This past Saturday, I went to the first Electronic Music Festival to grace the beaches of Atlantic City. I’ve been extremely excited for this event since I was unfortunately unable to attend last year. I even got a tank top made specifically for this event because I wanted to wear the site proudly while listening to some jams. I arrived around 1:30 or so as I was rocking a major hangover thanks to having a table for 4B the night before, but I wasn’t letting a little headache stop me from the event. What I didn’t know is that the door times were pushed back due to the weather till 1pm. I thought I was gonna miss a set or two. Apparently I was right on time. This was a sad theme of the day.
I got to Albany Avenue to find a security guard. I asked him where to pick up tickets because that’s where I need to get my press pass. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any signs and the security guards weren’t sure where to even take me. That seemed like another theme of the day, but I’ll get to that shortly. After being essentially toured of the backstage, I was brought to the will call. I finally met Gerard Kunkel was who ecstatic to meet me and explaining some of what I should expect. The enthusiasm matched with my own only heightened my experience and I was on my way.
The first thing that I caught my eyes were the Bad Kids. I love the Bad Kids as I am a bad kid myself. I got to chatting with them and finally introducing myself properly as the last time we met, Tyler Sherritt was spinning and I couldn’t hear anything. Plus alcohol…lots and lots of alcohol. I noticed some new items and they excitedly told me about the new line. I still get upset because I didn’t buy anything. Although, I did catch another bracelet (that barely fits) and a sticker (which I rock on my laptop). We did manage to get a picture by Brittany. She was so sweet!
The first artist up was Almond. I’ve been sharing his music for quite sometime and was finally excited to see him perform. It was still early in the day, so the crowd was a bit light, but everyone was spread out by the games (cornhole and volleyball), the shops, the food, and the awesome stage. The layout of the festival was so nice so the focus was on the music, but you could enjoy everything else. I decided to stand in the back because I wanted to access the crowd and the music without going too early. Essentially, I was still hungover and I needed my space. Almond did just as well as I expected, if not better. He was quite the performer as he was good at hyping the crowd. He has had his hand at college shows and this was the same demographic so this was easy as pie for him.
And then came the rain. I’ve been following the local weatherman being that I am from the area. I was extremely nervous because I knew it was supposed to storm, but I was hoping and wishing that he was wrong. He wasn’t. It started pouring and I made my way back to the Bad Kids. They had ponchos. Normally, I wouldn’t mind getting wet, but I refuse to buy another iPhone. I can’t.
By the time all of that, he had gotten off and it was time for me to go interview. At the same time, the sky started to open up. I am very thankful Harry from Bad Kids lent me his big umbrella. Thanks! I headed to the security area where I was supposed to be escorted backstage. I wish I could have just flashed my badge, but whatever. Unfortunately, security had no idea what to do. They were also leaving their post (according to the head) and hiding under tents and such. After basically waiting 15 minutes for them to figure out what was going on, I was escorted backstage. I, there was able to meet Heather Kunkel, who like her husband was extremely ecstatic to see me, but also extremely busy trying to make everything perfect. Understandable.
It didn’t matter. Due to the rain, they were holding off on Dane going on and Almond was swooning the crowd with the short shorts and going wild in the rain. Typical showman. He loves the limelight and the limelight loves him. I got to interview him (which wasn’t recorded due to the rain and sound, but is coming later). From there, I stayed backstage when I didn’t need to be there for another 3 hours.
I did witness something that many didn’t. It seems like there was some major backlash due to the rain or shine comments. Let me tell you something, all the staff was trying their best to keep the show going. The back LED screen blew over and it seemed like it was going to fall. They did their best to get it to stay before starting to take it down. It got dangerous. The ocean was roaring up and the rain and wind equalled a bad time. I was able to go on stage, which I am impressed and happy that they even let me to see what the crowd was like. For those who were there, I am applauding at the fact that you raged and had fun. I am not like you, but you guys were going wild.
