02 May Kaskade: Coast to Coast

I’m incredibly spoiled to live the life I do, I know. Every penny I make, every hour of vacation time I earn all goes to concerts and music festivals. This lifestyle allows me to see many artists I love and respect on multiple occasions. One of these artists is the DJ and record producer Kaskade.

When I lived in South Florida, I frequently attended Ultra Music Festival in Miami, where I had the pleasure of first seeing the Chicago-native spin his remixes for a neon glowing crowd. It was in March 2012 that he helped headline the final day of Ultra, and I didn’t miss a second of his set.

Just a few weeks ago I had a chance to see him again at Coachella (weekend one) in the beautiful desert of Indio, California. He performed on Coachella’s main stage and drew the biggest crowd for a solo artist in Coachella’s history. Let that sink in for a moment.

But yesterday, SunFest made thousands of dreams come true by inviting the talented DJ to perform on our main stage. Instead of the desert, we offered the sea.

Take comfort fans with FOMO, Kaskade’s show last night was just as spectacular as his other performances. Consider yourself lucky that you could feel the air vibrating around you and the heat from the fire, as you weren’t lost in a sea of more than 96,000 people.

Fire, you say?

Why yes! During his opening track (and throughout his set), Kaskade surprised fans with C02 blasts, rainbow lights, floating fire balls, and breathtaking fireworks. Streamers and laser beams came later!

In the crowd before him, boys hoisted girls high on their shoulders. Flower crowns held back breeze-blown hair. Light sticks and posters waved back and forth before the headliner king.

During his set, Kaskade debuted a new remix of a song between Diplo and Skrillex. “I haven’t played this for anyone, I’m not even sure it’s done yet,” said the massive star.

He later showcased another song hot off the press with one of his “favorite singer-songwriters” Skylar Grey. Kaskade teased the track has only been heard by a “handful of people.”

He also did (what I found to be) a kind gesture of stepping outside his shadowed box of magic and took time to high five the crowd. The youthful group before him screamed and jumped in unison.

Kaskade made sure to play “Eyes,” “Atmosphere,” “Something, Something” and “Angel on my Shoulder.”

Take comfort, SunFest fans. You were treated to one of Kaskade’s great sets. I hope you also get to see him multiple more times over his beautiful and rising career.