Imagine music festival started with a bang on Thursday with a pre-party that featured Ironheart, Gem & Tauri, MITIS, Seven Lions, and Dimibo. While all the shows occurred on one stage, we were able to still explore the festival grounds and browse through the many food and shopping vendors that the weekend would have to offer.
Sunday featured some of the biggest names in house like: Dombresky, Sidepiece, Dom Dolla, and San Holo. We were able to dance the night away, and watching people perform glow arts and shuffling was so fulfilling. GRIZ featured a live brass band on stage, and for our first EDM festival, we were pleasantly surprised to see this unexpected collaboration.
Aside from the amazing music all weekend, there was interactive art, metaphysical healing classes, and free jewelry making tables to make and share, Kandie, a large part of the rave community. Imagine included a “Shakedown Street” on the way in/out of the festival inspired by the band Grateful Dead and their concert tradition.
Overall, Imagine was a great experience with non-stop music for four days.
Check out WEGL's top three MUST SEE acts from each day:
Friday
Subtronics, 10:15pm
Subtronics brought the energy to the stage. He captivated the entire audience with his intense and unique drops. Although he played the largest stage, he connected with the audience well and was so genuine. He mix and matched his build ups and beat drops to keep the audience on their toes, and their reaction was explosive. He had great crowd interaction and played a lot of his hits like “Screamsaver” and “Wook Laser”.
For Fans of: Excision, HE$H
Songs to Check Out: “Gummy Worm”, “Gassed Up”
Level Up, 5:00pm
Seeing a solo female DJ on the big stage was super awesome. She brought the energy and certainly holds her own in the male dominated EDM industry. She is often recognized for her relationship with Subtronics, but certainly deserves recognition for her individual talent. She had a great mix of dance songs with drops like Subtronics, which the crowd loved to headbang to.
For Fans of: Subtronics, Vampa
Songs to Check Out: “Scared of the Dark”, “Hell Hole”
Kayzo, 8:00pm
Kayzo’s style blends garage with the hardcore elements of metal. His entire set was high energy. People standing in the front row were riding the rail, and he got center of the audience to open a mosh pit. Even through his hardcore set he shared his appreciation for his fans, and everyone made sure to help up anyone who fell, making it a super positive experience.
For Fans of: Dion Timmer, Kai Wachi
Songs to Check Out: “Battle Drums”, “BURN IT DOWN”
Saturday
LSDREAM, 7:40pm
LSDREAM blended the melty vibes of psychedelic electronic with upbeat bass. His music and on-screen visuals were colorful and exciting. His set was super funky and super fun. He remixed popular songs from every genre including Tame Impala and Steve Miller Band.
For Fans of: Liquid Stranger, PEEKABOO, Dirt Monkey
Songs to Check Out: “PEACE, LOVE, & WUBZ”, “FUNKONAUT”
Ghostryder, 8:50pm
The DJ Duo of Ghastly and Joyryde
For Fans of: Ghastly, Joyryde
Songs to Check Out: “Lights out- Ghastly Remix”, “WINDOWS”
Kaskade, 11:30pm
Kaskade was the final act of Day 2 and the crowd was packed. The atmosphere of the audience was hopeful and joyous. This performance really allowed me to see the beauty and unity of the EDM community. He had upbeat dance music and melodic collaborations with pop singers to bring a night of headbanging to a close. There was confetti, ballons, and beach balls being bounced in the air during his performance, and it was truly a spectacle to see and feel a part of.
For Fans of: Morgan Page, Zedd
Songs to Check Out: “Escape”, “Last Chance”
Sunday
Dom Dolla, 11:30pm
Closing out Sunday night, Dom Dolla was one of our favorite sets of the entire weekend. His ability to read the audience was impeccable, and he had us moving and grooving for the last show of the weekend. No matter how tired we might’ve been from four days of non-stop music, you couldn’t help but dance. He played his hit “San Frandisco”, and reworked it throughout his set. By drop swapping his songs, he made his show cohesive, but fresh with every song.
For Fans of: Wax Motif, Dombresky
Songs to Check Out: “Miracle Maker”, “One Night”
Tsu Nami, 5:00pm
Tsu Nami was the perfect start to our Sunday evening. She was the first set of the day for us, and she gave us a little taste of everything. Her typical style is an electro-pop mix, and she played some her biggest songs with beautiful melodies. She also played some unexpected mashups…one of our favorites being the screamo band Bring Me The Horizon mixed with Justin Timberlake (Very unexpected, but very mind blowing).
For Fans of: helloworld, Ducky, juuku
Songs to Check Out: “want u 2 stay”, “Never Be”
Sidepiece, 10:00pm
Sidepiece offered one of the funkiest sets of the weekend. He remixed popular club songs like ABBA and Chris Brown. They performed on the Disco Inferno stage which featured most of the house acts on Sunday. Their transitions were seamless and they kept the energy of the audience without the grandiose of smoke and lasers that were featured on the Oceania stage.
For Fans of: CID, BIJOU, Ship Wrek
Songs to Check Out: “Don’t Keep Me Waiting”, “1,2 Step (Supersonic)”
Thank You to Imagine Festival and WEGL 91.1 FM for the amazing opportunity and fun the weekend held. We look forward to going for years to come. Stay up to date with all of WEGL's concert and festival reviews here on weglfm.com .
