There’s no denying at this point that Shambhala has a special place in our hearts. While it may not have the largest attendance or biggest headliners compared to other festivals in the Pacific Northwest, they certainly make up for it with heart, community, spirit and an over all amazing vibe. Each year we return “home” to the farm and instantly feel like we’ve never left. The sense of community can be felt with a walk to or from camp with a simple “Happy Shambs”! Void of all corporate sponsorships, held on a privately owned farm with permanent staging and structures, Shambhala is the model example of what makes a festival great.
2017 will mark a momentous 20 years of Shambhala Music Festival and we’re beyond excited for what they have in store for us. Shamb has always been a festival that regardless of lineup, we know without a doubt they’ll have an amazing selection of music, representing most genres of dance music. This years festival sold out in a record 22 hours, and a month earlier than years past. With the hype circling around this year’s event in particular, we can’t help but have a list of hopeful artists and other wishes for this year’s event!
Photo: Vindaloo Arts
The Pagoda
The first and most notable change for 2017 is without a doubt the demolition and reconstruction of The Pagoda. Back in November, they released a time-lapse of the stage slowly being torn down and ultimately set on fire. But like a phoenix, we expect great things to rise from its ashes. Owning the property the festival is held on certainly has a long list of benefits, and being able to improve on its infrastructure is certainly one of them. Last year’s festival saw some serious improvements to both The Village and most notably The Amphitheatre, and MORE lasers to the now demolished Pagoda. We suspect this decision to rebuild the Pagoda is to hopefully make more room for live acts, and better flow for larger crowds.
With the coming changes to the stage we can’t help but let our minds wonder and have a few hopefuls for this years lineup.
- Bassnectar – We know, we know…Lorin ends up on on this list constantly. And while some would say “Ugh..really?!” We think this might be his year to return. Especially with the additional room created, a Bassnectar set would be great for a 20th birthday.
- Gesaffelstein – REZZ blew our minds last year at The Pagoda; we can only imagine what the French artist could do.
- Gramatik/Griz/Big Gigantic or Big Grizmatik – This one has been high on our list for a while…any combination of the three would be great.
- Claptone – Last year Destructo’s “Sunrise Sermon” went WELL beyond the time slot and was everything we needed on Monday morning. Having an opportunity to catch a Claptone sunrise set would be a perfect fit.
- Odesza (Live) – We love a good live set. Last year we caught a number of them at the Pagoda and with new construction, we hope it’s only a sign of potentially even more stage space for live acts. Having Seattle hometown heroes return for a live set is certainly in the realm of possibility.
Photo: lephoto
Fractal Forest
Fractal Forest is one of those places that’s pretty hard to describe in words; photos or video never do it justice. Anyone’s first experience in the forest is usually met with 5-10 minutes of trying to comprehend what exactly you’re witnessing. This is followed by endless hours of dancing to some of the funkiest tracks around while taking on an all out sensory barrage. It’s hard to really say how the stage itself could improve since it holds a special place in our heart. We love the centrally located DJ booth and 360 degree speaker layout. It’s easy to forget where exactly you are and helps put more emphasis on dancing, rather than mindlessly staring forward at the DJ.
Time after time Fractal Forest has put together one of our favorite lineup of artists each year. While we know they’ll continue the trend, we still have a list for hopefuls
- Grandmaster Flash – Ok…Questlove, DJ Numark, Mixmaster Mike, Jazzy Jeff have all played Fractal. We think it’s time for Grandmaster Flash to get behind the decks and play that funky music for us.
- Giorgio Moroder – Considered one of the pioneers of disco music and behind some of the greatest disco tracks of all time, Giorgio would be a perfect fit.
- A.Skillz b2b Krafty Kuts – Just think about that for a minute.
- BTSM – This one may come out of left field for some, but after catching Ghastly’s set last year, it’s totally a possibility. Not to mention those glowing helmets would look amazing in the forest.
- Russ Liquid – We loved Russ at Funk the Halls back in December. His unique sound and trumpet is pretty much made for Fractal.
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