In just a few days, TomorowWorld will arrive in America. For the first time ever, the folks behind the epic European festival Tomorrowland will bring the lights, stages, and full production expertise to Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia (i.e., right outside of Atlanta). At TomorrowWorld, festivalgoers will party from September 27th to the 29th in the tranquil hillside of Georgia.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHF1q1qGuNU[/youtube]
If the name "Chattahoochee Hills" sounds familiar to you, it should, it was the same location used for last year's wonderful Counterpoint festival. While the location may be the same, Tomorrow World will likely garner a much larger crowd than last year. This should not come as a surprise, as the Belgian international promoters advertised this festival as an international event, just like Tomorrowland. But not to worry! After attending Counterpoint last year, I certainly felt the land (which is essentially farmland in rural Georgia) could definitely support more people. Seems that the TomorrowWorld organizers felt the same way… Check out the map below.
Beyond the proximity of some of the stages to each other and to what appear to be large bodies of water (stage #1?!?!), the organizers really seemed take full advantage of the large acreage at their disposal. If you've seen any videos (or any of EARMILK's excellent photos) of Tomorrowland 2013, you understand that the organizers spare no expense in making their stages as elaborate and fantastical as possible. And as the debut event for America, I'm sure the organizers and promoters want to make sure this first show is as perfect as it can be.
Instead of taking the typical, "who I want to see" approach to a festival preview, I've decided to break down my interest in the festival by stage. TomorrowWorld seems to be following the method used by EDC this year to organizing performances; with more emphasis on thematic similarity as opposed to hard-and-fast genre distinctions. Of course, thematically many of the artists sharing a stage will have similar (if not the same) style of music. But some of these planned stages contain labelmates, while others seem more like a collection of friends. Nonetheless, part of the beauty of festivals like this is getting to hear new styles or genres that you'd never hear normally. The organizers must feel the same way.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Mainstage. The glamour stage of the festival, the Mainstage will play host to the biggest names in EDM every day. While this will typically mean electro-house and progressive house, a few trance acts, such as Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, and W&W, somehow got stuck in there. Of course, some might say the artists I just mentioned haven't made proper "trance" in a long time, but I digress…
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Speaking of proper trance, Friday and Sunday will have dedicated trance stages. Friday, Ferry Corsten will play host to a number a number of big acts on his stage, "Full On." Standouts here include Cosmic Gate, Aly & Fila, and of course Ferry himself. The Stage is also a Back-2-Back stage, meaning Ferry will be spinning beside each act, following their style. Back-2-Back sessions are always awesome, as its fun to watch these guys feed off each other's energy.
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Sunday, the appropriately titled "Trance Addicts" stage will see the likes of BT, Simon Patterson, and Orjan Nielson close the weekend out for all the trance fans. I'm not sure how Late Night Alumni got placed on this stage… but I guess there aren't enough downtempo/chillout artists to warrant its own stage. Besides, Becky Jean Williams vocals might provide a nice, soothing moment of calmness in the middle of the chaos.
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I will admit, A-Trak's "Fools Gold Clubhouse" stage has me very intrigued. The stage has a mix of artists, obviously all related to (if not directly a part of) A-Trak's Fool's Gold Records. This stage really runs the gamut of genres, ranging from hip-hop/trap (Araabmuzik) to disco-y indie rock (Bag Raiders), to whatever A-Trak feels like playing that day. Standing at this one stage all day could allow you to hear every genre of music… or it could just leave you very confused. Still, the performances, as varied as they might be, all promise to be great.
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With over 300 scheduled performances, there are obviously a number of artists I failed to mention that I'm just as excited to see. But not only are we excited for the event; many of the artists and performers are just as excited! Below, EARMILK has exclusive guest previews from CODES and Treasure Fingers. Regular readers of the site should already be familiar with their names, as we have featured their music multiple times on the site (and are generally pretty big fans of both). Read on to get a sense for what they are most excited to see.
CODES
I'm heading out this weekend to play the first ever TomorrowWorld and it's going to be fuggin' crazy! With the massive amount of artists on the lineup I wanted to share my Top 5 DO NOT MISS sets for the festival. And don't forget to catch me on Saturday at the Fool's Gold Clubhouse stage from 3:30-4:30pm. Peace! – Codes
Treasure Fingers
Being a part of the first ever TomorrowWorld festival in the US is pretty exciting. It's extremely exciting to be honest. I'm sure my set will be fun, a great experience and yadda yadda, whatever, but I'm really looking forward to catching sets from other artists. Festivals are awesome because, basically, I get to be a fan again. I'm only able to make it out to the grounds for one day, so here's the top 5 sets I'm most looking forward to on Saturday. – Treasure Fingers
Anna Lunoe: One of my favorite Aussies! Not only are her tracks & vocal features amazing, but she's a hell of a DJ as well. I'm very proud to see her become a part of the Fool's Gold family.
Codes: Codes & I go way back, way way back. It's been awesome to watch his career morph and blossom through different stages and aliases. One of the best & most versatile DJs I know. If you're feeling adventurous, you should google our names together. We've done some things.
Breach: I feel really silly for just recently discovering that Breach is Ben Westbeech. Been a fan of his forever, so it makes sense that the Breach tracks are so good. "Jack" is one of those instant classics that will hopefully never go away.
Amtrac: Been championing Amtrac as one of the most underrated artists for the past couple years. Production & DJing are both top notch. He also happens to be a super nice dude. Can't wait to see where his future is headed.
Bag Baiders: These dudes! Longtime favorites of mine. I've been playing their tracks for ages. It's been quite a while since the last time I caught up with the boys, so I'm really looking forward to their set but also some good old fashioned hangs.
For those of us that can't afford a trip to Belgium for the real thing, this really is the next best option. If the organizers bring half the production flare demonstrated at Tomorrowland, this really will be something to remember. I'm greatly looking forward to it. Check out the official after movie of Tomorrowland 2013 below to get you pumped up for the festival.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUhPA5qIxDQ[/youtube]
Make sure you stay tuned to EARMILK for all your coverage of the event, and check back after the festival for photos and videos and our review of the festival.
