Last Halloweekend, Disco Donnie Presents joined forces with NightCulture to put on the spookiest festival in Texas. The two day festival was chock-full of frights, sights, and shocking tunes.
October is an exciting time in Houston, Texas. It’s the glorious time during which the scolding hot weather finally decides to dwindle and the cool breeze of Fall breaks through. It is the time that everything “spooky” hits the shelves in Walmart, Target, and your local pharmacy. It is the time that the drink that everyone loves to hate – the PSL – is once again available for purchase at Starbucks. However, October is a particularly exciting time for electronic music aficionados because they know Something Wicked Festival is only just around the corner.
This year, Something Wicked Festival came back with a punch: a star-studded line-up and an ‘asylum’ theme to raise the bar of eerie vibes. The event took place in Houston’s Sam Houston Race Park, which was decorated in a manner that encapsulated the ominous aura of your run of the mill psychiatric hospital. The festival ground was divided into three sections: the Shadowlands stage, Bass Crypt stage, and Mystic Meadows stage. There was one main thing that made this year’s Halloween fest a little more special than its antecedents. In order to help rebuild Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, SWF launched charitable programs which totaled over 165k dollars in aid. There are few better combos than haunted and humanitarian.
Festival organizers went above and beyond (pun intended) to give guests the thrills they went for. With top of the line pyrotechnics, lasers, and light shows the event left little to the imagination to create a prime Halloween experience. The main stage – Shadowlands – was equipped with fireworks and massive screens that complemented each artist’s individualized set. When Marshmello took over, a sea of ‘mello heads swarmed in and grooved to his trap beats. Above & Beyond closed out night one by following their traditional ‘push the button’ ritual where they invited a group of fans from the audience to help wrap up their set. Additional highlights from day one included Dirtybird label-head Claude Vonstroke’s spooky-licious set and the mistress dark beats, REZZ, in her element at the Mystic Meadows stage.
The energy of day 1 spilled over to day 2, where an abundance of Halloween and electronic dance music enthusiasts showed up dressed in some seriously awe-inspiring costumes. Within the span of the two days I saw unicorns, fairies, vampires, dragons, and demons galore. The Asylum was prepared to blow guest’s minds with banging sets by esteemed DJ’s including NGHTMRE, Zeds Dead, Alan Walker, and the one and only Tiesto. The mysterious Bass Crypt stage was a clear stand-out with a mind-blowing close-out by the unique sound of trap king RL GRIME. One thing I really enjoyed about SWF is that it consciously booked acts that covered most genres within the EDM spectrum. For instance, the Mystic Meadows stage catered almost exclusively to trance fans on Sunday with performances by Vini Vici, Aly & Fila, and Cosmic Gate. The best festivals are those that make the active effort to cater to everyone’s taste.
It’s safe to say SWF 2017 was a success. Despite the tragedy that hit Houston a month prior, people were once again united by the thing we all love the most: music. We can’t wait to see what Disco Donnie has in store for us next year!
