Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/30/19

There’s something about the electricity in the air during a late-night set at Imagine Music Festival. The crowd is excited and filled with anticipation. The weather is cooler than it was all day, so the light breeze is inviting and soothing. Then, the artists pump out heart pounding beats that sets the mood. It’s one of those experiences you can’t get anywhere else than an EDM festival in fall. You’d also be astounded how many festival-goers these types of acts draw! Let’s just call it a “sea.” It’s just amazing how many people are all dancing in time! Let’s dive into 2019 Imagine Music Festival!

When you’re at these types of festivals, there are two unique experiences you can have: FEELING the sound up front or a little more immersive over-all experience out back. The photo pit is a totally different experience than when you observe from a-far. Up front, you see all the sights and sounds looming tall, but it really strikes you when that bass picks up and it really is about FEELING the sound. The further back you go, the sound and lights dance together, and it becomes a little more about both/immersive. You feel us? Which would you rather or would you try for both?

This year, we watched several acts including Above and Beyond, Ghastly, KSHMR, and Zeds Dead and they all had something different and unique to offer Imagine EDM lovers. We think people misconstrue electronic dance music as simply DJ work. It isn’t. It’s original and has all the elements you’d find in other genres, just packaged in a different way. Here’s a little about each of the artists and bands we saw. First is Zeds Dead, which is more something you just want to get out there and dance to with interesting beats. Add to that fun rhythm changes and that electronic energy that pairs well with lots of laser lights, you get the picture! On top of that, we enjoyed Ghastly, who we met in passing in the press area, as well as KSHMR, who had fun visuals, lights, beats, and all-around electrified the crowd below.

One of the most impressive was Above and Beyond. Being our first experience with the band, we had heard some of their music in passing or at clubs but hadn’t really spent any quality time with it. We got some and we’re glad we did! It was an all-encompassing EDM experience. Above and Beyond came out of the Trace wave and they’ve done everything you can in this genre since from trace, to dance anthems to even acoustic. Their newer music has some elements of it all, it has original lyrics, swelling dance beats, and everything you’d think of at an electronic dance festival. They’re not just sampling music and working it into beats, they craft their own original music. They have an impressive list of genres and songs, spanning two decades, all peppered a little bit of sadness and a ton of heart. We hope to see them again, maybe even their acoustic show?

With that, it’s time to lounge around the pool on the oversized flamingo float, grab a drink, and let the lights and sound surround you. Can you feel it?