Moonrise Festival 2017 was quite the unique experience to say the least. We encountered thunderstorms, heavy showers and muddy festival grounds. However, even through all the unfortunate circumstances, I can confirm one thing: the Moonrise Production crew are truly in it for the fans. After being bombarded with all the curveballs, the production crew still aimed to provide attendees with the best possible experience.
The Friday before the kickoff of the event, festival grounds encountered major showers. The entire Pimlico Race Course was turned into a muddy mess, but to my surprise the next afternoon the festival had already prepared wooden platforms for attendees to step over the muddiest parts of the festival grounds. Upon arrival, I immediately noticed that attendees had already overlooked the grounds and were ready to party. The first stage I hit was the Solar Tent where RL Grime threw down a monster set that the entire tent bumping all throughout his performance.
I was impressed to see that throughout the festival, there were always countless staff members strolling around festival grounds handing out water bottles to those who seem dehydrated. But the one thing that impressed me the most was the way the crew handled the thunderstorm precautions on Day 1 of the festival. Shortly after 5pm, the festival was put on hold as lighting began flashing in the skies. Not long after, rain started falling like bullets and everyone was directed to evacuate festival grounds to the race-course bleachers just slightly outside the venue. While this all went down, I was hiding out in a trailer backstage with the production crew trying to stay out of the rain. During the four hours the festival was delayed, I was told by the crew multiple times that they were going to pull the plug on the day. However, the production crew never stopped working to get the show back on. The stage manager had the final say on whether the show would be canceled and throughout the time we waited for the storm to die down, he continuously fought to keep the show going. Under these weather conditions, festivals would typically be shut down but the way the Moonrise production staff continued to fight to keep the festival alive showed me just how dedicated they are to the fans. The festival would ultimately let the attendees back into the venue where fans got to enjoy the final 2 hours of the festival. To close out my night, I arrived back at the Solar Tent stage to witness Seven Lions throw down an incredible performance that had ravers headbanging from the front to the back. Â If resuming the event wasn’t enough, the festival even granted all Day 1 ticketholders admission to Day 2 as well.
I have been the Moonrise Festival for three straight years now and every year, they seem to top themselves in every aspect. Amongst all of the stages at this year’s festival, the Stellar Stage stood out the most. The new intricate design of the stage was unlike any mainstage that I have seen before. The festival also kept their promise of keeping the Solar Tent cooler and more enjoyable to party under.
Another aspect of the festival that I throughly enjoyed was the elevated VIP viewing platforms for the VIP ticketholders. The private bar, VIP bathrooms, and the ability to party up close to the stage are just a few amenities that were provided for just a couple extra dollars on top of a general admission ticket. Without a doubt, the festival truly made the experience worth the extra investment.
Lastly, the diverse amount of talent hosted at the festival gave fans the opportunity to experience all genres of music. Even though we missed out on performances by Kaskade and Afrojack, there were still plenty of talent that made the festival an incredible experience. Some of the best performances that I had the honor of witnessing this year include a rare performance by Dillstradamus, live set by Porter Robinson, Lil Uzi Vert and massive set by Seven Lions that allowed all of us to forget about the rain on Day 1. Through all the obstacles that were encountered at this year’s festival, Moonrise definitely overcame the odds and blessed us with one hell of an experience. If you did not attend this year, be sure to get tickets early for next year because I anticipate that the festival will only get exponentially better in 2018 just as it has in the past 3 years.
