07 May Can We Have S’More, Marshmello?
Now that I’m 30 years old (ancient, I know) and have an affinity for all black clothing, most people who meet me assume that I’m a bit turned off by electronic dance music– whether that be deep house, techno, trap, ambient, etc. While I may no longer sport neon sportswear to festivals and rarely get my hands on glow sticks, I do surprise many with my background in IDM and EDM.
Guys. I was born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida. When Miami began to embrace electronica, I was just coming into my own (and had some money to spare). I fell in love with the blossoming EDM community and live DJ sets. I remember going to my first Ultra Music Festival in 2010– when it was just two days long and cost just $50 (!!!) to attend. Ah, those were the days.
I went to Ultra for three consecutive years. I’ve had the honor of seeing The Chemical Brothers, Deadmau5, Tiesto, Groove Armada, Orbital, Above & Beyond, Moby, Carl Cox, Swedish House Mafia, and the Bloody Beetroots in their prime. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have been to Ultra doing those really pivotal years– having a front row seat to EDM take hold of our airwaves.
Ultra has always been an exception, but festivals continue to embrace EDM. SunFest has been very quick to recognize the draw and impact electronica has on our audience. Morgan Page and Life in Color covered us in paint just a few years ago. Kaskade stole our hearts on the Ford Stage just days after headlining Coachella. Aoki caked us and all of our friends.
And this year? We received a very special performance by Marshmello.
What I didn’t realize prior to last night is Mr. Marsh has done an exquisite job at keeping his identity safe. Unlike his masked colleague Deadmau5, all the articles I’ve seen only speculate to the true identity of the man under the white, square helmet. (I mean, it is Chris Comstock, right?) Just a few years on to the scene, Mello has already established a repertoire of original songs and surprising remixes. I know you already know this, based off of the insane crowd before him last night.
With swirling cartoon colors, bright lights, and actual fire balls, Marshmello took the Ford Stage to drive us to dance. His set was explosive (um, yes, literally), well-paced, and impossibly loud. Up on his platform, Marsh man looked busy– which I personally love. There were so many mixes, remixes, and mashups last night, it’s hard to address them all…or even catch them if you take too long to look at the lasers. But here is what I heard:
- We started early with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll”
- Marshmello’s remix of Avicii’s “Waiting For Love”
- San Holo’s “Light”
- “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M. featuring Lil Yachty
- Remixed “This Is What You Came From” by Calvin Harris and Rihanna
- Marshmello’s “Summer”
- Ookay’s “Thief” (My new favorite find. Goodness gracious I do love a good saxaphone-centric track.)
- Marshmello’s remix of Anne-Marie’s “Alarm”
- His hits “Alone” and “Home”
- Marshmello’s remix of “Where Are U Now”
- His hit “Know Me”
- Remix of Gucci Mane’s “Both” featuring Drake
- “Pop Dat” by 4b and Aazar
- “Milkshake” by Dead Robot and TastyTreat
- Porter Robinson’s “Unison”
- “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers
- And a finale of Adele’s “Hello”
What did I miss? What was your favorite track? Tell us on social media! Use #SunFestFL!