Sonic Bloom 2013 Review

(Polish Ambassador w/dancer)

Sonic Bloom 2013 took place at Shadow's Ranch in Georgetown, CO over June 13th-16th. In my opinion, this event was a great success. Dubbing itself "Colorado's Premier Electronic Music Festival", Sonic Bloom 2013 was just that. Bringing world class acts to around 4,000 people in the mountains of Colorado, Jamie Janover and the rest of the Sonic Bloom crew stepped up the production, the acts, and the vibe to create a community of ragers submerged in electronic sounds.

(The Grouch & Eligh)

I was unfortunately only able to attend the event Friday and Saturday due to day job responsibilities, but was not shorted any sort of party. Attendees enjoyed heavy hitters like Random Rab, The Grouch & Eligh, Opiuo, Wick-It The Instigator, and Dessert Dwellers on Friday's line-up. Random Rab, as scheduled, should have only graced the stage three times. But when it was all said and done, Rab turned into house DJ #1, performing at least 4-5 sets over the weekend with several collabs included. The Grouch & Eligh were new to me, but brought the party to the main stage with bouncing hip-hop lyrics and style. Another new name for me was Opiuo. The Australian headlined the Main Stage Friday night and offered sexy disco influenced, funk/electro; similar to the sounds of the "old" Pretty Lights. Wick-It The Instigator, of Nashville, TN, stepped up the jam on the Dome Stage. Living in the Nashville area myself for several years, I have seen Wich-It grow from a hip-hop/mash-up DJ playing a tiny cigar bar in Murfreesboro, TN to Main Stage festival slayer. Wick-It threw the party into overdrive with less womp than other recent sets I've seen him play. His mash-up style is still very prevalent and had everyone dancing. The schedule ended Friday/Saturday morning with Desert Dwellers playing a sunrise set that put everyone's heads right for Saturday morning. Look out for these guys to begin takeover of the down-tempo world!

(Random Rab)

(Wick-It The Instigator)

Saturday started hot and got even hotter. Fans saw some analog instruments pop-up from artists like YAMN, and the Werks. Both bands brought funk styles with jam attitudes and had everyone moving. Favorites, Orchard Lounge played the Dome Stage in the evening and followed their set by a surprise private camp ground set that I was lucky enough to catch. New-comers Intergalactic Fantasy Safari tore up the Hummingbird Stage Friday night with their dubstep style. They even handed out several stuffed animal party favors to their fans. Big-timer, Polish Ambassador, joined by VJ Liminus absolutely crushed the Main Stage Saturday night. Recently stating that Denver, CO holds the highest fan base in the States, look for Polish to be around and don't be caught dead missing his set. Lazer guided space travel describes his music quite well. Also, look for a new Polish Ambassador side project coming out called "Wildlight". Saturday's line-up was closed out by yet another excellent sunrise set. Random Rab brought the down-tempo, world influence to the Dome Stage Sunday morning. After the last note, I was completely exhausted, yet exhilarated at the same time.

(Polish Ambassador w/Liminus)

Experiencing only one half of the Sonic Bloom offerings, I felt slightly jipped that I had to take off mid day Sunday. But thinking back on the experience at this point, I feel 100% satisfied with the event and will definitely be heading back to Sonic Bloom in 2014. Word on the street is that this was the last year that the festival will be held at Shadow's Rach as attendance is pushing the grounds to it's limits. Look for new location announcements soon.

Thank you Sonic Bloom for bringing new music to my ears as well as solid party favorites to move me!

Love ya, Mean it!