Recap of Arise Music Fesival
by Sarah Smith
The Arise Music Festival, hosted at Sunshine Ranch in Loveland, CO amazed me with its’ diverse lineup, incredible organization, polite staff, art, workshops, and a family-friendly area. For a festival in its’ first year, I feel that Arise was an incredible success. I did not find the problems that typically plague first year festivals, parking was convenient, camping was easy to access and there was plenty of room to spread out.
The three stages spread throughout the festival represented many different genres of music, from bluegrass to electronic. There was literally something for everyone.
One of the main highlights at Arise was Michael Franti and Spearhead. This act was not to be missed and was one of the family friendly shows that both adults and children could enjoy. I believe my favorite part of the act was seeing Jaden Carlson, a 12 year old who shreds on the guitar sit in with Franti for the song “Yes I Will”. Another great act was Chali 2Na, of Jurassic 5, who delivered a flawless hip-hop act that had the entire crowd moving. Xavier Rudd was amazing. You have to admire an artist who can seamlessly play the didgeridoo at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Quixotic was truly an amazing experience, a combination of music and performance art, such as Ariel artists and fire performers that left the audience in awe.
The Solar Overdrive Stage hosted several must-see acts such as Octopus Nebula, a live electronica band from Colorado who creates a dance party every time they play. This stage also hosted several artists who had won slots to play through a contest put on by the The Untz. The two acts that stuck out to me were GKen-E who literally kept the crowd, and the entire stage, bouncing to his upbeat, all original tunes. Beat Machine, another winner, brought their message of awareness and the importance of being a present member in the community with originally written songs such as “The Ship”.
As an electronic fan, my favorite stage at Arise was the Syntonic Stage, which was hosted by Family Moons. Decked out with a Function One PA system, this stage had electronic music pumping until the sun came up. Although I struggled to make it, I arrived at the Syntonic State at 4:30 a.m. to catch Citrus vs. JustBen, two Denver locals who know how to keep the crowd dancing even in the early morning. After these two finished a flawless show, the Desert Dwellers took the stage to play the sunrise set. With their chilled out beats and the sun coming up over Arise, it made for an incredible moment. It is obvious that a lot of love went into making Arise a possibility. From the art, to the workshops, to the diverse music line-up, there is not one thing I would change about this festival. I would like to give a big thanks to all the artists, performers, volunteers, and staff who had a helping hand with Arise Music Festival!
Photos by Erin Renee
Category: National News
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