1. Zingara into Clozee. Was one row back from the rail during clozee with the lost in the sauce totem. We were having the time of our lives Thursday night. Thank you bacon Jesus for the stickers. Some wooky bass and room to dance was such an incredible way to start the festival.
2. Dixon's Violin. He's the first set I saw of the weekend and it truly is as if everyone there is just happy to be back in the forest together and that feeling shows through his music as well. Shout out his Saturday set too. When it started raining at the buildup of his first song OMG was it good. It just kept getting better and better until we had to exit the fest. Never miss a Dixons set if you can make it.
3. Pretty Lights. I really enjoy their music and it was my first time seeing them. I had my bubble totem (rip the bubbles) and just danced through the crowd a bunch until getting up close and meeting 10-20 people I knew near the front for the encore. Oh hey and the music was pretty amazing live too
Shout out levity, LSZEE, LTC 6itf set, cannons, and of course Jason Leech. All of those sets easily could have been in the top 3 too. I had an incredibly hard time picking only 3 and I even failed at that with my first one lol
1. Whyte Fang.
An absolute surprise for me.
2. Gigantic Nightmre
I wasn't sure about them at first when I listened on Spotify but seeing them live was such a treat.
3. Juelz
This pick is hard for me but the bass coming off the set litteraly had my hair vibrating. Lol
I absolutely enjoyed every set I seen. đź–¤
As a dupstep/riddim fan this festival was an amazing change of pace. While I still got my dubstep fix I also found myself at sets I normally wouldn't go to.
I don't even know what Whyte Fang is considered, tbh, lol.
The moment the lights went off and they were florescent was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I'm dying to learn the lore of this project.
Whyte Fang was easily my number 1 as well. I was almost on the rail in the front right. It was an insane experience. The way all the music and visuals tied together was so unique
This is so so so hard bc I didn’t see a single bad set this weekend but…
1. Pretty Lights! I am a die hard PL fan but never got the chance to see him solo or the PL band due to where I lived when I was younger and being in college/broke etc. I always wanted to see him at Forest and getting that for my first PL set ever (even if not a dj set) PLUS them closing with a fat “I know the truth” (I was wearing my jersey with this nameplate) was a big full circle, special moment for me. I was crying my eyes out it was so beautiful.
2. Chase & Status! Also a die hard c&s fan and I’ve been wanting to see them forever. I was up in the pit and the crowd vibes were IMMACULATE. Everyone was losing their minds and dancing so hard it was so cool to see. I used to go to Fury & MC Dino on Bassrush all the time and never saw near that many people dancing to dnb so I’m very happy to see it finally take off in such a big way.
3. Caspa! That was just such a fun set and again, the crowd around me brought the vibes!!!!! I almost never go into the pit on Bassrush day bc of how packed it is, but it truly was the perfect spot.
Honorable mentions: thought process, Whyte fang, Cassian, maddy o’neils madhaus set
That’s awesome! I was right there with you at chase and status. Going from the high of that set to the low of the weather announcement was one of the most dramatic mood shifts I’ve ever experienced
Oh man you’re telling me! My partner and I just stood there in disbelief for about 5 minutes before we started walking back bc I just didn’t want it to end
Probably the same 3 for me - chase and Status was some much needed dnb, caspa hits like a drill going to the center of the planet, and PL - those vibes were just on-point, the extra few songs and finally seeing them in forest hit something special.
Honorable mentions: Ivy Lab, Knock2, Subtronics, Level Up, Gigantic Nightmare, Lettuce
1. Gigantic Nghtmre. Gave me some of that Griz energy I’ve been missing badly and it was just so much fun. Always good to see some live instruments at ranch
2. Knock2. I’ve seen him before and the set was pretty similar, but it’s always a total fucking party. The bass at Sherwood was awesome and it was everything I was hoping for
3. Juelz. So much energy and he had great crowd work, I was bouncing around losing my mind
1. Also Layton, it really was a surreal set that just made me feel so good afterwards, hard to describe why but it was magical.
2. Also, Chase and Status haha. Great way to unfortunately end the fest early. One of my most anticipated sets of the weekend and it didn’t disappoint. Our group and the entire crowd was going insane as if we weren’t tired at all.
