For years Big Dub Festival has been a name that has been whispered with love across the east coast. This rare, mid-sized festival features one of the most beautiful venues ever, has booked some of the most innovate producers in the scene, and has one of the most caring and respectful communities around.
Just a couple months ago it was unclear as to whether or not Big Dub Festival 2017 would even still happen. In past years the festival’s venue, Four Quarters Sanctuary, has experiencing issues with a norovirus spreading throughout the mountain, which has causes countless of the 5,000 attendees to become sick after the festival. With this challenge in mind Four Quarters and Badass Raves turned to their loving Big Dub family for a solution. After some discussion, action was taken to not only improve the sanitation of the festival, but also to promote an attitude of cleanliness and responsibility among the community. Still, stakes were high, and if the virus continued to be a big problem, Big Dub was in danger of having 2017 be its last year.
Despite this, the Big Dub family was just as excited as always to return to the magical lands of Four Quarters. As the mountain began to fill more and more Wednesday afternoon, you could hear the joy and bliss in camper’s voices as their shouts echoed through the trees. This year there was a cut in capacity by nearly 50%, causing only the most passionate of the fam to be in attendance. The change in volume was a little strange at first, but in the end it helped create an experience that truly reflected the community values of the festival.
As per tradition there was no major music on Wednesday, so instead countless campers explored the grounds, making new friends, and fresh memories. One of the coolest new features that was to be discovered was the introduction of the brand new North Crook Stage, which replaced a previous theme camp in one section of the campgrounds. Throughout the weekend this fresh new playground brought exciting events to the festival such as a DJ battle, a 80’s & 90’s throwback set, and even late night stand up comedy.
The real fun started on Thursday evening. One of the biggest strengths of Big Dub is their excellent lineup curation. Each day flows with artists that match the energy of the crowd at that point. On Thursday people were still warming up, so Big Dub kicked off that night’s headliners with a deep dub set from The Widdler, followed by a chilled out yet passionate set from funk artist Late Night Radio. The night’s main headliner, Calyx and Teebee, started a little late, but it was well worth it for the diversity and fluidness that these two dnb veterans brought to their set.
On Friday chaos erupted as the festival was hit with a massive rain. A couple hours into the main downpour it became clear that things wouldn’t die down anytime soon. Some campers retreated to their tents, disheartened by a night lost, while others risked it all to live fully in the chaotic experience. For many the added stress of the rain was worth it for the incredible performances that it enhanced. Crowd energy levels remained high, and when Doctor P came out he rewarded his enthusiastic fans with a wild set, spanning the width of his iconic career.
But as the festival raged on another challenge surfaced for Badass Raves. The monstrous rain was causing the river’s water level to rise, slowly but surely covering up the stone bridge that connected the festival’s new campgrounds from their main grounds. They were forced to stop allowing people to cross, trapping campers on both ends of the bridge. Action was taken as swiftly as possible, and eventually solutions were found by means of not only setting up a shuttle to transport some campers back to new camp, but also by providing mattresses within the pavilion stage for people who were not able to find friends to shelter with.
The next morning the mud began to dry, and the festival began to regain its usual energy. Campers rose from the depths of their tents, ready to experience the always astonishing last day of music. Things kicked off early in the afternoon with the funk duo Wax Future, who laid down an energetic set filled with impressive live guitar playing, mixed with super phat synths and bass.
Down the mountain campers were preparing for the day in their own ways; some gathered for a chakra balancing workshop, while others mixed and mingled at the super lit Catalina wine mixer. Many people came together with friends, relishing the last of their time at the fleeting festival. Soon the main stage began to fill as hard hitting acts like Subtronics, Luzcid, and Boogie T echoed through the mountain.
Dusk started to close in, and attendees began to have to make tough choices about who to see as the pavilion stage eased into its main lineup. Esseks, Perkulat0r, and festival veteran Gladkill all layed down killer sets, but the real star of the night was CloZee. With mystical grace the Gravitas musician played a diverse set oozing with crunchy and delicious bass. The new jungle inspired decorations of the stage were really brought to life by the world influenced melodies of CloZee’s masterful music.
When Liquid Stranger took over the decks up at main stage the entire festival piled in. It had been two years since the veteran bass artist played on the mountain, and this year he was given the honor of closing out the festival. In his absence the producer had grown his record label Wakaan, and further explored the possibilities of weird and heavy bass music. For over an hour the DJ captivated and controlled the crowd, dropping gem after gem from his diverse catalog, as well as some of the most exciting releases from Wakaan.
LCD Visuals Provided By NEWP
And with that the festival had reached its peak. Badass frontman Chad Bozzarelli, AKA DJ 2Rip, came out for his annual festival closing monologue. He expressed his love for the festival, how worried he had been about all the obstacles they had faced, and how proud he was of the community coming together to take care of each other, and help overcome those hurdles. The crowd erupted in hugs, cheers, and tears as they embraced the festival’s final magical moment. As per tradition, a firework display commenced directly after, this one seemingly bigger and badder than any year before. Countless voices came together, screaming out “Big Duuubbb” in an expression of love and passion for one of the best music festivals around.
Now a couple weeks out from the festival, Four Quarters has received an all time low of sickness reports, next to none. Attendees have returned to their everyday lives, revitalized with a little bit of extra energy from the spiritual vacation that is Big Dub. Already talks have begun about next year’s festival, and ways the community can continue to improve the experience for themselves and each other. With such a caring community, and hardworking organizers, it seems like Big Dub Festival can look forward to many more years of being whispered with love across the east coast, and beyond.
Connect with Big Dub Festival
https://www.facebook.com/BigDubFestival
https://twitter.com/BigDubFestival
https://www.instagram.com/bigdubfestival
https://bigdubfestival.com
Connect with Badass Raves
https://www.facebook.com/badassofficial
https://twitter.com/BADASSRAVES
https://www.instagram.com/badassraves
https://bigdubfestival.com
Pictures courtesy of
©Naomi Marika Photography 2017
©C2H2 Photography 2017
©A.M. Visuals 2017
©Robin Fader 2017
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