At home beneath the lights (TICKET GIVEAWAY!)
... because it's always festival season in this house
A theme I always come back to in writing is the search for home.
My entire life, I’ve sought a sense of permanence from spaces and people that have only underscored the transience of absolutely everything. I’ve lived in Philly for six years… in five different apartments. Had friends whom I’d considered my best vanish without a word. And so I’ve learned to make a home in ephemerality. Piece together the comfort one might derive from four good walls in experiences that make me feel safe and loved.
Electric Zoo hugged me tight. It was 2013. I’d just graduated college and grown close with a range of people from different crews who all shared one pulsing, omnipresent interest: electronic dance music. Everything from Madeon to Excision, our parties centered on exploring the different sounds one could create with a computer, and how hard you could head-bang without getting whiplash. Before I really went down the rabbit hole, I was the observer. Scared, drug-free, peripheral, taking notes on what it’d be like to live outside my own head.
Everyone looked so free. Could I be free, too?
Two of my friends, Mike and Eddie, proposed we make the trek to New York City to see some of our favorite artists live. Taking the ferry to Randall’s Island, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I was clad in neon: a hot pink crop top and highlighter yellow Nike Pro shorts. I felt like a real EDM girl. And until that point, I had never really felt like much of an anything girl. It was dark by the time we arrived on the scene and Knife Party was raging. But when we slipped into the crowd for Avicii and heard “Levels” in an era that was all but defined by “Levels,” I was done. It was all in on this life, chasing lasers.
Where other genres remain static fixtures of my life (I still listen to Led Zeppelin daily), dance music evolves with me. With us. We got our first kicks off generic, big room acts like Hardwell. Graduated on to the trap stylings of Bro Safari and RL Grime. Got lost in the sauce following Derek Vincent Smith up and down the East Coast. Found inexplicable weirdness at 2 AM Tipper sets. Decided to become house snobs the second we heard “Okay” by Shiba San (oh, the innocence). Etc., etc.
The rave experience is part of what makes dance music an enduring global phenomenon. Festivals, shows, clubs, warehouse parties—the atmosphere determines how we consume different sub-genres and BPM. The level of interconnectedness in a crowd. It’s a privilege to witness each therapeutic iteration unfold.
This year, HiJinx Festival has invited me to their fourth installment in Philly, December 29-30.
My first real media pass? For a festival I’ve attended and loved? Say less. And some of my all-time favorite artists are playing to boot. The ones who’ve been integral to the feeling of home I’ve found in dance music over the years. Griz! Flume! Rezz! I can’t contain myself.
And better yet, I get to share this experience with you… and a friend!
Yes, they’ve entrusted me with coverage and a ticket giveaway. All you have to do to enter is follow both me (@brokebutmoisturized) and HiJinx Festival (@hijinxfest) on Instagram and tag a friend in the comments under this post. Get your platform shoes and pashminas ready, loves. We’re microdosing New Year’s Eve.
Tickets delivered electronically week of show (name, email, & cell required). Must be 18+ to attend, 21+ to drink. Travel and lodging not included.