Better Together, Relentless Beats‘ newest festival in Arizona had its debut event last weekend at Rawhide Event Center featuring a stacked lineup of house music’s biggest names which included Disclosure, Kaytranada, Fisher, Carl Cox, and more. With a lineup like that you expect big things and boy, did the festival deliver.
On night one, the party got started early with Spencer Brown taking the crowd through a melodic journey and set the mood for the rest of the night. Neil Frances came up next throwing down a funky DJ set featuring some of the group’s biggest tunes and some other groovy songs to mix things up. The party continually ramped up through the night and that led into WhoMadeWho playing a hybrid set with some live vocals of their songs and then mixing in DJing. It was a nice change of pace after the first two sets and leading into the rest of the nights. The king Carl Cox came on next and threw down a heavy techno set for the next hour. The energy throughout the set was palpable and the dancing never stopped. Disclosure then brought the party featuring an eclectic mix of groove, disco, and their own songs. “Latch” was a crowd favorite and got everyone singing along. Tiesto then closed the night, and with a high level where the production ramped up with a slew of lasers being thrown on during the set which frenzied up the crowd. His set was a departure from what you may have thought from him and he brought the roof down with a heavy house set with lots of energy.
Night two continued to bring the party with a slew of artists that deviated from the previous night. Channel Tres played his signature hip-hop infused house sound along with Kaytranada who was the crowd favorite of the night, with his large backlog of radio-friendly and dancey songs. The crowd was singing along throughout his set and he brought the rhythm the entire time. His energy was unmatched and the crowd really went along with it. Between those two sets, Bonobo played a gritty DJ set that was made for the club but translated to the larger warehouse stage. Black Coffee was the penultimate set of the night where he sent the crowd through a journey of afrohouse beats. It was a soulful 90 minute set which the crowd melted into. Finally, Fisher closed out the weekend with a party of a set. The Aussie DJ threw down banger after banger and left the crowd wanting more after the night was over, but alas, that was it.
Overall, the event exceeded all of my expectations. Other than the music, my favorite part was the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. It was one of the best crowds I have been in this year and the artists who were at the event really played into it for maximum effect. The venue and the production were also great. The midsize warehouse was the perfect backdrop for this group of artists who all played their hearts out. This is a festival that I hope becomes a signature event for Relentless Beats. Everyone there was into the event and is one I can see continuing to draw great crowds like this. For now, we will be patiently waiting to hear news about any future similar events from the producer and reminisce on the memories from this cherished weekend.
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