Middlelands Reawakened Our Love of Music Festivals [Event Review]

In light of recent events of Middlelands most likely needing to move to a new location, we wanted to get this review out to remind everyone that while we come across situations like this, it definitely doesn’t cheapen the experience, nor does it make the memories we made any less magical. Insomniac brought their very first Renaissance themed festival to the Todd Mission Renaissance Festival Grounds in Todd Mission, Texas. Thousands of fellow ravers flew in for four days of camping and three days of incredible electronic music. The venue was prebuilt, allowing Insomniac and C3’s team to don different areas with all the right festival touches.

The first night after we finished setting up camp, we explored the Conqueror’s Court. One side was lined with multiple food vendors (the pizza was pretty bomb), water stations, and a little daiquiri store that we really fell in love with. We got to get a taste of music before the first festival day with the Bassrush Pre-Party. We were given a pretty stacked lineup with Madhatter, Carlyle, Tim Gunter, Space Jesus, Crizzly, and then 12th Planet finishing off the night. They satisfied our live music craving, for the time being, but many campers were way to excited to sleep and either collected at campsites or the huge bonfire in the court to share stories and keep warm.

For those that yearned for more, they could opt for a taxi bike or walk out to the sound camps. Here, everyone had their own camp with DJ booths, or domes, where they could play their music well into the morning. There was a lot of variety, varying from dubstep, house, techno, and even a psy-trance bike. People could sit and relax or stand and dance with their friends until they were ready to finally give into rest. This area of the campgrounds was really special because people could reserve spots to throw down their tracks and every set was intimate because you would be literally inches from the performer. Every night there was someone new playing a set at each camp, so there was always someone to see after the headliners finished inside the festival grounds and the Night Owl After Parties ended.

While everyone waited for the gates to open in the afternoon, there was plenty to do in the Conqueror’s Court. You could grab a bite to eat, play archery dodgeball, practice your yoga, or battle it out inside of giant bubbles against the other team. There was an arts and crafts tent complete with: making your own challace, a kandi making station, and tye dye. You could charge your phone while checking out the shops filled with all kinds of middle aged gear and spoils. There was plenty to do and explore but once the clock struck three, everyone started heading in.

In every direction, there was something to experience. Face Painting, Caricatures, Jesters, a Puppet DJ, and performers donned in various Renaissance themed characters. The smell of turkey legs wafted through the air, making it near impossible to not satisfy a medieval hunger. The grounds were massive, and separated the stages into three separate areas. Each one commanded your attention with amazing visuals and equally talented artists to pull you in.

Day one had an incredible schedule to start with artists like Sirus Hood, Will Clarke, Getter, AC Slater, Bro Safari, Major Lazer, Gramatik and more. We started off at the Trinity Vale stage, a more intimate set within a miniature castle lined with knight shields. There were multiple platforms to shuffle on and a front area where you could get really close to the artist. We kicked off our first day with Sirus Hood, showing off his flavor of house music, creating an infectious dance party. We found ourselves coming back later that night for another Dirtybird favorite, Will Clarke. Everyone entering the festival or moving on to one of the other stages kept getting sucked into his set. He had us grooving to tracks like “House Girl”, “Can You Funk”, and “Give it To Me”.

After receiving our house fix, we headed over to the Middlelands Arena, a large coliseum stage with descending grassy hills. Large block letters spelled out Middlelands and the stage lined with lights and a huge screen to create an unforgettable visual experience. The area for this stage was massive so there was plenty of room to dance, chill, and enjoy your favorite acts. Next on the agenda was Getter, one of our favorite dubstep heavy hitters. He got the crowd hyped with some of his biggest tracks like “Rip N Dip” and his newest release “Inhalant Abuse” before leading the crowd into an emotional riot with My Chemical Romance’s “Helena” before shredding back into his beats.

After we got our feelings in check and heads back onto our necks, we headed over to The Stronghold. Here there was a large gravel pit, plenty of room for all those bass lovers to break their necks. The stage was donned with large screens and long drapery on each side with a classic renaissance art design. Bro Safari brought everyone in with for a head bangers dream. He slayed the decks with his signature sound mixing  trap, drum and bass, and dubstep. Before our heads fell off all together, we headed back over to Trinity to catch some of AC Slater. The king of Night Bass played his originals as well as other house singles such as Red Lights’ “Gold Teeth” and Hannah Wants and Chris Lorenzo’s “Rhymes”.

