Last weekend, the second edition of Hope Music Festival took place in Toulouse, in the south of France. “The Pink City” as it is famously known welcomed some big names in the electronic music scene, and we were there to cover it.
The Festival
The 1-year-old festival took place in the Hippodrome de Toulouse and had two stages in total. Those included the main-stage and the Hexis stage, this year’s newcomer. The festival lasted two days, from Friday to Saturday with doors were open from 5pm to midnight. You might already be wondering where does the name and visuals of the festival come from and what they stand for. Hope Music Festival donates all the profit from ticket sales to children in need through local associations.
The festival offered a lineup that is built around Progressive House/EDM and also Dubstep and Bass music. These genre arrangements included a mix between big scene headliners and young growing talents. Three heavyweight labels did stage takeovers during the two days. Those labels were Axtone, Barong Family and Spinnin.
Friday
Day one was all about EDM with the Spinnin Sessions taking over the mainstage. There, headliners like Ummet Ozcan, Lucas & Steve and Tujamo delivered what they do best, energetic DJ sets that set the dancefloor on fire. In the meantime, other acts like the ones from Magnificence and Cesqeaux were rocking the Hexis stage. It made it hard to choose, but you could be sure that no matter which stage you chose, you would have an incredible experience.
At midnight, the festival was over, but the party wasn’t. An official after-party was organized at Opium Club, where we witnessed a very unique and special act. The Australian DJ Wax Motif performed a B2B Tech-House DJ Set with Cesqeaux and kept the party going until early in the morning.
Saturday
The second day was probably easier from a stage-choice point of view. Saturday witnessed an Axtone takeover on the mainstage, while Barong Family was the one taking charge of the second stage.
Earlier in the afternoon, the festival organized the first Axtone academy event. Local producers and fans were able to meet with many DJs such as Shapov, Magnificence, and D.O.D. Many took the chance to show their productions and projects, and get live feedback from the Axtone producers. No tickets or reservations were needed, as the event was for free.
Fast forward to the festival where Tom Staar got things going early-on on this busy day. The Toulouse crowd was blessed with great acts one after the other. First Chocolate Puma who played a more housy DJ set. Then Shapov who got his fans and the crowd chanting to the most classic and iconic anthems of Progressive House and Trance music. Followed by Deniz Koyu and Laidback Luke who made sure the day ended with a bang.
In the meantime, Mike Cervello and the Dutch Duo Moksi had the same mission on the second stage and got it done as it should be.
Conclusion
If you think the start of autumn means the end of the outdoor festival season, Hope Music Festival will make you think twice. The young festival proved itself to be one of the best ways to enjoy the warmth of the south of France along with some great tunes. With a varied and nicely selected line-up, a beautiful venue and a proper organization, the festival has a rather promising future.
Check-out last year’s after-movie here.