Blast Back to Euphoria Music Festival 2016 and What to Expect for 2017

Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas is home to quite a few events, but no other event makes it feel like home like how Euphoria Music Festival does. For years, Euphoria has been pushing the boundaries for creative expression and freedom through music, arts, and the community. Year in and year out, the artists they book to play there always bring the freshest music, best of vibes, and a time you’ll remember forever. No matter how big or small the artist is that you are seeing. You can go see the main stage act on Saturday night and you will very well have an equally amazing experience as seeing a local band play at the dragonfly stage mid day. The difference between night and day is massive at Euphoria. Their production illuminates the whole place with impressive lights and lasers. When the music is done at main festival grounds, campers can indulge in an after hours silent disco. Each year that passes their production and quality of the festival only gets better. We can only imagine what is in store for 2017. Let’s blast back to Euphoria 2016 in order to get a better idea of what to expect for this upcoming year.

For their 5th anniversary, Euphoria Music Festival 2016, added a pre-party event on site for the first time. This pre-party event was exclusive to the campers and added a huge element to this festival. It gave everyone a chance to warm up and get ready for the festivities that were coming later that weekend. It was an extremely laid back event as all music was on one stage, so you didn’t have to worry about any artists overlapping. Not only was it chill vibes because it was Thursday, but because Blunt Force, Bass Physics, and The Polish Ambassador put out a groovy, electrifying, and uplifting experience for all to begin their weekend with. On top of that, this night was the night of the new moon giving a unique vibe to kick off the festival. They only had this stage play music out loud for the first night, for the rest of the weekend the stage was used as a silent disco stage.

The First official day of Euphoria started off incredibly strong with Marvel Years having an excellent blend of instrumental jam and electronic production on one of the most beautiful stages in North America, The Dragonfly Amphitheater. Having the perfect blend between instrumental jam, hip-hop/rap, and electronic music is a continuous vibe that Euphoria tends to stick too. Right after the energetic set of Marvel Years, the crowd got abducted with unique bass put on by no other than Space Jesus. One of the more popular up and coming names in the bass music scene, Space Jesus produces beats that have a similar background beat to hip-hop, but the synths are wonkier, samples are more spaced out, and the bass is extremely heavy, while not too heavy keeping all the other notes crisp and clear. This was one of the most sought out sets of the weekend and if you watch the video below you can tell. The size of the crowd packed into the 3rd stage of Euphoria was unlike any other set from the whole weekend! His energy flows from him and his music and projects throughout everyone in the crowd. Everyone got down to his music and everyone was respectful while going hard. Truly one of the best sets from the weekend and it was still sunlight out!

Euphoria music festival has three stages in the main festival grounds and practically directly after Space Jesus’s set, South African producers Goldfish took over the main stage for an extremely vibey time. They produce amazing house beats in the studio and when performing live the duo use multiple instruments throughout the set, such as piano, cello, flute, and saxophone! This set lined up perfectly for the rest of the schedule for the main stage. As they were having live bands on the stage before and after Goldfish.

As many know Euphoria has tons of amazing music going on at the same time, so later on during this set at the second stage called, “Elements,” phenomenon G Jones was taking the crowd away with a different style of electronic music. His taste in unique electronic production has led him to become one of the most recognized producers for bass music within the past few years. He takes elements of trap music and dubstep and combines them together into beautiful chaos. When he performed at the Elements stage, it was absolutely packed! G Jones played at Euphoria 2015 and blew everyone away, especially when he came back for a secret set two days after he played, opening right before RL Grime. With him coming back for his second year of Euphoria in 2016 and having gained so much popularity within that time, such as having a collaboration with Bassnectar, G Jones was easily one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend.

Shortly after having your ear drums riddled with bass by G Jones, we ventured back over to main stage for the live band of Tycho! This is when you started to get those unique Euphoria vibes. Everyone was in their own wonderland jamming to electronic music that was being played live by instruments. Tycho started as a producer, a DJ, and as a solo act. His ambient house music is layered with live samples of instruments that gained him popularity across the world. Within time he added live musicians to his act to really bring his music to life. Truly there is no better environment for an act like that. Euphoria tends to all sides of the festival community, jam band music, rap and electronic music.

