Nestled in a picturesque community of a cove along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, the tenth and final rendition of The Garden Festival was all smiles, love, real human connection, quality music, and beaming beach vibes this past July 1st – 8th. When we arrived at the festival grounds in the quaint city of Tisno, it seemed as if we had walked into a dream-like alternate universe with the main stage at the top of the hill with plenty of comfortable dance space amidst the surrounding onsite accommodations.
The Garden Festival 2015 was also equipped with a stunning, cobblestone beach stage by the water overlooking the serene, endless bay of the purest and bluest Croatian waters. Along the dock sat two majestic boats known to the Garden family as Argonauty and Barba Ive. The two giant boats housed epic boat parties everyday featuring DJ sets from all of the participating acts in the main event. Before long, our feet were hanging off the boat balconies, drinks from the fully stocked were flowing through bars, hot and heavy dancing took place all over, and resounding beats filled the calm seas.
As one of the live act headliners within The Garden Festival lineup, Crazy P, put on a stellar performance on Friday night with the all-time classic hit “Heartbreaker” halfway into the show followed by harder dance evoking tracks resonating from deep within Danielle Moore’s soulful voice and raw stage energy. Fans got a fresh taste the following night at Barbarella’s when the group spun a dance-tastic DJ set overflowing with disco and house beats.
The ever-so-legendary Nightmares on Wax also put on a short but sweet live performance with dizzying fun visuals to accompany their unique sound mixing R&B, Hip Hop, Trip Hop, House, and Down-tempo. George Evelyn warmed the crowd with personable stories about the group’s road to fame adding a heartwarming note to the show.
The new house techno collaboration Talaboman made up of John Talabot and Axel Boman did not disappoint during their main stage set on Sunday night. A set that started off with my group and I resting our legs while sitting in the grass quickly transformed into need-to-dance moments throughout their body, energized tracks with intense beautiful build-ups.
On top of the notorious house music mogul, Seth Troxler, Eats Everything was another highlight of the main stage. He wowed the crowd with all sorts of house, disco, and techno tunes including an impressive Fleetwood Mac remix (another Garden Festival trend). Afternoon and evening main stage acts along with the Olive Grove stage acts offered equally fun and quality music for the more chilled out groups gearing up for the wild nights and mornings ahead catered by the wondrous beats of Neemo & Dreemo with the lovely and always-energetic duo Wild Sirenda.
The real gem was in the beach stage where the ever-so-fitting “Tiki Bar” DJ platform overlooked the waters. Daytime beach hangouts, meeting new people of all age ranges, sharing stories, floating in the sea, and recovery naps were perfectly paired with sun gazed dreamy sets from DJs like Telephones, The Pool DJs, James Holroyd, and Lovefingers. Joy Orbison, Midland, and Psychemagik sets back to back all in one night on Saturday surely equaled pure dancers’ bliss filling the beach stage with adrenalin and fancy footwork. Newcomer Maxxi Soundsystem turned up the volume after easing into his 2 hour set with slower tracks like Sylvan Esso’s H.S.K.T remix.
Though all sets on the main stage, beach stage, and the Olive Grove came to an end by 2 am each night, the party was only getting started as troops hopped on buses, taxis, and boats to the legendary open air Barbarella’s Discoteque for hours more of disco, funk, house, and techno beats well into each morning while crowds danced in awe of the sunrise in one of the coolest clubs I’ve ever had the pleasure of going to night after night. The beauty of Barbarella’s was the fact that the DJs were repeated from the main event, but their after-hours sets were all extremely fresh, new, and edgy offering overwhelming fuel to charge the dance floor.
The past decade of The Garden Festival will undoubtedly be missed as one of the most unique festivals in the world, and though it has big shoes to fill, the new Love International series in the same venue starting next year will open a beautiful new chapter to Tisno. The Garden Festival was hands-down the best festival I’ve ever been to with everlasting memories stamped “Garden” in my heart and soul.