The Gorge Amphitheatre is a one-of-a-kind venue, and when Paradiso Festival is held there this summer, the experiences will be similarly unique. We’ve been treated to a bevvy of beautiful moments from a wide variety of artists in the past, and a very high-standard has been set for all Paradiso performances; including debuts. When the artist delivers, The Gorge does the rest, and the perfect festival atmosphere is abundant.
When artists make their debuts at The Gorge, much like a fan’s first trip, it’s not quickly forgotten. Many have spoken of their first forays on stage at the revered venue, where lifelong memories are created.
Paradiso quickly became the premier summer dance music festival in Washington, attracting many well-known and adored artists from around the world. In it’s fifth iteration, Paradiso has developed an impressive list of past performers, with many new names added each year. This year is no different, with dozens of fresh faces making their Paradiso debuts at The Gorge this summer.
We sifted through the annual amazingness that is the Paradiso lineup, and found some debuts we’re looking forward to a little more than the rest. Like many of our wonderful Northwest festivals, you can’t go wrong with random stage selections at any time at Paradiso, but we can’t get through the long wait until ‘Diso without some daydreaming.
Big Time Debuts
The B2B trend that USC Events we’re happily enjoying on a regular basis is continued at Paradiso 2016, and in the best ways. While Caspa won’t be making his debut, performing alongside Rusko for his, while doing in B2B, is more than noteworthy. The duo’s list of summer festival performances is long, and we’re happy to have a couple chances to catch Caspa B2B Rusko in the Northwest this year.
RL Grime is can’t miss action everywhere he performs, and the fact that it took this long for his Paradiso debut is surprising. But, it’s here now, and we will be there when he throws down what will undoubtedly be one of the best sets of the festival.
Trance duo Cosmic Gate are Northwest favorites, and Seattle Trance Family won’t be missing their set this summer. The German’s will be joined by fellow trance mainstays Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz, who will be performing as the more progressive/electro-leaning New World Punx for the first time at Paradiso. Both duos are legendary DJs, and if past Northwest festival performances are any indicator, fans of trance and beyond will greatly enjoy their sets.
https://soundcloud.com/newworldpunx/echostagedc2014part1
Beautiful Bass
The bass is bountiful at Paradiso 2016. 12th Planet, Excision, Datsik and more are showing the world what Northwest bassheads are all about. On top of his solo performance, Datsik will be performing alongside buddy Bais Haus as collaborative project Ephwurd, which has a busy festival season schedule this year.
If you were hoping to get a set from Terravita at Shambhala this year, as we all were, their Paradiso performance is as great a consolation prize as possible. Consistently stealing the show when they perform alongside the biggest names, Terravita is an easy addition to the ‘Can’t Miss’ list for all fans of bass.
New School Beats
Alison Wonderland’s live-sets and original tunes are all over our mp3 players, and they will be on repeat up-to and long-after we witness her wonderful skills at The Gorge. Her future is as bright as any artist in dance music, and we’re excited to see what she does with the atmosphere Paradiso provides.
A debut that will have as big a crowd as any, Los Angeles-native Jauz‘s set this summer is something worth showing up early for. His live-sets are in our playlists year-round, and we’re ready to add some local festival memories to the list of reasons we love Jauz. In the same vein, Illenium’s inclusion in the Paradiso 2016 lineup has us as excited as any artist listed. Illenium’s latest work, Ashes, is one of our favorite releases of 2016, and hearing those songs live at The Gorge is something we won’t miss.
We’ve also been big fans of Toronto’s Hunter Siegel for a long time, and the fact that he’s finally playing Paradiso is somewhat surreal. Hunter Siegel was creating deep house before it was called deep house, but he’s far from bound to one genre or sound. He’s worked with dance music greats like Omar Linx, Wax Motif, and Zeds Dead, and we’ll be in attendance for his ‘Diso debut this summer.
Let us know who you’re most excited to see for the first time at Paradiso this summer! Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!
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Born and raised in the Northwest, professionalized in Pullman. Enjoying the ride that dance music provides in our lovely corner of the country.
