The second annual Sunset Music Festival took place at Raymond James Stadium this past Saturday, May 25th, 2013. The 12-hour festival brought crowds from all around Florida, and even some neighboring states.
The day started out hot in every way possible. A big shout out goes to the fans for dancing through the 92-degree weather and giving the earlier DJs a crowd to conduct. They most definitely set the tone for the rest of the day. That being said, I’m going to be moving fast, so try to keep up. Deal? Deal.
First up to the plate, South Florida’s very own Brass Knuckles. They took no mercy, dropping bangers to get everyone’s feet moving. The trio ended with their famously known single “Bad Habits.” Up next was Carnage, taking the main stage. He blessed his “Chipotle gang” with some hardstyle, which surprised the crowd at first, but within a matter of seconds, they ate it all up.
Following Carnage was the young, up-and-coming Danny Avila. Danny showed us why he’s someone to play close attention to. The kid lays it out. Krewella, without a doubt, had the most energy of all the DJs at the festival. The three musketeers played countless unreleased tracks including their Nicky Romero collab, “Legacy”, from their upcoming album (set to be released late summer) and their ‘Krew’ definitely came ‘alive.’
Next, Morgan Page had the mass ‘feeling it in the air’ with plenty of classics as well as mash ups, playing his way into the night sky. Alvin Risk dropped some unreleased tunes that had the crowd bouncing all over at the Bass stage. He surprisingly busted out the mic and sang some live vocals to a couple of his songs. Alvin ended with his masterpiece remix of “Eyes” by Kaskade, a very nice touch to a great set.
Over at the main stage, Knife Party included a ridiculously good slowed down version of Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky” that tested well with the fans. Shogun brought the people together under the stars. The trance family danced the night away to soulful melodies and good vibes. Notably, the Trance stage had the best lights and sounds for the stage size.
Flosstradamus ran the trap, having girls and guys twerking it out to booty bass. Lastly, Dillon Francis started off rocky due to technical difficulties but absolutely made it up with his new song with Flux Pavilion, “I’m the One.” Dilly also played numerous moombahton songs and remixes such as “Like Home” & “Stars Come Out.” He definitely had the crowd dancing and smiling with his mix of bouncy beats and kitty visuals.
The only kinks that needed to be worked out were the Bass/Trance stage noise interference. It wasn’t too bad, however, if you went in deep enough into either stage. And maybe, just maybe, it was tad too hot during the day but the free refills stations and water slides were also a quick fix for that. All in all, Sunset brought the heat and cool vibes. Until next year!
-Christina Santamaria