On the 19th of November, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Chandler, Arizona to attend the debut of Relentless Beats’ newest festival series, GoldRush. Along with me was TingTing Wu from Dance Music Northwest and today I’m excited to share my story about this festival.
The Soup Review
Chandler is about 25-30 minutes out of Phoenix in the great state of Arizona, just close enough to the big city that you don’t feel like you’re far away from civilization. The Rawhide Event center is located in this large open area which is far enough away from neighborhoods and houses to be as loud as physically possible. Since it was the middle-end of November, I was expecting cold weather, but it was actually quite warm. The highs were in the high 80’s and low 90s, and the low’s got to about 60.
For those that love electronic music and hip hop, this festival would’ve been paradise. Excision followed by Migos, and then Dillon Francis closing out mainstage one night, then RL Grime, Lil Uzi, and Marshmello on another night back to back. Who does that? It may seem odd, but the complete lineup was sufficient for both mainstream and non-mainstage artists alike (from both genres). Rich Chigga followed by Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, Ugly God, and then Mija, Malaa, and Flatbush Zombies? Unreal.
Fransis Derelle, Jeremy Moreland (V2 Presents), and Sharps (PC: Jozizzy)
Claude VonStroke’s Birdhouse stage (dedicated to deep, tech, garage, and UK house) gave a more natural, quirky feel. The other side stage was on point, literally. The stage came in at a point, which made it look like the bow of a large yacht. And then we have the pièce de résistance, the festival’s crown jewel. The main stage. It literally felt like I was at UMF or EDC, the way the stage was set up. The closer you got to the front, however, you could see that the performer was only a long arm’s length from the barricade, which made for a more intimate experience.
Soup’s food Review
If you know me you know that I am a big foodie. I love trying out new food as long as you don’t give me tomatoes or peppers. When I’m at a music venue, I don’t stray that far off of the main menus. I go for what people typically order, or the most common, safe food. The single pizza vendor killed it with their meat lover’s slice, which felt like a quarter of a large pizza. It wasn’t too expensive, considering the circumstances, and it was filling.
My friend, the more adventurous type, had a Hawaiian sandwich with pulled pork, vegetable pieces, and a creamy sauce on it that made the sandwich look like a homemade backyard barbecue entree.
MY RECAP VIDEO
I spent some time taking videos of some of the more important parts of my trip. One of my favorite experiences was being invited by San Holo to hang out with him, Mija, Fransis Derelle, Droeloe, Sharps, and some awesome new friends.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdBppHte85I&w=560&h=315]
OFFICIAL AFTERMOVIE FROM RELENTLESS BEATS
The guys from Relentless Beats released a sick aftermovie for this amazing festival. Go check it out below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y03ktTpnBQI&w=560&h=315]