To keep the live music vibes going and ending the music on the main stage was none other than the highly revered jam band act, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9.) This 6 piece electronic jam band has a following from across the world and rightfully so. STS9 has been together since 1997 with the exception of the their (semi) new member, the bassist Alana, who joined in 2014. They continue to keep their live music extremely interesting and fresh by putting out new music, (The Universe Inside 2016: Album link here) doing amazing covers of classics, and tending to the crowd, playing what they know the crowd wants to hear. This space sounding, instrumental, electronic, jam band will take you on a musical journey like no other, and that is why they closed out main stage the first day for a second year in a row! STS9 knows how to tend to their audience and the crowd at Euphoria loves the funk! A truly Euphoric set. While the jam was taking over main stage, in case you weren’t feeling like listening to instruments, both the other stages were lit up with popular electronic acts. On the more intimate stage, Dragonfly Amphitheater, SNBRN was taking his crowd through a deep house adventure. This was the closing set for this stage and being in the middle of the night, the lights looked SPECTACULAR! Having screen projection on the dragonfly on the stage and ever so impressive screen projection on the trees across the river in the background, this stage had a dynamic and unique vibe there compared to any other stage. But because this was the smaller stage, it ended earlier before the other ones. On the Elements stage, closing that stage out was, Dillon Francis. A superstar for electronic music. Grazing multiple genres such as moombahton, electro house, trap, and progressive house, Dillon Francis caters to many EDM fans across the nation. He is an act that brings the crowd to life with energy and happiness. Dillon Francis tends to play ridiculous samples that are based off of internet memes and popular videos and like wise, he projects on the LED screen behind him absolutely hilarious and awkward visuals. A set like no other… and again the perfect artist for Euphoria to book to keep the distinct Euphoric vibes going.

The second day, the people who booked artists decided that people did not need to leave the main stage if they wanted to. From start to finish the main stage the second day had incredibly popular and talented musicians and producers. Starting with Skydyed, a 3 piece jazzy, funky, electronic band, they had no means of letting up on the impressive schedule. Following that was the infamous Break Science, known for being on Pretty Lights Music, and having those real old school, funk – vibed electronic beats. Adam Deitch is the drummer and Borahm Lee is the keyboardist and between the two, you’ll go on a journey through electronic funk. This Duo rocked us into the next band, Twiddle. A jam band that is under recognized for their value. Being around since 2004, Twiddle has been rocking covers and releasing gnarly jams for years. Changing the vibe of main stage, but still keeping it chill, Com Truise took the stage and went into a modern disco-tech set. Following the relaxed electronic set, instrumental jam band, Lettuce took everyone on an adventure of FUNK! These guys base their band heavily on the funk by having a 8 piece funkalicous band. Each member is highly critical for their band but to name a few of the players, Erick Coomes, “Jesus” absolutely shreds the bass, Eric Bloom plays his heart out with the saxophone, and Adam Deitch is their insanely talented drummer. Keeping the funk vibe going…but making it a little bit more electronic and hard, GRiZ and his good companion Muzzy Bearr took the stage for one hell of a ride! GRiZ plays the saxophone and DJ’s while Muzzy Bearr is the guitarist and together They Bring the Funk! Ever so popular GRiZ is a sought out act by everyone because he caters to the feels with acoustic instruments and jazz vibes while at the same time he can bring the bass hard and drop heavy dubstep and trap beats. While the whole time having dank guitar rifts and saxophone notes that will leave you in a trance…or grooving really hard. With GRiZ doing an outstanding job warming up the crowd, it made perfect sense for who ended out the main stage. Bassnectar. This prominent act has changed the movement of the electronic music in America completely. Having producing music under his name Bassnectar since 2002, he has had time to built a strong following. After several EP’s, albums, and singles that will go down in electronic music history, he had made a following of “Bass Heads.” Diving between a beautiful mix of ambient, psychedelic, glitch, and heavy, filthy, bass music, Bassnectar caters to a massive crowd. He can break his set down to extreme degrees where the sound gets so distorted you feel like you fall off the face of the earth. But he can bring it back in a blink of an eye with either a heavy bass song or a beautiful song that would leave you in a trance. On top of that, his team is extremely skilled & talented by having some of the most advanced software and tech gear for the best quality of visuals and audio. You will not see visuals like what Bassnectar has any where else and it is because of that, that he became such a hit and a must see act. Having Bassnectar play at Euphoria has changed those grounds for ever and was definitely the most anticipated set for the whole weekend from the majority of the people.