The house was good, but it came time to choose between the last three closing acts, Gramatik, Major Lazer, and NGHTMRE. One of us went with Gramatik at the Middlelands Arena and the other headed over to Major Lazer at the main stage, Castle Northwoods.  Gramatik was amazing, and as we predicted, we got our Big Grizmatik wish with Big G on the piano the whole set and Griz coming on for their latest track release “As We Proceed”. The set was damn near perfection with all the funk one could ask for.  Major Lazer provided a completely different musical experience, but still fantastic nonetheless.  The award-winning producers had the audience shaking their hips to the originals, “Get Free”, “Lean On”, and “Cold Water”. The knight’s helmet-shaped stage was tucked away behind a cluster of trees that lit up under the night sky, which couldn’t have been more ideal when Major Lazer dropped their commercial friendly hit, “Light It Up”.

Day two was instantly off to a great start as headliners were grinning from ear to ear, greeting one another with “Happy Nectar Day”!  It was indeed a happy day as many standout performances took place. Artists such as BlackGummy, Taiki Nulight, Seven Lions, Alison Wonderland, Griz, and Bassnectar left their mark on the inaugural festival.  The first act on our schedule was BlackGummy at our favorite intimate stage, Trinity Vale. The mau5trap power player delivered a deliciously dark set with “Plucking Technology” and buMMer & Garruk’s “Hijacked”. Trinity Vale had captured our hearts and our feet. We couldn’t walk away or quit shuffling, and we are so glad we stayed because Mr. Taiki Nulight blew us away. The talented UK based producer blessed us with his unique hybrid sound, delivering a taste of UK Garage, bass, and house music.

Next on our roster was the king of genre-blending, Jeff Montalvo, a.k.a. Seven Lions. He effortlessly straddled the lines between dubstep, psytrance, and melodic bass within his one hour set. He tore down the coliseum with his mash up of Above & Beyond’s “Another Chance” and Porter Robinson’s “Language”, leaving the crowd in complete awe while beautiful soothing visuals surrounded the Arena. His set list also included Kill The Noise’s “Run” remix, “Higher Love” with Jason Ross, psy favorite “Lucy”, and the “Falling Away” festival mix. Seven Lions also premiered new music from his upcoming ‘Where I Won’t Be Found’ EP, including “Rescue Me” with Unlike Pluto, “Silent Skies” with KARRA, and “Freesol” with Skyler Stonestreet.

We concluded the second night with the bass god himself, Bassnectar. From the airport to the festival grounds, it was apparent who attendee’s were there for and we also wanted a piece of the Nectar experience. His set provided all the head-banging goodness we needed to end the night, dropping “Shampion Chip”, Ponicz’ “Pump This”, and “Interlock” with ATLiens.

Day three brought the likes of Bijou, Kristian Nairn, Christian Martin, Ephwurd, Delta Heavy, Illenium, Kaskade, and more.  We kicked off our final day in true renaissance style with Kristian Nairn a.k.a. Hodor from Game of Thrones.  Kristian went medieval at Castle Northwoods with a groove-filled house set, throwing down Tom Staar & Corey James’ “Bird Flu”, Jack Wins’ “25 Hours (Full House Mix), and Chuckie & The Cube Guys’ “Twisted”.  We followed Hodor’s set with the drum and bass sounds of Delta Heavy at The Stronghold.  Delta Heavy had the crowd going wild with “Get With The Program”, “Ghost”, and the song that had us eagerly running to the stage, “Bar Fight”.

Our highlight of the weekend was Illenium’s emotionally charged set, as he took us on a full melodic journey with his live show.  Captivating scenic images of mountains, oceans, and skies flashed behind him as his melodic music filled the coliseum. The audience was entranced by his originals, “Rush Over Me” with Seven Lions & Said The Sky, “Afterlife”,”It’s All On U”, and his unreleased track, “Crawl Out Of Love”.  He also played his remixes of Kill Paris’ “Operate” and The Chainsmokers’ “Don’t Let Me Down”. This was a special moment for many in the crowd, including our rave family. Headliners came together and swayed in unison to the sweet sounds of Illenium and it was beautiful.

We concluded the weekend with our long-time favorite producer, Kaskade, as he took over Castle Northwoods.  The stage’s vibrant colors floated above the crowd and into the trees while Kaskade allured us with “Move For Me” with Deadmau5 and “Angel On My Shoulder”.  He closed the set with “Reload” vs “Eyes”, while pyrotechnics and confetti flew into the Todd Mission night sky for a proper grand finale.

The inaugural Middlelands festival was everything we could’ve asked for and more. From the location, stage production, camping, and overall vibes, everything was on point. It truly reawakened our love of music festivals. We would like to thank Insomniac and C3 Presents for allowing us to be a part of Middlelands history. Although we are not sure about Middlelands fate for 2018, in Pasquale we trust, and we would highly recommend our readers to attend upon it’s return!

Co-Author: Tori Matthews

Connect with Middlelands:
https://www.facebook.com/Middlelands
https://twitter.com/Middlelands
https://www.instagram.com/middlelandsfest
http://www.middlelands.com

---

Share On