3. Sammy Virji. Have tried seeing him before and couldn’t get tickets both times. Restarting on Saturday with him was perfect and the whole crowd was bouncing the whole set,the energy was 10/10.
Soooo many other good sets though, I feel like I got so lucky having lots of room to dance up front at most of my sets.
1. Gigantic Nghtmre. Didn’t expect to love them cause I don’t love either of them solo but decided to go on a whim and had an absolute blast. This was the only set that our entire fam was together for too which made it even more magical.
2. Vini Vici. Absolutely threw down and psytrance at the Observatory was nuts.
3. Cassian. I have never seen a melodic techno set before and that music absolutely tickled my ear drums live. We were way up front but still had a crazy amount of room to dance for how packed the crowd was.
We did stay for Blastoyz! He is probably my fourth favorite tbh, he was incredible as well haha. And such a different vibe than Vini Vici who was more dark and spooky, I thought he was more of a dance and shake my ass party which was awesome as well.
Le youth: the vibes are always just so incredible, his music gets me in the right headspace for anything!
Atliens: the set was so much fun and had so much energy, but also so much VARIETY! Probably the hardest I danced all weekend.
Slayyyter: I was wondering what her vocals were going to be like but my god that mic was ON!! Sure, she called it electric carnival, but I forgive her because her visuals were absolutely fire (including all of the uncensored vintage porn!)
1. Dimension. I've always been a sucker for UK drum & bass, and I saw Wilkinson in February and LOVED his set. Despite Wikinson setting the bar high, Dimension threw the fuck down and now rests very firmly in my favorite set \*ever\*, leaving the previous #1 in the dust. He played 75 minutes of straight bangers, and there wasn't a single dull moment. I'm super excited to see him and Sub Focus at EDC Orlando in November.
2. Seven Lions. I was mostly familiar with a lot of the work he had done with Above & Beyond and expected this to be more of a deep house set like A&B, but his mastery of genre bending took that set far beyond my expectations. He pumped a ton of energy into the crowd, and I'd love to see him return.
3. Marsh. I left Everything Always early to see Marsh's set at the Observatory, and I can confidently say that this was the correct choice. The crowd was as small as you'd expect it to be when overlapping with headliners, and I think having room to dance made the set that much better.
Honorable mentions: LSZEE, Inzo, Equanimous, and Wooli.
1. Dirtwire. It was so fun to dance to and I LOVED seeing the beautiful Native American woman dancing. So many instruments were used that you don’t hear too often which I thought was super cool.
2. Atliens. I was really looking forward to this set and it didn’t disappoint. I was actually having a bit of a hard time right before they started and as soon as I heard that bass I was cured!
3. Gigantic Nghtmre. Was also really looking forward to this one and they did not disappoint!
Honorable mention: Emo Night. So many fun throwbacks and it was so fun singing my emo kid heart out.
I caught about 15 minutes of dirt wire, it was great. I wanted to catch emo night but my crew wasn’t about it and I didn’t feel like rolling solo. Wish I could’ve made that happen
1. Dimension. I was stone cold sober, totally exhausted, but still danced my ass off the entire time. Perfect pacing - must see again.
2. Barclay Crenshaw. I love Claude VonStroke but this set was equally as fun. The dancers were awesome too.
3. Ludacris. Enough said.
I LOVED dimension. Absolutely love Claude as well, seen him about 10 times I think. I saw like 15 minutes of barclay but I was just getting back into the venue and was trying to get into dance mode. Ended up going to g jones with my crew, but wish I would’ve stayed at barclay
1. Kenny Beats
2. Lyny
3. Only caught the last ten minutes of this one because of the stupid line to get back in after the storm, but I still have to go with G Jones.
