Where do I even begin to describe our weekend in Dallas…

Meltdown Festival, despite its last minute venue change, was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. Wesley, Hailey and myself were all in attendance in Fort Worth for this event and little did we know what we were in for.

As soon as we got to LaGrave Field in Fort Worth we headed straight to Will Call to grab our passes. Unfortunately we got stuck at the gate because even though Candyland had put us on their list, the gate staff couldn’t find us. Luckily Adventure Club is on Hailey’s speed-dial so we weren’t waiting outside for very long. Wesley on the other hand arrived at the festival a little later and was somehow given an artist’s wristband which meant he could go anywhere in the festival (and bring us with him) including the oh-so-exclusive “Performer’s Lounge/Green Room”, and that’s where the fun began.

The first person we ran into when we got to the Main Stage was our good friend MING. He immediately brought us backstage to hangout and chat it up for a bit. Let me just say the vibe out at Meltdown was unbelievably relaxed. This was probably the most fun and laid back I have ever seen these performers and they were loving it. The sun was shining the weather was perfect and the music was immaculate. After being backstage with MING for a while he took all three of us to the green room. We got to kickback and have a few beers off his rider. Well, me and Wesley did. Hailey on the other hand accidentally took someone else’s beer and has been officially dubbed the “Beer Whore” by MING himself. But we were just getting started.

After watching the beginning of Kill Paris’ set and then catching the end of it, we finally got to watch my personal favorite, Carnage. We didn’t even go back stage for this set, we were right in the heat of the crowd. I’ve said this over and over before, NO ONE brings energy to a set like Carnage does! Sadly, Meltdown was running behind on their schedule and they shafted him by cutting his set 20 minutes short. I was really disappointed in how it was handled but there was nothing we could do. Regardless, Carnage still killed it. He had a great mix of Festival Trap and his new House stuff including Signal (which by the way is everything I dreamed of and more) and Incredible of course. After the set we caught up with Carnage and he asked us how it was. Obviously we freaked out and told him he killed it, like always, and then he goes “Wait…I didn’t even drop Spaceman!” and yet his set was still THAT good!

While I stayed and watched Carnage, our other author Wesley checked out Gent & Jawns set: A lot of DJs talk about how they’ll adjust or tweak their live sets to match the vibe of the crowd. Gent & Jawns doesn’t roll like that. They make the crowd get on their level using high intensity trap music and an almost scary amount of rage dancing. I only managed to catch the last 25 minutes of their set but the second that I hopped into the crowd I was immediately immersed in the ratchet energy that they had already been building up so as soon as they dropped a trap refix of Steve Aoki’s ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ remix, I was about ready to get on the ground and start twerking like a girl in a Diplo video.

Now it was time for Candyland. While Candyland performed we were chatting it up with Carnage and 12th Planet and introducing ourselves to some others big names as well. However, it was hard to ignore how unbelievably hard Candyland was going. The crowd erupted several times including when Internet Friends VIP was dropped as well as Candyland’s VIP mix of Krewella. They played other songs such some unreleased Festival Trap from Carnage and their new remix of Electricity. I didn’t know what to expect from the duo, but I was damn impressed.

From Candyland we went back to the Main Stage to catch Adventure Club. Leighton has been on an absolute massive streak of mind blowing sets. It’s hard to really explain just how hard he has been going, you have to see it for yourself. From Ultra, to Meltdown and beyond, Leighton’s set has become one of my all time favorites to go crazy to. Not many artists can make the crowd go from throwing a party to being overcome with euphoria and beauty. If you have the chance to catch an Adventure Club set make sure you don’t miss it. You will regret it.

At this point we came to our first major conflict of the day, choosing between Zomboy, W&W and 12th Planet. Luckily we timed everything pretty well and got to catch parts of everyone’s set. W&W is an amazing Trance duo (yes, Trance) that won me over at Ultra. I was always skeptical about Trance, I had no idea if I would enjoy it or not, but ever since seeing W&W in Miami (as my first Trance set ever) I have been completely addicted to it. Their set is filled with pure joy and happiness but at the same time craziness. Out of the blue they dropped Hit It and made everyone go insane. The best part is, they have so much fun while they’re up there and it was a great to watch. Hailey had her fan girl moment when she got to take a picture with them and have a conversation. I don’t think we ever stopped smiling.

Just like any festival, it was on to the next set. If I had to pick one thing that truly impresses me with 12th Planet it’s his ability to interact with a crowd and adjust to them too. Personally, I like when a DJ interacts and talks to the crowd (Unless its overbearing like Chuckie). 12th Planet does a great job of balancing it though. He brought a high energy set that was filled with his classics such Burst and he even dropped a little Suave too.

Before we knew it we were heading into the last few sets of the day. As sad as it was to watch the festival rapidly come to an end it was time for one of my idols to perform. The first Dubstep song I ever heard was Flux Pavilion’s Gold Dust Remix. I’ll never forget that moment. So every time I see Flux it hits close to home and makes me realize where I started on this journey in the EDM scene. Dropping all of his classics as well as his new stuff, Flux was on fire! This was the most energetic the crowd was all day and by far the largest it had been too. An energetic Flux Pavilion closed out his immaculate set with none other than, Gold Dust. Right after he hopped off stage he walked around to the back where Wesley, Hailey and myself were anxiously awaiting. Without introducing ourselves he looked at us, noticing our TSS tanks, and said “You’re the ones from This Song Slaps.” Me and Wesley looked at each other and honestly didn’t know how to react. We were in pure shock. We started to converse, got a picture and told him he was amazing and that we admired his work. I couldn’t believe my life at that point. He told us a couple times that he loved the site. It was all too surreal.

After watching Flux Pavilion kill it, it was time for the headliner of the night. Justice. This was Wesley’s favorite part of the night: I should start this off by just saying that when Justice was walking up the stairs backstage to start their set, I gave Gaspard a pat on the shoulder and he gave me a thumbs up and it was quite possibly the happiest moment of my life. But I digress. They didn’t waste any time building up and went started the set off with some of their most intense songs like Stress and D.A.N.C.E. to keep up with the crowd’s vibe after they had just been blown away by Flux Pavillion. Unfortunately I had to watch most of this set from the back of the festival grounds because JOSH AND HAILEY WANTED TO LEAVE EARLY, but that gave me the opportunity to truly appreciate their light show and the crowd’s energy level, which was at about an 11 out of 10. I could go on for hours about Justice, but finally getting to hear ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ live was one of the highlights of my experience at Meltdown.

A big thank you to everyone we met and everyone that came out to hang with us and enjoy this amazing experience. We are truly grateful.

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