[Event Review] Goldrush Festival 2026 Takes it To the Next Level In It’s Second Year Back At Rawhide

Last year after Goldrush’s return to the beloved Rawhide Western Town, we predicted that this year’s version would be bigger and better than ever. Now that the festival has come and gone, we can safely say that we were correct on our prediction and Goldrush really did go bigger and better than ever. The music over the weekend was on its A-game, the stage production was kicked up a notch with exclamations heard about how it really tied into the theme, along with superb amenities, Goldrush did it all.

On day one I got into the groove right away with AC Slater at the Golden Gorge main stage. There he got the steadily flowing crowd moving right away as the stage was sitting near the entrance to the festival and automatically attracted everyone into it. From there I spent a time at the Hideout, where house and techno bumped through the night. During the night I caught sets from Broken Hill and CID who brought the party up to another level with his thumpin’ house beats. After that was the dual main course back at the main stage with Deadmau5 and Alesso playing one after each other. Deadmau5 opened his set deep and progressive before switching things up during the back half of his set where things got progressively more bassy. It was an eclectic set from the legend and completely different from his last Arizona appearance at Decadence 2024. Alesso’s set to close things out was throw of melodic house goodness, his signature big room sound, and singalong melodies that everyone sang along to. His set was the highlight of the weekend for me and threw me back to by early rave days back in the early 2010s.

Day two didn’t slow things down and kept the party going. Surf Mesa brought a mix of euphoria and party vibes to the main stage early on. Valentino Khan followed that up with sexy, dirty house beats. Lady Faith over at the Pioneer Peak was a highlight as the only hardstyle artist on the lineup and she didn’t disappoint with bringing the energy. Next, I planted myself at the mainstage for a bit where I caught fast rising start It’s Murph and his various sounds and vigor into GRiZ who had some of the best production of the weekend as lasers shot out of the stage to go pyro synched up to his dirty and brassy bass sounds. I then had to head back to the Hideout one last time for the first half of Riordan’s techy set before closing the weekend out with Martin Garrix, who I caught live for the first time in years. His set was just as wonderful as it was in my memories where he mixed in classics and new music to really have the crowd at his beckoning.

Other than the music, Goldrush provided tons to do to give the crowd a respite from dancing. From arcade games to an array of vendor booths, the festival offered no shortage of activities during downtime. Guests could find amusement well beyond the stages, promoting the overall aesthetic and experience of the festival. Food and beverage options of all varieties were abundant and fast to go through, making it simple to replenish yourself before heading back into the action on the dancefloor.

Goldrush is a great west coast fall festival with a stacked lineup so if you are looking for somewhere to spend a weekend and see some great music next year, look no further. We’ll see if they can go even bigger and better next year too.

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