7 MUSICAL ACTS TO SEE AT SONIC BLOOM 2017!

Happy Thursday!

We are officially 7 days out from when the music begins at this year’s 12th annual Sonic Bloom Festival!! I am crazy busy right now but feeling oh so blessed and honored to have been asked to help promote this fabulous fun summer event over the last several months. I wanted to share the updated FULL ART LINEUPS + MUSIC SCHEDULE just released this week + share with you all my top 7 musical picks for this year’s festival.

 

I have always had a hard time with festivals like SONIC BLOOM as the lineups are always ABSOLUTELY STACKED WITH AMAZING TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD and it seems nearly to impossible to actually see everything. So this year following my inner voice after continuing to see a lot more of those lucky 777’s I mentioned in my prior post “The 7 Lucky Things I learned as an Envision 2017 Intern” I have narrowed it down to ANOTHER LUCKY 7. This is a simple and NON-CONFLICTING list of sets that I hope will provide attendees a well-rounded taste of the SONIC BLOOM festival experience as the acts booked for this year’s fest span across a wide range of genres and styles. While I do believe that “genres” are close to obsolete in this style of music environment I also feel that each artist does have a special gift for creating a certain type of musical environment that is different and generally is characterized by certain types of rhythms and sounds, samples used, and particularly specific fan bases.

1. MIKEY LION 

GENRE: TECHNO-HOUSE-LOVE 

SET TIME: SUNDAY 12:30AM-2AM

STAGE: BLOOM

With musical roots in the oldskool sounds of Daft Punk & Wu-Tang Clan, THE BOSS MAN at DesertHearts Records is sure to impress the masses late night on Sunday with some PURE TECHNO HOUSE LOVE fused with strong tribal, hip-hop, and psychedelic elements. “Part mythical desert harlequin, part modern soul conductor, Mikey Lion is more than a DJ––He’s a freak of nature and a controller of energy” (soundcloud). As a child with a mother from San Diego who has many fond memories of dancing and playing on the beaches there, I am so stoked to check out this The San Diego-native as he has earned a real name for himself as the center of the Desert Hearts movement. Cheers to all those who can PACE THEMSELVES enough to make it to his set Sunday and DANCE FROM THE HEART like it was the first set of the weekend. #DANCEFROMTHEHEART

2. Maddy O’Neal

GENRE: ELECTRO-HIP-HOP-SOUL

SET TIME: SATURDAY JUNE 17th – 7:45-9PM 

STAGE: Hummingbird 

A Colorado local and former member of duo Krooked Drivers, Maddy O’Neal is a woman on the verge. She just started a brand new chapter of her musical life with the debut of her new self-titled project ‘Maddy O’Neal.’ I resonate with her because I know what it is like to BREAK FREE from the limitations of past projects and step out on my own as a female in the music industry. For the first time in her career, she has full creative control which is HUGE. I see Maddy as a shining light of positive energy and a leader in the male-dominated live electronic genre. Maddy’s rock n’ roll roots and growing appetite for old-school hip-hop, high-quality remix’s, and sunny personality give her a versatility that sets her apart from most other artists in the scene. #BOSSLADY

3. RANDOM RAB 

GENRE: RANDOM-RAB

SET TIME: 7:15-8:45PM 

STAGE: BLOOM 

A few years ago I rang in 2015 with Random Rab at a super small Arcade/Bar in Downtown Denver that no longer exist as an event venue anymore The 1UP. This Random Rab set stands out to me as a really special performance from Rab for several reasons. For one, it was not a sunrise set outside, secondly, Andrelien, Love & Light, and Templo opened and absolutely HYPED the crowd way more than I can reasonably get for anything at 5:45 AM. At this very random and very packed NYE show, Rab showed me his true power as a performer and producer by showing me his true voice and keeping the energy up showcasing another side of himself and his music in a way I had not seen before. While I will always remember each of the amazing sunrise sets I have had the privilege of seeing him play, I can’t forget how magical that night was. I LOVED the high-energy vibe of the crowd as we danced to a much more upbeat style of Rab’s music. This year I look forward to seeing what he has in store knowing that his set will be right around sunset instead of sunrise. I think it is amazing when an artist can break out of what fans begin to expect as their “normal”. Why? because none of the people I know that go to SONIC BLOOM are anything close to normal. We love being random and learn to accept this aspect of ourselves a little more each day that goes by.  #KeepItRandom

4. SPACE JESUS 

GENRE: SPACE-BASS

SET TIME: SATURDAY JUNE 17th – 8:45-10:15PM 

STAGE:  BLOOM 

Calling all Martians and Cosmic Mermaids that love to get down to SPACE BASS! Space Jesus has quickly become one of my favorite electronic music producers. Space Jesus aka Jasha Tull is based in Brooklyn, NY with firm roots in hip-hop. His unique and futuristic bass sounds and high energy beat drops make it almost impossible to not get the F down during his crazy hyped sets. He totally melted the faces of the already melted crowd the last time I saw him at Bamboo Bass Festival in Jaco, Costa Rica and I am really excited to see what he brings to this year’s Bloom. #SPACEBASS

5. BARCLAY CRENSHAW AKA Claude VonStroke

GENRE: METAPHYSICAL SLOW JAMS-HIP-HOP

SET TIME: FRIDAY JUNE 16th 9:15-10:15 PM 

STAGE: HUMMINGBIRD 

YOU ARE IN MY SYSTEM. That new album is my jam. THIS JUST MIGHT BE THE MUST SEE SET OF THE WEEKEND FOR ME! “Metaphysical Slow Jams”? Say what? I just gotta see this to believe I fully understand what that REALLY means…#METAPHYSICAL

 

6. I.LL GATES 

GENRE: ILL-TYPE-MOVES

SET TIME: FRIDAY JUNE 16th 9:15-10:15 PM 

STAGE: HUMMINGBIRD 

Something about his style just always seems to meet me where I am. His recent set with live drummer Kj Sawka at Bamboo Bass Festival was absolutely one of my favorite live improvised sets EVER at a festival. It is safe to say he is the real fucking deal when it comes to both live performance and technical knowledge. He is best known as a  “bass droppin’, educatin’, oscillator modulatin’ space genius from the future.”

“DJing since age 13 ill.Gates has had a long and lavish career in the music business. Known for his epic collaborations with Bassnectar, Beats Antique, Datsik, Mimosa and Opiuo he is no stranger to the top of the charts. With 4 studio albums under his belt and hoards of unreleased original music ill.GATES is known for unforgettable live sets peppered with improvised finger drumming and original visuals.” #ILLTYPEMOVES

6. THE BIG GIGANTIC CHEESE BISCUITS

GENRE: SUPERGROUP 

SET TIME: SUNDAY 10:45-12:45

NO SOUNDCLOUD preview on this one people. This is the real deal. A completely original performance by a brand new never before seen supergroup. #ONCEINALIFETIME

A unique lineup never before assembled featuring members of 3 pioneering live electronic bands coming together for a one-time very special set of music: Dominic Lalli, Jeremy Salken (Big Gigantic), Michael Kang, Michael Travis, Jason Hann (The String Cheese Incident / EOTO), Marc Brownstein & Aron Magner (The Disco Biscuits).

SO MUCH LOVE TO ALL OF THESE & ALL OF THE OTHER TALENTED & WONDERFUL PERFORMERS COMING TO THIS YEAR’S BLOOM!

SURE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT HUMMINGBIRD RANCH NEXT WEEK!

ENTER THE PROMO CODE: 2M63UNUW FOR DISCOUNTED 4-DAY PASSES! GET TIX: bit.ly/Bloom_Tix