“This one’s for the NorCal massive!” The potent words shouted by Kaskade whilst standing atop his DJ setup and gazing out over his devoted masses packed in amongst the evergreens and beer gardens. By this point in his show he had already won each and everyone of their hearts and minds. Every person in his audience, myself included, is mesmerized by the presence and emotional connection this DJ had swept them up in on that brisk night in Lake Tahoe. I certainly had not come to this festival for the likes of Kaskade, who I initially thought of as an EDM stocking stuffer for the main act, Tiesto, but after seeing one than the other on two consecutive nights though, I must say that I was absolutely floored by how amazingly this American producer/DJ connected with this spirithooded band of snowy weirdos even overshadowing the performance of the veteran Tiesto.
This uprising of who would be unknown names at larger festivals like Coachella or Lollapalooza filled out my schedule for the festival, and held their own as Snowglobe’s heaviest hitting acts. Names like Kap Slap, Kill Paris, Gigamesh, Love & Light, Luminox, and more brought heavier sets then some of the biggest headliners. Not to say that headliners like Zed’s Dead, the aforementioned Kaskade and Tiesto, and the legendary Snoop Dogg couldn’t hold their own to these rising stars, but goddamnit did it make for one fun dynamic of music.
Having never been to Snowglobe before, I found it to be a refreshing break from the larger big money festivals while also having a crowd big enough to attract big acts like Tiesto, Kaskade, and Zed’s Dead. I found the whole event to be a very balanced mix of heady reno/tahoe mountain folk and mainstream rave culture together grooving in harmony. The only sour note in the festival, however, was a New Years countdown spent with Cut Copy, who all said played a good set, but failed at making any attempt to make the countdown a special event. The countdown happened mid jam, and the band didn’t stop or make any attempt to acknowledge the event either for lack of awareness or perhaps just deep-rooted hipster etiquette (never interrupt the jams bro). In any case, the Snowglobe festival provided a huge spectacle of fireworks all three nights that was a delightful cherry on the festival’s already exceptional experience. See you all next year!
