Everyone knows that the biggest New Year’s Eve party in the world is at Decadence Colorado. For many years now, the festival has booked the biggest DJs from around the world to ring in the New Year. This was personally my first Decadence event but without a doubt, this will not be my last.
Lineup
Similar to years past, Decadence Colorado always brings a stacked roster of talent to perform. This year, artists including Skrillex, Above & Beyond, Ilan Bluestone, 3LAU, Marshmello and many others filled out the lineup. What makes this festival so special is the diversity of musical genres presented at the event. Whether you love dubstep, trance or big room house, there was a little bit of everything for everyone. Rather than hosting various side stages for designated genres, all acts were split up between 2 mainstages which allowed fans to discover new genres of music.
Day 1
Although NYE was officially still a full day away, fans gathered at the Colorado Convention Center on the 30th and partied as if it were the big day. The biggest names to perform on Day 1 were Above & Beyond, Bassnectar, Skrillex and Eric Prydz. As mentioned above, the festival did a great job in diversifying the talent amongst various genres to ensure everyone was satisfied. Above & Beyond was up first and as expected, they put on an empowering performance that left fans in the crowd teary eyed.
While Above & Beyond’s performance was nothing short of magical, the best act of the night definitely belonged to Skrillex. The dubstep king has been absent for too long and his presence in the scene has definitely been missed. Decadence blessed everyone who came to Colorado with the opportunity to be the first to see the return of Skrillex. Dropping heavy headbangers left and right, there was not a single person that left without a neck brace. Skrillex obviously played his classics including ‘Bangarang’ and ‘Scary Monsters and Sprites’ but he also threw in some of his new music such as ‘Agen Wida’ and his remix of ‘Sicko Mode’. He even gave a taste of some unreleased music that we have been all patiently waiting to hear. Skrillex closed out first day and honestly no one could have done it better.
Day 2
Finally, the big day has arrived, Day 2 started off with Denver’s hometown hero, Illenium. Putting Illenium as an early performer was a great way to kick off the night as it put everyone in the partying mood. As the final minutes of 2018 rolled down, 3LAU took the stage to ring in the new year with everyone.
However, the performance of the night (if not the entire festival) belonged to Ilan Bluestone. Ilan took the stage right before 3LAU and what a majestic performance he put on. The trance legend played everything you would hope to hear from his personal hits including ‘Frozen Ground’ and ‘Will We Remain?’ to some of the classics produced by his colleagues at Anjunabeats, Ilan Bluestone played it all. But the most impressive component of his performance wasn’t because he played a handful of hit songs, it was the mastery of his mixing all while taking the crowd on an unforgettable journey that made his performance so incredible. Ilan will be announcing a world tour soon so be sure to look out for an opportunity to catch his set in the near future.
The Experience
Besides that of the music, what made the festival experience so incredible was the people of Denver. It has been a while since I have attended an event where everyone was so united for the sole purpose of living in the music. No matter who the artist was performing, everyone was so incredibly friendly and passionate about the music, it was indescribable. I can not wait to return to Denver to party with the Colorado crowd once again.
In addition to the crowd, the accessibility to water was also another impressive aspect to the festival. Unlike other festivals, the venues water stations were extremely convenient and easily accessible. The ample amount of water stations allowed lines to be short which allowed attendees to quickly get water and return to the music.
Final Remarks
Overall, Decadence Colorado exceeded all expectations and was no question a magical way to ring in the new year. No matter where you are in the world, consider flying in to Denver for next year’s Decadence as it may just very well be the best NYE experience of your lives.