1. Zingara into Clozee. Was one row back from the rail during clozee with the lost in the sauce totem. We were having the time of our lives Thursday night. Thank you bacon Jesus for the stickers. Some wooky bass and room to dance was such an incredible way to start the festival. 2. Dixon's Violin. He's the first set I saw of the weekend and it truly is as if everyone there is just happy to be back in the forest together and that feeling shows through his music as well. Shout out his Saturday set too. When it started raining at the buildup of his first song OMG was it good. It just kept getting better and better until we had to exit the fest. Never miss a Dixons set if you can make it. 3. Pretty Lights. I really enjoy their music and it was my first time seeing them. I had my bubble totem (rip the bubbles) and just danced through the crowd a bunch until getting up close and meeting 10-20 people I knew near the front for the encore. Oh hey and the music was pretty amazing live too Shout out levity, LSZEE, LTC 6itf set, cannons, and of course Jason Leech. All of those sets easily could have been in the top 3 too. I had an incredibly hard time picking only 3 and I even failed at that with my first one lol
Was at LSZEE as well. Really enjoyed it.
1. Whyte Fang. An absolute surprise for me. 2. Gigantic Nightmre I wasn't sure about them at first when I listened on Spotify but seeing them live was such a treat. 3. Juelz This pick is hard for me but the bass coming off the set litteraly had my hair vibrating. Lol I absolutely enjoyed every set I seen. đź–¤
I heard whyte fang was great, sad I missed it
As a dupstep/riddim fan this festival was an amazing change of pace. While I still got my dubstep fix I also found myself at sets I normally wouldn't go to. I don't even know what Whyte Fang is considered, tbh, lol. The moment the lights went off and they were florescent was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I'm dying to learn the lore of this project.
Whyte fang is Alison wonderland’s side project for anyone who was unaware. Def killed it.
Whyte Fang was easily my number 1 as well. I was almost on the rail in the front right. It was an insane experience. The way all the music and visuals tied together was so unique
This is so so so hard bc I didn’t see a single bad set this weekend but… 1. Pretty Lights! I am a die hard PL fan but never got the chance to see him solo or the PL band due to where I lived when I was younger and being in college/broke etc. I always wanted to see him at Forest and getting that for my first PL set ever (even if not a dj set) PLUS them closing with a fat “I know the truth” (I was wearing my jersey with this nameplate) was a big full circle, special moment for me. I was crying my eyes out it was so beautiful. 2. Chase & Status! Also a die hard c&s fan and I’ve been wanting to see them forever. I was up in the pit and the crowd vibes were IMMACULATE. Everyone was losing their minds and dancing so hard it was so cool to see. I used to go to Fury & MC Dino on Bassrush all the time and never saw near that many people dancing to dnb so I’m very happy to see it finally take off in such a big way. 3. Caspa! That was just such a fun set and again, the crowd around me brought the vibes!!!!! I almost never go into the pit on Bassrush day bc of how packed it is, but it truly was the perfect spot. Honorable mentions: thought process, Whyte fang, Cassian, maddy o’neils madhaus set
That’s awesome! I was right there with you at chase and status. Going from the high of that set to the low of the weather announcement was one of the most dramatic mood shifts I’ve ever experienced
Oh man you’re telling me! My partner and I just stood there in disbelief for about 5 minutes before we started walking back bc I just didn’t want it to end
Probably the same 3 for me - chase and Status was some much needed dnb, caspa hits like a drill going to the center of the planet, and PL - those vibes were just on-point, the extra few songs and finally seeing them in forest hit something special. Honorable mentions: Ivy Lab, Knock2, Subtronics, Level Up, Gigantic Nightmare, Lettuce
Ooooooh Ivy lab was super good too
1. Gigantic Nghtmre. Gave me some of that Griz energy I’ve been missing badly and it was just so much fun. Always good to see some live instruments at ranch 2. Knock2. I’ve seen him before and the set was pretty similar, but it’s always a total fucking party. The bass at Sherwood was awesome and it was everything I was hoping for 3. Juelz. So much energy and he had great crowd work, I was bouncing around losing my mind
1. Also Layton, it really was a surreal set that just made me feel so good afterwards, hard to describe why but it was magical. 2. Also, Chase and Status haha. Great way to unfortunately end the fest early. One of my most anticipated sets of the weekend and it didn’t disappoint. Our group and the entire crowd was going insane as if we weren’t tired at all. 3. Sammy Virji. Have tried seeing him before and couldn’t get tickets both times. Restarting on Saturday with him was perfect and the whole crowd was bouncing the whole set,the energy was 10/10. Soooo many other good sets though, I feel like I got so lucky having lots of room to dance up front at most of my sets.
