Pacific Northwest dance music fans celebrated in true festival style this past Halloween weekend as the second annual BOO! Festival took place at WaMu Theater in Seattle October 28 & 29. It was a sold-out event with patrons coming in from all areas to be trick-or-treated to multiple stages, top-tier artists, carnival rides, art installations, and more.
There was no end of amazing things to see lurking in every corner in addition to a plethora of actors in spectacular costumes. It was truly a sight to behold as we entered the venue and got to see first hand the fantastic work from Insomniac and the excitement from the crowd.
The Stages
Attendees had multiple stages to choose from over the weekend at Boo!, all of which were well equipped to bring the noise and entertain the masses for this sold out event.
House of Haunts
The overall mainstage presence for this event was astounding, and Insomniac certainly came to play! With multiple screens and more lasers than we could even imagine, House of Haunts had heart-pounding bass that made us move all night long. The massive screen and lighting configuration left endless viewpoints and a refreshing never before seen take on WAMU’s stage setup.
Groove Graveyard
Situated along the side space of the venue, the Groove Graveyard lent itself well to some top-tier artists and some super-spooky graphics! The tombstone shaped screens and decorations really helped this stage live up to the name. We couldn’t help ourselves to the groovy beats of Benni Bennasi, Vintage Culture, Jauz, Kendoll, and Marten Horger just to name a few.
Den of Darkness
Don’t let this “garage stage” fool you. It was dark, eerie, and full of thumping bass. Just what we needed to get down to the likes of Netsky, Rusko, Jessica Audiffred, and more. The key placements of speakers and screens throughout the garage kept the music and entertainment quality high while giving us plenty of room to headbang and mosh to our favorite heavy bass artists.
Silent Disco Secret Stage
Tucked away in a secret corner lived a small silent disco stage that housed some amazing local talent. Crawl under the spider web tunnel, and you’ll be led into the space with your headphones and some super funky tunes. It was a perfect escape from the crowds. We got to see a bunch of local favorites jam out to a variety of different music.
Standout Performances
Sullivan King
Who other than the scream-king himself to come dressed as the Joker and put on what we’d like to consider as one of the best sets of the entire weekend. Everyone was in pure shock and amazement as he took the stage with notably some of the most wicked visuals we’ve seen. Everyone was head-banging to songs like his Ray Volpe remix of Lasers, and Dark Love.
Best part of the set? Seeing this man get up and shred guitar like none other on top of the decks while lasers and fire are blasting out of the stage. No words!
Tiesto
This tried-and-true artist never disappoints when it comes to playing a banger set with all the classics. While we were a bit sad Adagio was never played, Tiesto came out swinging with the heavy hitters like Let’s Get Down to Business, Boom, and even a remix of Swedish House Mafia’s (Calling) Lose My Mind. There wasn’t a single person that wasn’t dancing along; plus the visuals and lasers were insane!
Rezz
This was a very special set performed by everyone’s favorite space mom. The first half of her setlist was a new batch of released and unreleased music. The other half however was Nightmare on Rezz Street, an annual mix of Rezz’s spookiest and most experimental unreleased tracks. She truly brought the weekend to a spectacular end with the scariest tunes and most hypnotizing melodies out there.
With two full days of amazing sets, theatrics, and fun activities, there was no shortage of excitement for all attendees. Everything Insomniac put together was top-tier production. All in all we can certainly say that BOO! came back bigger and even better this year; we can’t wait for next Halloween!
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