Global Dance Festival Colorado Recap

Posted by on July 28, 2012

*Guest post from the FreshNewTracks’ Intern Zoe

One week ago marked the 10th anniversary of Triad Dragon’s Global Dance Festival. First known as Rave on the Rocks, Global Dance Fest started in 1999 at the legendary Red Rocks amphitheater featuring The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim for a mere $20 ticket. Since its early days, Global has been well known for showcasing up and coming artists on the brink of chart-topping popularity. As the festival has grown, pioneers of electronic music such as Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Tiësto, and Deadmau5 have helped give Global the reputation it has today.

This year’s lineup was no let down for the big celebration. Headliners including Steve Angello, Above & Beyond, Wolfgang Gartner, Excision and Zed’s Dead kept the festival alive from start to finish. On Friday, Hardwell, Knife Party, and Steve Angello tore up the main stage with nonstop crowd pleasers and confetti cannons while Krewella, 3LAU and Felix Cartal started fist pumping and shuffling riots at the Global Bass Stage.

Things escalated even more when Manufactured Superstars sent hundreds of inflatable astronauts into the audience and Above & Beyond led an hour and a half long session of group therapy. Wolfgang Gartner. However, remains the most memorable, taking the crowd on a derpgang roller coaster with tracks ranging from “Flexxx” to Notorious BIG’s “Hypnotize.”

Sunday’s finale exceeded any and all expectations by a landslide. The Global Bass Stage was bumping all night with the talent of Kill The Noise, 12th Planet, Crizzly and Na Palm. But as for the main stage, it’s definitely a miracle the sound system remained in tact throughout the night. Adventure Club started it off strong with their hit remix of “Crave You,” followed by Dillon Francis in a retaliating rage against TSA for confiscating his hair gel, surrounded by leaping mimes on stilts and zombie cheerleaders. Zed’s Dead with Omar Linx continued the party until Excision blew the crowd away, sparks flying and all.

Overall, Global Dance Festival is one of the strongest music festivals not just because of the incredible artists or the astounding atmosphere, but because of the fans. A moment of silence was observed each night to recognize the tragedy of the Aurora shootings, demonstrating the consideration and unity that exists among the fans. And somehow Global manages to attract the craziest spectrum of attendees, every single one of whom is there to do what they’ve got to do: dance. By giving a higher meaning to the experience of a music festival, Global Dance Fest is going to a must-see for years to come.

The FreshNewTracks’ team is more than excited for Global Dance Festival next year…Make sure to “like” on Facebook HERE to keep up with updates for next year!

Photo Credit: TekPhotos

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