between the regular campers and the “glampers” who had tents already provided to them. Once you got settled in however, the camping section was really fun. There was a really open and festive environment and the main camping section was literally a stone throw away from the main stage and the Beech stage.
Gather Outdoor Photo Credit – Off Brand Project (Camping Site)
The stage setups were good if you were at the bottom of the mountain near the main 2 stages as they were very close to each other yet experience no noise bleed. Stage 3 was the issue as it was at the top of the mountain and you had to walk an insanely steep slope to get up there. They had the chair lift going during the early sets, but when the bigger names came you had to basically decide if you were staying at the top or the bottom.
The sound quality on the Beech stage (Stage 2) was absolutely amazing. I'm talking one of the best sound systems I've ever heard at any festival – and that is saying something. There was absolutely no distortion at all and the bass was enough to run through your whole body. The main stage had amazing sound as well, but it just felt much more powerful at the Beech stage as it was a smaller tighter section.
Gather Outdoor Photo Credit – Chris Lavado (Mr.G)
With such amazing sound, you could expect that the sets and the music over these two days were absolutely spectacular. Highlighting Day 1 for me was a massive disco-infused house set from Floorplan, an industrial dark tech set from Victor Calderone, a progressive ride through sound with Mira, and a groovy techy house set from Butch. Day 2 had brought me 60 minutes of house mastery from MK, an indie disco jam session with Jamie XX, one of the most unique experiences in music I've ever witnessed with Mr. G, and the weekend ended for me with a pounding techno set from the queen Amelie Lens.
Gather Outdoors – Photo Credit – Off Brand Project
Overall, the 1st edition of Gather Outdoors was definitely a success. Once we got past the hiccups it was a super chill vibe with amazing music and amazing sound. Props to TekSupport and I hope to see ya next year!