Afterwards, instead of getting hit in the face with sand, I went back to my Bad Kids to see what they were up to, listen to music from up there. I am glad I did because at this time, Dane was cut short and they finally ordered a cancellation rather than the numerous delays. We were all disappointed and so was the crowd. Like they were feisty because they didn’t care about the weather. BeachGlow did everything they could to get this event to stay open, but like you do in Atlantic City, they gambled on the weather and unfortunately lost. Thankfully, they didn’t see the worst of it as it just progressed harder and harder through the day. I stayed with the Bad Kids and helped them out as they were packing up. Andi wanted to go to the Rainforest Cafe. Andi was boss. She decided. There are much better places, but it is entertaining. As I was heading over, I found out my friend was picking me up. I left. I wanted to go, but wet drawers aren’t fun at all.
So within two hours, my first experience of Beachglow was over. Or so I thought. While this isn’t apart of the review, I think I should continue my story as it relates to Beachglow.
I got home and precedingly spent my time on Twitter. I figured since all these awesome artists were in the area, they’d want a place to play. Off I went with helping them find a place. My go to? Haven. So off I went on tweeting Haven and tweeting the artists. It started a storm of them trying to get booked and asking to go for free. Haven decided to pull a major power move and grab a majority of artists. Vicetone, Project 46, Tommy Trash, DSharp, Lost Kings and Tony Arzadon who was already performing there all in one roof. You bet your sweet self I was going. Although, I decided to get showered and dry. I decided to go meet up with Synchronice who was with their mother and their female friends. On my way, we were driving and the weather was so bad, you couldn’t see anything in front of you. Visibility was about 5 feet at most. It was dangerous and bad. I haven’t seen rain like that since a terrible storm or hurricane. Beachglow made the right move. That being said, I got to pick Synchronice’s minds a bit while showing them a little bit of Atlantic City prior to their dinner.
I got to eat and then off to Haven I went with one of our writers / friend. I want to thank Haven’s social media girl for being super duper awesome and hooking me up so I could continue this coverage. Let me tell you this, Haven was the most packed I have ever seen it. Everywhere I went, I was fending through the crowd. I tried to get behind the booth, but I needed someone to pull me up and all such attempts were futile. I did get to run into Almond again who was giving out butt pats like he was my baseball coach. He seemed quite busy and having fun to the music.
First was Project 46 who decided to bring the vibes and the good times. I was extremely excited for them as they had a new album out and constantly interacting and putting out such great music. They didn’t disappoint. Well, that’s a lie. I was disappointed that they ended so early, but I had to live with the situation and before I knew it, Vicetone was bringing the party. They dropped their new tracks as well as some classics. They really hyped up the place which led up to Lost Kings who were going absolutely wild. They were dropping banger after banger and the party was in full effect. This led up to Tommy Trash who brought along DSharp with him to provide live violin solos and such. By this time, the whole place was shoulder to shoulder. I never seen the place bring out barriers, but Tommy Trash needed them because he was tearing down the walls. I thought we were all in for it. By this time, my legs were giving out and I was going into the end of the night. I was also losing phone power for attempting my first Periscope which (very few) people enjoyed, but I did too. That was it for me. I was done. I got to see the majority of artists I wanted to see. A few, I missed out on, but overall the night helped turn around the weather.
My only regrets was not being able to meet up with the Kunkels again due to the weather and not copping some Bad Kids Merch. The festival looked like a great time, but like I said, with an outdoor festival, you gamble with the weather. This was the wettest June on record, so we all lost. This is an address to all the hatred on Facebook. I know you all came to visit Atlantic City from where ever and I know they said rain or shine. They tried. They honestly tried and I watched it happen, but the city was the one to call them off. I’ve seen what storms have done to the area and it isn’t pretty. Be lucky we didn’t have to be outside for that terrible weather. For those who were 21, there are plenty of clubs and you probably joined me at Haven or went to Mixx for Jenaux and Tritonal. For those who weren’t 21, you’re a bit limited, but there were shows and such if you looked. This was for charity. It is and was for the kids. By the looks of Facebook, refunds are on the way. I can’t wait for next year’s event. I can say that for sure. I know, based on seeing Dane’s face at Haven that he won’t let this hold him back, but rather go harder for next year.
I want to thank Beachglow for their hospitality. I want to also thank Haven for their continued hospitality.