Conjure your perfect Voodoo with our 5 essential acts [Festival Preview]

The season of spooky is upon us here in New Orleans and with it comes the annual summoning of the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. This year’s lineup boasts a deep roster of rock, hip-hop, dance and indie with headliners including Tool, Arcade Fire and The Weeknd. Returning to picturesque City Park for its 17^th edition over Halloween Weekend, the festival is a yearly celebration of America’s most gleefully ghostly city. NOLA is a historic meeting ground for artistic souls, beloved by musicians for hundreds of years. This creative energy is palpable year-round, but there is truly nothing like Halloween in New Orleans.

Voodoo is an eclectic music festival with something to satisfy every taste. But with over 65 acts on 5 stages across 3 days, tackling the diverse lineup can be daunting. To ease your pre-festival jitters, we’ve selected 5 must-see acts from the stellar lineup.

Australian DJ/producer Alison Wonderland has commanded the attention of the dance music community of late for her haunting anthems of modern-day femininity such as “U Don’t Know” and “I Want U”. Yearning vocals coincide with trap and hip-hop beats to create an emotional and empowering live performance.

Beats Antique is a sensory experience like none other. The trio’s global sound is a kaleidoscopic collision of traditional Middle Eastern belly dance music, hip-hop, jazz and electronic. Prepare to be mesmerized.

Headbangers rejoice! The king of relentless bass himself Excision will be taking no mercy on your dubstep loving soul this Halloween. Strap in and bring your earplugs because it will be LOUD.

For fans of electronic dance music, the name Porter Robinson isn’t one to be taken lightly. His rise to acclaim has been nothing short of meteoric, with the early success of his genre-defining electro house giving way to his debut LP “Worlds,” a euphoric melodic journey through space and time.

Tool is a band that needs no introduction. As fans hotly anticipate the band’s first studio release in a decade, Maynard James Keenan and co. are bringing their dark sensory paradise back to Voodoo for the first time since 2001. Don’t miss it.