Seven Lions brings a spectacular Chronicles III to the Gorge (DMNW Review)

Did you make it out to the Gorge for Seven Lions’ Chronicles 3? Over the magical day hosted by the Washington state native Seven Lions, we enjoyed a full day’s worth of sets with a great crowd. Read below for the full DMNW review.

Rain the previous night tested the grounds, but the weather held out for Chronicles

The first question on everyone’s mind with a late fall show at the Gorge is inevitably the weather. The previous night the grounds got drenched through the Tame Impala show, but they miraculously dried up over the early part of the day. That being said, the terrace became pretty slippery from the all of the tread towards the end of the night.

There was a hint of fall in the air at the end of the night as everyone made their way out of the amphitheater, but it didn’t seem to bother too many people who’d spent the better part of eight hours dancing.

Production of the Gorge satisfies crowd as always

In addition to the main Chronicles stage, there was a smaller Arcana stage above on the hill by the grounds entrance. Although the production setup of the second stage pales in comparison to the other’s, it made room for a stronger focus on the smaller artists’ music. Across the board, artists who played at the hilltop stage still had a large turnout based on their musical performance, which is significant.

Meanwhile, the main stage had everything we’d expect from the Gorge: huge LED panels, lasers, and fire. Sundown crowned the evening during Alpha 9’s set as they played Rufus Du Sol’s Innerbloom, which was a moment to remember.

Sets from top to bottom left the Gorge crowd with one memorable night

Last Heroes was one of our favorite sets of the evening, and they’re definitely one to watch. After releasing their debut EP in 2020 on Seven Lions’ Ophelia Records label, they’ve been on a quick upward trajectory. Their live set proved it, playing all of their top tracks and a solid group of remixes to round it out. As their inaugural Gorge performance, we can’t wait to welcome them back.

After Last Heroes closed out the Arcana Stage, everyone in attendance filled out the main Chronicle stage for the remainder of Jason Ross. Always a favorite in the PNW, Jason Ross played a terrific set with a splash of everything. It was a perfect transition into the psy-trance trip that Abraxis followed with.

Since Seven Lions and Dimibo formed the Abraxis project in 2018, we’ve been itching to catch it live again at the Gorge. It lived up to all expectations as night fell on the venue.

Photo Credit: Kiah Beehler

Seven Lions wrapped up the night with massive array of tracks

After Seven Lions took the stage following an all-bass blowout from NGHTMRE, the effort that he put into his set was immediately clear. For 100 minutes, he pulled out an artillery of unreleased tracks, remixes, and drops from the catalog of Ophelia releases.

The whole crowd sang along to his biggest hits from over the years like Calling You Home and First Time. Hugs spread all around for Returning To You, and headbangers tore apart the Gorge during Shadows with Wooli.

Towards the end of the set, Seven Lions brought out vocalists Haliene and John Mendelsohn to sing their collaborations with him. Both vocalists belted out phenomenally powerful tracks What’s Done is Done and Ocean, respectively.

Photo Credit: Kiah Beehler

All around, the third installment of Chronicles was one to remember. It was a beautiful day filled with versatile performances whether it was DJ’s, live vocalists, or orchestral groups. Beyond the music and production, it was clear the event was memorable for the whole crowd too. As the largest of the three Chronicles series, this sets a high bar to beat.