Early April isn't usually a time that coincides with exciting news.
This latter stage of spring is more often correlated with post-spring break depression, and exciting news is often masked with "April fools!"
This year, however, April gave festival junkies one of the most hyped announcements, and flashiest lineups, in the United States, with the initial release of Imagine Music Festival's 2017 lineup.
Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Tiesto, Pretty Lights and dozens of others populated a colorful bill from perhaps the now premier electronic music festival in the southern U.S..
Bursting at the seam with strong undercard talent, the festival — set for September 22-24 — also boasted it's "aquatic fairy tale" theme, which paints the festival in a magical and surreal aesthetic spread out over Atlanta Motor Speedway, the festivals unique venue.
On June 13, Imagine doubled-down on their impressive efforts with the announcement of it's phase two lineup drop. New additions to the Imagine fam include festival fixtures Big Gigantic — which pairs its jazzy electronic production with live drums and sax — and white-hot DJ/producer NGHTMRE, who we recently covered at Hangout Festival.
Other additions to the bill include electro-rock pioneers STS9, Claude VonStroke, G Jones, and Illenium, who are coming off a spellbinding performance at Sunset Music Festival (They also play the Ritz on July 7.)
The already staggering lineup received a huge push from this second phase of artists, and it helps return the sense of awe Imagine inspires as an independently run festival.
In the current festival landscape, Imagine's independent aspect is something to be revered. In an era where global corporations/promoters like Live Nation can buy out the largest independent festival in the world in Bonnaroo, these events have become more detached from fans (they also own ACL music festival and EDC.)
The lineups boast the star power, but are more centered around reeling in ticket sales than they are in providing the vibe and fan dedication that music fans would like to see.
Iris Presents, the promoter and producer of Imagine Music Festival, bucks this newly crowned convention of commercializing festivals. By not having organizations like Live Nation, AEG and C3 become controlling interests, companies like Iris can focus growing their festival through engaging the fans. This includes fixing festival issues (water stations, food, stage/sounds issues) as seen by fans, building their brand and homing in on the desired 'vibe' they wish to promote.
Pair this with an already fantastic lineup, and Imagine Music Festival 2017 is a truly irresistible destination for music fans and festival goers. You'll be glad to know that this festival isn't purely motivated off profit either, with tickets currently running for under $200 for the entire weekend.
Keep an eye on CL over the summer, as we continue to preview this polarizing event and some of it's artists as we creep closer to September.
For more info on Imagine Music Festival, visit the festival's official website..
This article appears in Jun 8-15, 2017.