Coming to Arizona, I didn’t know what to expect within the EDM scene, but I definitely wasn’t disappointed. After attending a handful of events, I couldn’t wait to see what Phoenix Lights had in store for me. The artists on the lineup were all artists I had been waiting forever to see, or artists that I couldn’t wait to see again. It really is incredible how different subgeners of EDM can unite so many loving and welcoming individuals.
Walking up to the festival, I instantly heard the music and felt all the amazing vibes the people carried around me. We arrived at the festival at around 4:30 so we had time to get through security and would still be able to check out the venue and get water before Illenium’s set began.
The first thing I noticed was that the two stages had a good distance between them. It can be frustrating when two stages are close together because one of the stages always drowns out the other, but that didn’t seem to be the problem at Phoenix Lights. Right when you walk in, the merchandise tents and art displays were right there which I enjoyed because sometimes if they’re somewhere hidden, I don’t feel obligated to check them out, but since they were right at the entrance, I was able to take a look at everything. The water filling stations were placed right by the porta-potties and there were enough fillers that I never had to wait in line for water.
We ventured through the crowd and made it to the front right side of the main stage just in time for Illneium. As we walked through the crowd, I noticed that this was one of the best crowds I had ever been around. Everyone seemed so full of life and happiness; smiling to everyone that walked passed. I’m a very observant person so I love looking around and taking in everything around me. When we reached our spot for Illenium, I looked around and realized not one person was just standing there. Everyone was dancing around and enjoying the music.
By the time Drezo was about to play, my friend and I had already met up with our other group of friends. We decided to make our way back up to the right front side where there was still enough room to dance. As I was observing the crowd, I noticed a lot of people beginning to shuffle. This girl noticed me observing all the shufflers and came up to me and asked if I wanted to learn. That moment showed me once again how amazing this scene is. I was so easily able to vibe with her; it’s not very common in life outside of the EDM scene that you can so easily vibe with someone.
For the rest of the night, we were bouncing from stage to stage listening to the different types of music and interacting with all the different people the festival drew in. One of the sets I was most looking forward to that night was Kaskade. My friends and I stayed towards the back of the crowd because there were so many people and we wanted to have room to dance. Once Kaskade started playing “Last Chance”, I started to bawl my eyes out. That song always hit home for me. As soon as the girl next to me saw me crying, she instantly gave me the biggest hug I’ve ever received. The first night of Phoenix Lights was truly one I will never forget.
Day two. We decided to arrive earlier on Sunday just because we enjoyed Saturday so much. We took an uber and got to the venue at around 4:00. We got through ID check and security very quickly. We stayed at the main stage for the first couple sets but then decided to head over to the small stage. As we approached the stage, I loved what I was hearing. The music sounded a lot like Flume, very chill and vibey, but had a darker kick to it. The DJ who was preforming was Dr.Fresch. Something I love about smaller stages is that the DJs tend to me more underground and so it’s always a good opportunity to find new music. There was so much room at this stage, everyone was so freely dancing. Not only were people dancing though; people were hooping, gloving, doing poi. The talent I saw over the weekend was unbelievable. There were times where I stopped what I was doing just to watch all the talented flow art around me.
After Dr. Fresch’s set, we ran to stock up on some water, and then headed over to the main stage to make sure we had a good spot for Excision. We got the perfect spot; right side towards the back so we had plenty of room to get down to Excision’s amazing music. As soon as he came on stage and started playing, the crowd went insane. I’ve never seen an entire crowd headbang and go as hard as I did that night. I took a second to just sit back and look around the main stage and the ENTIRE crowd was going insane. Arizona doesn’t get many dubstep shows, so when a dubstep artist comes, Arizona gives it their all.
After the set, we were all pretty exhausted so we headed over to the smaller stage and sat a little towards the back so we could just take in everything of the festival as the ending approached. We were surrounded by smiling people dancing, hooping, and gloving. I had a bittersweet feeling inside me; I had the best weekend of my life, but I was so sad it was coming to an end.
There is not one thing I would change about Phoenix Lights. I honestly expected there to be at least long lines for security or for the water filling station but there were none. The atmosphere and the vibes of a festival really are a big factor in whether I enjoy the festival or not and the vibes I felt this weekend were beyond incredible. Everyone was so friendly, smiling and hugging everyone that passed by. I felt respect from every person I came across. If I was trying to get through the crowd, no one got mad about it, but instead would help me get through. The staff was also very friendly; the water fillers, security, and ID checkers made great conversations each time I came across them. The lineup was also something I cannot complain about. There were artists I got to see again, ones I had been waiting to see, and new ones that I was able to discover. There was never a moment where I wasn’t at a stage dancing to great music and enjoying all of the good vibes around me. Relentless Beats outdid themselves, yet again, with Phoenix Lights. I will definitely be returning again next year.
All photo credit to Jacob Dunn, they are truly spectacular!