Once a year hundreds of people gather in the dust of Wolf Run Ranch to participate in What The Festival (aka WTF?!/WTFestival); a three day festival celebrating the giants of the EDM world. Spread across multiple stages, WTFestival provides a more intimate experience allowing festival-goers to vibe from one spot to another without waking from the sonic dream.
The What The Festival lineup impresses every year, and WTF?! 2015 is no exception. Here is a brief WTF?! spirit guide for what not to miss acts this year
Artist: Wave Racer
Stage: Splash
Time: Friday 5pm-6pm
The Austrian DJ keeps the mood alive with danceable and uplifting majesty. Bursting onto the scene with hits such as “Streamers,” “Rock U Tonite,” and “Stoopid,” Wave Racer is an upcoming talent who will be a treat to see at the beginning of his rise.
Artist: Two Fresh
Stage: Effin’
Time: Friday 9:00 pm- 10pm
Brother’s Kendrick and Sherwyn Nicholls create music from a palette of almost infinite musical knowledge and taste. Their latest single, “Gettin’ Throwed” ft. T0wkio and Joey Purp is blowing up all over the country. Anticipation for their new album with New Wave Records is palpable. Expect a lit up show from the our favorite vibe brothers.
Artist: Keys N Krates
Stage: MAIN
Time: Friday 9:20pm-10:30pm
Keys N Krates is an electronic band from Toronto. They have played in some of the world’s biggest festivals including Lollapalooza and Electric Zool. The best thing about Keys N Krates? They do it all LIVE utilizing drums, turntable and live sampling. This is going to be truly a unique experience and should be one of the biggest highlights of the festival.
Artist: Eprom
Stage: Effin’
Time: Friday 10pm-11pm
Sander Dennis makes raw, boundary pushing music. His tracks are the kind that if and when they hit with you, they don’t elicit a wry smile, they blow your fucking mind. The sound is aggressive, almost masculine but subtle enough to know how to tie itself together in an unassailable knot of badassery. Save your body, hold your mind at bay, drink water then go see Eprom and go mental.
Artist: GRiZ
Stage: Main
Time: Friday 10:45pm-12:00am
Bring out the sax! Bring out the sax! When GRiZ brings out his freewheeling brass playing over his trip hop beats with seemingly endless space for bass drops, you drop all pretension and get your freak on. Known for his infectious live shows GRIZ is a must see.
Artist: Daktyl
Stage: Splash
Time: Saturday 5:00pm-6:00pm
Daktyl put out his debut album Cyclical in April. I was very excited to see Daktyl’s name on the WTF roster because that album is a near genius effort. It’s an earworm that doesn’t loop for your repeat pleasure, alternatively deciding to build toward an unknown and ineffable conclusion. It’s as beautiful as it sounds and well worth a pre-funk.
Artist: Hustle & Drone
Stage: Main
Time: Saturday 6:30pm-7:30pm
Hustle and Drone is a synth-pop band from Portland who have garnered quite a bit of attention in the local scene. Their album Holyland was a resounding success. Light, minimalist and airy, Hustle and Drone is the perfect way to catch a break from the incessant deeper pound of the other artists on Saturday. Do yourself a favor and go listen to, “I just need some money.” It’s well worth your time.
Artist: Sweater Beats
Stage: Effin’
Time: Saturday 9:00pm-10:00pm
Last year Sweater Beats fronted Chance the Rapper and Chet Faker. So needless to say he is someone to watch. Be prepared to sweat! His beats ramp up the BMP’s and it’s always 100 with Sweater beats. Approach with un-cautious enthusiasm.
Artist: Big Gigantic
Stage: Main
Time: Saturday 10:45pm-12:00am
Big Gigantic is a heavyweight in the EDM scene. Unlike some of the other acts who perfect their sound and incrementally by doing one thing better and better, BG is a masterclass in experimentation. You can’t go to one show and think you have the sound figured out. Sampling from every genre Big Gigantic is still evolving from electronic dubstep to deep house to nu-disco. Once you step on the grass though, forget all that because the experience is degraded by labels.
Artist: Troyboi
Stage: Equinox
Time: Saturday 1:00am-2:00am
It’s 1:00am, there’s no telling how your night went or just how lit you might be. Are you ready to hear some of the craziest shit you will ever filter through your e drums? Want a preview of this craziness? Check out his track “Wonky” or the Bass Boosted version of “Do You.” The dude makes bangers and I’m staying up to check out his live set. He’s my dark horse candidate for show of the festival.
Artist: Odesza
Stage: Main
Time: Sunday 10:45pm-12:00am
Odesza is a HUGE band both in and outside the world of EDM. Festival goers are in for a treat. Odesza has already made rounds at Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, and Coachella. Their live performances are absolutely captivating. They played with a live drum line at Coachella, let us bow our heads and pray that they have something as good up their sleeves for us.
No offense to IAMNOBODI who has been putting in work with big time players like Jay Prince, and inspiring comparisons to J Dilla and Timbaland, but the selection for this show is about the ceremony of being at the last show of WTFestival. The sobering ritual of acceptance of memories past, no one should leave before the end of the movie. If you make it through the skull pounding exploration of the genre’s greatest talents, you level up and take home with you something that no one can take away from you. Be there. Celebrate the experience with hundreds of your new friends.
What do we live for? To see our peers reach the pinnacle of creativity. EDM is growing and it’s influence can be seen from Kanye West to Miley Cyrus. Mainstream or not, the artists are hitting their prime and WTFestival is a showcase for this explosion. Though, WTFestival is something of a sum is greater than its parts. The festival is a transformative experience. So drink lots of water, take advantage of the sauna and remember to leave it beautiful, leave it better.