Florida has a lot of two things: outdoor music festivals and intense thunderstorms. Quite often, these two things occur at the exact same time. Thus it was that the entire week leading up to Wynwood Fear Factory 2017 was pristine, but the kickoff day was a deluge. Believe it or not, a Tropical Depression (Philippe) formed out of nowhere and traveled right up into South Florida during the festival’s first day. Needless to say this lead to major hiccups, but the festival did everything it could to keep the beats going and give the people the party they wanted.
Wynwood Fear Factory is an awesome little festival because it brings in top level production and a solid lineup, but just one stage to keep it simple. The RC Cola Plant grounds provide enough space for “scare attractions” and 2 VIP decks as well. The rain affected things from the get-go, delaying the gate opening and then adjusting the set times. The rain forced both Oliver Heldens and Fedde Le Grand to cancel Saturday and move to Sunday. This shifted the entire schedule around as Porter’s slot was moved earlier (likely due to the rain forecast) and Cedric Gervais moved to the closing slot. To compensate, all Saturday attendees were given free Sunday tickets.
Despite the on-off bouts of very heavy rain, the fans mostly soldiered on in ponchos. While many festivals might have stopped momentarily to wait it out, this forecast was not letting up so neither was the music. Andrew Rayel, The M Machine, Porter Robinson, and Cedric Gervais pumped out extra special sets because they knew the fans were out there in the storm.
In stark contrast with the difficult day 1, the weather on Sunday could not have been any more perfect. Not only that, but the lineup swelled with the rare (if only) Oliver Heldens b2b Fedde set that got added to make up for Saturday. This was in addition to DJ Snake, Yellow Claw, 3LAU and more. While rain during festivals is unfortunate (ask TomorrowWorld), Wynwood Fear Factory managed to pull it off and keep the fans happy. Although Miami is stacked during the Spring, Wynwood Fear Factory is becoming Miami’s staple event for the Fall. Don’t miss your chance next year and be on the lookout for Diskolab Events as they will once again host a blockbuster lineup of Miami Music Week events in Spring.