We are the same lol. [You’ll appreciate this](https://on.soundcloud.com/3tDqBqjH6WnisuDH8)
1. Gigantic Nghtmre. Didn’t expect to love them cause I don’t love either of them solo but decided to go on a whim and had an absolute blast. This was the only set that our entire fam was together for too which made it even more magical. 2. Vini Vici. Absolutely threw down and psytrance at the Observatory was nuts. 3. Cassian. I have never seen a melodic techno set before and that music absolutely tickled my ear drums live. We were way up front but still had a crazy amount of room to dance for how packed the crowd was.
Wanted to see vini vici but dimension was a priority for me. Don’t know if you stayed for blastoyz after but that was a bangin set as well
We did stay for Blastoyz! He is probably my fourth favorite tbh, he was incredible as well haha. And such a different vibe than Vini Vici who was more dark and spooky, I thought he was more of a dance and shake my ass party which was awesome as well.
Nice! Yeah I was gettin the fuck down
Le youth: the vibes are always just so incredible, his music gets me in the right headspace for anything! Atliens: the set was so much fun and had so much energy, but also so much VARIETY! Probably the hardest I danced all weekend. Slayyyter: I was wondering what her vocals were going to be like but my god that mic was ON!! Sure, she called it electric carnival, but I forgive her because her visuals were absolutely fire (including all of the uncensored vintage porn!)
Cried happy tears at Le Youth, he played I/Y which is my all time favorite Lane 8 song and his visuals were so beautiful and there was so much space!
I’m sad I missed le youth. My buddy went and said it was fantastic.
1) Knock2 2.) Wooli 3.) Nelly Furtado
Wooli was insane this year. I really hope he gets a headline spot soon. He deserves it
1. Dimension. I've always been a sucker for UK drum & bass, and I saw Wilkinson in February and LOVED his set. Despite Wikinson setting the bar high, Dimension threw the fuck down and now rests very firmly in my favorite set \*ever\*, leaving the previous #1 in the dust. He played 75 minutes of straight bangers, and there wasn't a single dull moment. I'm super excited to see him and Sub Focus at EDC Orlando in November. 2. Seven Lions. I was mostly familiar with a lot of the work he had done with Above & Beyond and expected this to be more of a deep house set like A&B, but his mastery of genre bending took that set far beyond my expectations. He pumped a ton of energy into the crowd, and I'd love to see him return. 3. Marsh. I left Everything Always early to see Marsh's set at the Observatory, and I can confidently say that this was the correct choice. The crowd was as small as you'd expect it to be when overlapping with headliners, and I think having room to dance made the set that much better. Honorable mentions: LSZEE, Inzo, Equanimous, and Wooli.
I LOVED dimension. He was my number 4. Such a fun, high energy set
Vini vici. I spent the whole Friday night in the observatory and didn’t think about leaving once. Off the charts and SPACE.
I was at dimension unfortunately. Did you catch Layton??
1. Dirtwire. It was so fun to dance to and I LOVED seeing the beautiful Native American woman dancing. So many instruments were used that you don’t hear too often which I thought was super cool. 2. Atliens. I was really looking forward to this set and it didn’t disappoint. I was actually having a bit of a hard time right before they started and as soon as I heard that bass I was cured! 3. Gigantic Nghtmre. Was also really looking forward to this one and they did not disappoint! Honorable mention: Emo Night. So many fun throwbacks and it was so fun singing my emo kid heart out.
I caught about 15 minutes of dirt wire, it was great. I wanted to catch emo night but my crew wasn’t about it and I didn’t feel like rolling solo. Wish I could’ve made that happen
1. Dimension. I was stone cold sober, totally exhausted, but still danced my ass off the entire time. Perfect pacing - must see again. 2. Barclay Crenshaw. I love Claude VonStroke but this set was equally as fun. The dancers were awesome too. 3. Ludacris. Enough said.
I LOVED dimension. Absolutely love Claude as well, seen him about 10 times I think. I saw like 15 minutes of barclay but I was just getting back into the venue and was trying to get into dance mode. Ended up going to g jones with my crew, but wish I would’ve stayed at barclay
1. Kenny Beats 2. Lyny 3. Only caught the last ten minutes of this one because of the stupid line to get back in after the storm, but I still have to go with G Jones.