On the last day, Sunday, everyone was in a relaxed and kick back mood. The art and creativity throughout everyone shined extra bright this day. Even though it was a cloudy day, the joy and happiness on peoples faces lit up the place all the way until Above & Beyond ended the main stage with a joyful tear-fest. The main stage started strong with Colorado jam band, The Motet. Playing joyful and happy jams, flow arts and visual arts were everywhere! On one corner of the audience there were several painters, some doing their own projects, a couple working on a massive piece together, and another doing face painting! While all throughout the outskirts of the crowd there were people flowing ranging from, hoops, poi, yoga, to even juggling balls. This passion throughout everyone did not end early. Following The Motet was, Nahko and the Medicine for the People, a indie rock style of jam band that has some of the most powerful lyrics that I have ever heard in music. Nahko, the vocalist, is part native American and uses both historical and current events to drive his music. Whether if it is about politics, mother earth, human rights, or corruption, he tells an emotional story through music. Having their music be so powerful and having such a strong, loyal, and friendly following of fans, seeing them live is unlike any other set you’ll ever see. After the emotional set, Klingeande, took the main stage for a deep house party with a live saxophonist. Making the audience liven up with their enlightening and happy music, it was the perfect way to roll into another highly anticipated set, Above & Beyond. This group, like Bassnectar, has an intense following of fans. Being from the UK, they had a different fan base and because they produce harmonic trance they blew up with popularity and have proudly worn the title of best trance producers for years now. Having them close out Euphoria was the perfect way to end such a Euphoric festival. This place always caters to music that is popular in our scene and to the artists that deserve to be recognized because of their immense talent. Everywhere you will go in Euphoria Music Festival, you will see incredibly skilled musicians and producers playing. It may be tough choosing a schedule now and then, but it is always a guarantee amazing time at Euphoria.

With being only a few months out from the upcoming Euphoria, the lineup has been posted and we have been given a glimpse of what is in store for the 2017 event! One of the first biggest noticeable announcements on the lineup is Alesso, Swedish super star will be making his Austin debut performance at Euphoria and it couldn’t have been a better place to first play. His uplifting beats and harmonic melody’s along with his distinct European musical taste, will ensure that this set will be a must see and like Bassnectar and Pretty Lights in the years before, will change the course of Euphoria for ever. Talking about Pretty Lights, he is returning to Euphoria, but this time with his live band. Another perfect example of how Euphoria loves to have the the amazing blend of live instrumental music and electronic bass music. Pretty Lights lives to define instrumental electronic music with his brilliant and innovative ideas by using dialogue synths live, adding a truly unique experience to the Pretty Lights show. The Floozies is another huge name that will be playing at Euphoria, as they are from All Good Records, the record label GRiZ put together. This duo are also extremely innovative as they play live with a guitar and drummer, they defy live music by breaking out fast beats and ridiculous synths and wobbles, that put a twist on the modern day funk. Euphoria wouldn’t be so Euphoric if they didn’t have their jam bands! Papadosio will be taking the title (so far) for the jam band to see. Want more instruments still? Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption will be blasting reggae and breaking out some unique jams for all to see. Another must see artist announced on the first wave of artists, is Dr. Fresch, who will be showing Euphoria, how deep they really can go. Being a deep house and bass music producer, he will add the party element to the festival.

Want to see more of the media taken from the 2016 year, click this link! Euphoria 2016 The Chronic Electronic Media

Check out their Phase 1 and 2 line up for their 2017 lineup.

Euphoria year in and year out, only books the best of music. But honestly, its not because of that, that you should attend the 2017 year. You can be swayed enough to go to this amazing festival just by the pure bliss of the environment it is in and the crowd it brings. Everyone is respectful and looking to take care of each other and the environment. With the lineups they usually book though, it makes it a guarantee that Euphoria Music Festival is a must go festival!

Tickets are still available! Grab them here!
Euphoria Ticket Link

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