Its name is now synonymous with throwing some of the most anticipated concerts in the Bloomington area. Go get your glow sticks and throw on the brightest colored clothes you own, GLOWFEST is here! The wildly popular concert series is making its fall debut and is sure to light up the October sky, get the crowd dancing and provide a break from the traditional college concert. And this year’s show plans on being bigger than the rest! Bringing in some of the hottest artists in the electronic music scene, such as DeadMau5 and Feed Me, to crank out the jams and deliver some much needed bass to the face. While thousands plan to attend, the promoters of the event, Blooming Artists Agency, wanted to make the show more than just about the music. This year any student organization can sign up at the GLOWfest website in order to raise money for any charity they want, and the charities will be tracked in real time on the GLOWfest site. Truly a “by students, for students” event that provides artists that students have wanted to see, opportunities to raise money for any student charities, and a great excuse to rage on a Wednesday night.
The artists in this years line up will feature the artists on DeadMau5’s “Meowington’s Hax Tour”, which includes Excision, Feed Me, and Le Castlevania. All which have been blowing up in the electronica world. These artists are a perfect fit for the GLOWfest festival-style atmosphere. These artists have made a living by performing in huge festivals and now that electronic music popularity is on the rise they are in more demand than ever. Last year after the Little 500 GLOWfest event, the creators decided to let the students vote on who they wanted to see next. It’s no surprise that DeadMau5, #4 on DJ Mags Top 100 DJ’s, topped the list of what the students wanted. His performances have gained popularity by their own merit, and I mean who wouldn’t want to see a DJ wearing a huge lit up mouse head while performing inside of a cube designed for light shows? The DeadMau5 logo can be spotted all over IU’s campus, and it has been the talk of the town. His performance at Lollapalooza was rated as the best at the entire festival, which might have something to do with his new Rubik’s cube style stage design that is made to make the light show more apart of the experience than ever before. It looks as if DeadMau5 and GLOWfest were meant to meet to perform such an epic show.
DeadMau5 will not be alone though, label-mate Feed Me will also be tearing up the stage before the Mau5man gets there. With such dance jams as “Grand Theft Ecstasy” and “Chainsmoker” of his debut ep To The Stars his set will definetly be getting the crowd hyped and into the show. He has also has many dub-step songs that are sure to be face melting. You know that if DeadMau5 waned to sign him to his label that his sound will not be one to overlook.
Excision will also be performing many of his new songs from his X-Rated ep that was released recently. His in-your-face, heavy bass style dub-step is sure to win over the crowd. His style of electronic music is more intense and brutal than many other dub-step artists, but that is the beauty of the genre as it can attract fans of hip-hop and electro as well as fans of metal that crave songs with tons of power and edge, the song “Execute” of his ep is a good example of a more hardcore head nodder type beat. His sound is not limited though, he even has a chiptune song that references the Mega-Man series, “8-bit superhero.” His set will be bringing a ton of energy and grime to the GLOWfest line up.
Atlanta based Le Castle Vania will also be performing and bring his style to Pic A Chic Farms on Wednesday. His high intensity shows have brought him a lot of attention recently as he has grown in popularity. Le Castle Vania adds his spin on many well known pop songs such as “In for the Kill” by La Roux and “F*** You” by Cee-lo Green and gives them a more electro feel, making the listening never want to stop dancing. His original works, like “Nobody Gets Out Alive”, make you want to just get up, jump around and maybe smash something. The rock meets rave style will be a sight to see on the GLOWfest stage.
The electronic revolution is upon us and GLOWfest is at the forefront providing Bloomington with the latest artists to rock shows for the students. So ditch the notebooks and grab anything neon and check out the Meowington’s Hax tour this Wednesday at Pic a Chic Farms. With good music, bright lights, providing access to donate to a good cause, the first ever fall GLOWfest will be an awesome time for anyone attending!
By: Bryan Parks
A big thank you! to Kate Swanson from Blooming Artists Agency for helping with the article
