[divider]The Music[/divider]
After taking in the opening ceremonies Friday morning, the music finally began in full. OPIUO and Austero’s side project sun:monx kicked off the festivities for us (sans Austero unfortunately), laying down a soulful funk-infused hour that felt like the perfect beginning to our musical odyssey. The sheer joy on peoples’ faces during virtually every set became a recurring theme for the weekend.
At a festival like Paradiso, a schedule for the day usually consists making a tightly adhered-to schedule of must-see DJs, getting as much in as humanly possible until things shut down at 2am. At Shambhala, that stress of needing to be at “x” stage at “x” time was simply nonexistent. While the sun was still up, the day’s activities consisted of leisurely wandering from stage to stage, making frequent stops at the river, and striking up conversations with complete strangers. As a result, the “festival exhaustion” that sets in after Day 1 of a weekend like EDC or Ultra became a non-issue.
The Living Room Stage became a perfect place to relax in the sun (Photo Credit: Bryce Duffy)
In a word, the music itself was stunning. Wander into The Fractal Forest at the right time, and you’d hear Louis Prima’s iconic Jump, Jive, n Wail blasting through the PK Sound system. Continue on into The Village and you’ll see bass so heavy the air itself shimmers in the sunlight. Double back towards The Living Room, and with the beauty of the river as the backdrop you’ll get music fit for a cool, relaxing beach. The culmination is a musical atmosphere with something for everybody, set to stage production replete with projection screens, lasers, and top-class sound quality.
As the moon rose over Shambhala on Friday night, Excision took the stage for what’s become an annual event at the tree-house themed Village stage where bass reigns supreme. From there, the tone for the weekend was set. With music going until 9am every night/morning, there was never a shortage of time to take it all in. From The M Machine introducing never-before-heard music during their sunrise set at The Pagoda, to Bassnectar filling that same stage so much that some were left listening outside the gates, we saw only the best these artists had to offer. No one has a mainstage crowd to keep the attention of, and as such every artist brought music they wouldn’t otherwise play anywhere else.
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