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Hangout Music Festival 2014: Recap

June 1, 2014 By Chad Downs

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Hangout Festival dominates as the hottest festival in the south. The amount of activities to do besides music was beyond anything I’d ever seen: dozens of unique chill areas, hundreds of vendors with any combination of food and accessories imaginable, random small stuff like ping-pong tables and volleyball courts setup and ready to go – just to name a few examples. All this and more was brought together for a well organized, 3-day beach-side music festival. There’s not much more you could ask for.

I arrived at Hangout Festival in the afternoon, passing through the slow beach town of Gulf Shores, Alabama, before entering the festival grounds. Upon entry, people from every background and age group were happily moving along in crowds all around me, a comforting and familiar sight being my third trip to Hangout Festival. My group soon heads toward the Hangout Stage to see the first band of our day: Balkan Beat Box – a five piece eastern-electro group, who had the crowd moving in no time. The added instruments, on-point timing, and relatable style made them an act I’d never forget.

I snuck over to RAC to catch a piece of their set. Chill music filled the air as the group performed their signature indie-electro sound. Smooth-geometrical visuals provided a great backdrop to their distinct style. Next was Childish Gambino, who blew the crowd away.

Gambino started right as the sun set and a nice breeze picked up, he played a perfect show that clearly pleased old and new fans like; a blend of his new album, freestyles, and mashups of his older stuff, bringing great energy on-stage with a live band in the backdrop. We ended the day early, accumulating much-needed rest for Day 2 back at Southport campsite.

I arrived in the late afternoon, just before Tommy Trash begins. The crowd was already amped for what we new was going to be the highest energy set of the day – and Tommy delivered; throwing together some of the best big-room and electro-house bangers all into one set, creating a memorable set while satisfying the energy intensity I was seeking.

Next on my list was Pretty Lights, who closed Day 2 of Hangout Festival. Easily the best set of the festival thus far, Derrick brought extensive amounts of high-tech lights, greatly improving the PL experience. Starting out with some simple off-beat soul, Pretty Lights introduced his “little bit of everything” glitch-hop style to the audience, slowly shifting the direction to friendlier, more energetic sounds. The lights – of course – were incredible; half way through the set the light colors shifted to an iOS 7 type-color scheme, adding more life to an already incredible PL journey.

The third day was my craziest day. I started off with Boys Noize, who played an awesome mixture old and new tracks remixed in the roughest and glitchiest ways possible. Every track Boys Noize transitioned to took the vibe in a cool, new direction, making the set one of the most unique and original sets I encountered.

Zedd followed Boys Noize, who kept it surprisingly heavy. As the sun set once again, I heard “Alive (Zedd Remix)” for the first time live; sending a remarkable, colorful, and overpowering feeling over me. The crowd continued to get wild with every drop, giving ode to the final DJ of Hangout Music Festival.

After Zedd, it seemed like all 40,000 festival attendees were crammed in at the Hangout Stage for the final Outkast show. The crowd waited in talkative anticipation as crew members set up a 3D video box that would soon be blowing minds and connecting you with the Outkast story simultaneously. The show encompassed multiple aspects: from slow, nostalgic parts to a giant, naked 3D ladies reaching out at you, to real ladies dancing on-stage. Outkasts performance was a blast form beginning to end.

After the fireworks ended, the all-too-common “aw man it’s over” feeling came over me as my group and a peaceful mob of thousands made our way toward the exit. I couldn’t help but smile in complete satisfaction as I reflected on the awesome, comfortable, stress-free 3-day experience I just completed. Hangout Music Festival 2011 was the first festival I ever attended, and I can genuinely say that the experience gets vastly better each time I go.