THE AMPHITHEATRE
Located in the heart of the concourse, The Amphitheatre lineup is loaded this year. We always happen to find ourselves jamming around The AMP more often than we expected, and this year’s group of artists is ensuring that trend will continue.
Dubstep pioneer Plastician is alway an artists deserving of our attendance, and we won’t be missing the Terrorhythm Recordings boss’s set at The Amphitheatre. His label has released tunes from the likes of GANZ and Louis Futon in recent years, while Plastician’s discography speaks for itself. EPROM’s set will also be well attended, and we’ll be there as well. Supporting The Glitch Mob on tour last year, EPROM is gaining more attention and fans everyday, resulting in an impressive list of festivals on his slate for this summer.
The AMP will be getting one of the annual treats that the Shambhala crew also manage to sprinkle throughout a lineup. Stylust Beats will be performing two sets at Shambhala this year, including one at The Amphitheatre. His other set at The Village will undoubtedly be worthwhile, but we won’t be missing his return to The AMP.
THE VILLAGE
The Village: Shambhala’s bass epicenter, where all bass is welcome and adored. The acts to perform at the legendary stage over the year’s are a ‘who’s who’ of bass music, and the group of artists taking the stage this summer fit right in. The easy-to-spot act that has the attention of dubsteppers across the globe is the return of Caspa B2B Rusko. Bringing back the sounds of what is now referred to as ‘old-school dubstep’, the British duo top our list of can’t miss acts at The Village.
We will also be anxiously awaiting Haywyre’s Shambhala debut, after his 2015 performance was cancelled. Thankfully, the legendary 12th Planet stepped up and put on an incredible set in his absence. But, this year, we’re getting excited for Haywyre all over again.
Wait, where’s Datsik? Oh, there he is, in his Ephwurd form. Performing alongside Bais Haus, Datsik will be giving fans at The Village a look at his new side project, which is performing at many major festivals across the globe this summer. Datsik is always a ‘must-see’ for bassheads at Shambhala, and seeing a new side from the Canadian will be tons of fun.
THE GROVE
The Grove is one of our favorite stages at Shambhala (aren’t they all, though?), and the combination of acts performing their this summer offer something for everyone. Last year Liquid Stranger put on an incredible performance, and the bass-vibes at The Grove were one-of-a-kind. We wouldn’t be surprised at all if duo TRUTH did the same thing this year, and we’ll be there to find out.
JPOD The Beat Chef is an easy add for two reasons: his sets, and his name. What’s the point of a moniker if it doesn’t stand out? The same could be said for DJ sets, and JPOD checks both off of the ‘How To Be An Awesome DJ’ list, especially at The Grove. Portland’s Emancipator is another easy addition to the list, but one we couldn’t leave off. The downtempo artist is a Northwest-favorite, and at a festival full of them, he’s among the best.
THE FRACTAL FOREST
If you don’t catch at least some of Ghastly’s set at The Fractal Forest, you might be doing Shambhala wrong. Shambs routinely provides incredible stage and artist combinations, providing for many memorable performances (see: GRiZ circa 2014), and Ghastly in The Forest is one of the best of 2016.
Mat The Alien is another artist performing multiple sets at Shambhala this summer, and his set with The Gaff at The Fractal Forest has a spot on our schedules. He’ll be spinning some 45s alongside his fellow BC-native. While these sets are great, there’s nothing like Funk in The Forest, and OPIUO will scratch that funky itch as well as any. He’s far from the only funky act performing this summer, but he’s at the top of our ‘won’t miss’ list.
THE LIVING ROOM
The Living Room is the stage we all wish we could actually live at throughout the year. Next to the Salmo River and featuring some of the best viewpoints and locales on The Farm, The Living Room rounds out Shambhala’s impressive individuality. Getting acts like Nightmares On Wax to perform at stages like these all seems like a ridiculous bonus. Yet, here we are, getting ready to enjoy just that.
The Fort Knox Five, featuring QDUP, is yet ANOTHER act performing two sets at Shambhala. We won’t ever complain about that, and after catching their four-deck performance at The Fractal Forest last year, a Living Room set sounds as appealing as it does interesting. There aren’t many more interesting acts, though, than Val Kilmer & The New Coke. The Nelson-based artists are an 80’s new wave cover band, playing all of the best rock and pop tunes from the decade of all decades.
Let us know which artists are on your must-see list for the stages at Shambs, and who you’re most excited to see! Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!
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