Photo: Adam Danks
PHOENIX, ARIZONA — Last weekend about 30k people flooded into Chandler, Arizona’s Rawhide Western Town. Home to Relentless Beat’s newest, most extravagant, western-themed music festival, Gold Rush. The headliners were some of the hottest artists in the game right now such as Excision, Migos, and Claude VonStroke.
This festival really stood out because each stage was based around a different genre, four different stages with different vibes really opened the opportunity for people to discover some dope new music. I had asked an attendee “How do you feel about Relentless Beat’s mixing genres?” Alice, 23 said:
“I love it because it brings everyone in, it gets everyone who has just heard of these festivals to experience it for themselves, I see a bright future for the Arizona music scene.”
The Arizona scene is growing rapidly and Gold Rush Music Festival definitely was a huge step in the right direction of expanding it. People traveled from other states such as California and even Vegas to make it out to this event.
The stage production was mind-blowing, main stage was a massive structure with lasers that had you seeing colors in your dreams for the next couple nights. The stages were all relatively close to each other and had no sound bleed. Other than just stage production, the production of the festival overall was just as memorable.
Photo: Adam Danks
Actors and actresses dressed in gold costumes pranced around the grounds taking photos with attendees. There was a massive Gold Rush sign decorated with hay stacks, a photo booth, tons of vendors, and a free rock climbing wall! The rock wall created a very unique experience for people who were willing to try it out!
We interviewed three attendees, Vania and her two little sisters–Marian and Isabel. Here’s a little how it went from these fans’ perspective at this all-age event:
Electric Feels: “What was your favorite memory at Gold Rush?”
Marian: “My favorite moment of Gold Rush was dancing like crazy, while being comfortable with the people I was around.”
Isabel: “My most favorite memory was seeing Rezz goggles, that moment blew me away. Never in my life did I think I would see her!”
Electric Feels: “Were you comfortable at this event even though most were much older than you?”
Marian: “People were so kind it made me comfortable to be dancing. The people were insane when they were dancing but I did see a lot of butts.”
Isabel: “I felt comfortable because my sister’s friends protected me and I knew I was safe.”
Electric Feels: “Were you nervous about bringing your younger sisters to this kind of event?”
Vania: “I was more excited than nervous to bring my sisters to this event. I’ve been going to festivals and raves for almost four years and getting them into the music for just as long. It was my dream come true to finally have them experience it all with me.”
It’s so heart-warming to hear these girls talk about their experiences at Gold Rush Music Festival and how kind others were who got the chance to talk and even trade kandi with them. Stories like these are the ones that will continue to bring positivity into the rave scene and society in general. These young girls had an unforgettable night all thanks to Relentless Beat’s throwing a fantastic all-ages music festival and for all the attendees being on their best behavior.
The hype for Gold Rush hasn’t died out quite yet, fans are raving about how much fun they had on the #CanYouDigIt hashtag on Facebook and Twitter. Hopes are high to see the return of this awesome festival in 2018.
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Written by: Nicole Alvarez
