Happy 2022!! We rang in the New Year at Decadence Arizona!
We got to ring in the new year with Dillon Francis and many, many, more!
The ball has dropped and we are officially in the new year! Happy 2022!! The last year was a rollercoaster of a year for us here at The Wandering Ear and especially in the music world! We started 2021 cooped up in the house watching live sets on our TVs, longing for even the faintest sound of a live vocal. Slowly as the world opened back up we started to attend live events in person again and I’m sure many people, like myself, are glad that these events are back! There is this everlasting thought that live music could be ripped from our grasps again at any time, however, so I am not taking any of it for granted right now! With that all being said we wanted to try and attend as many of these events as we could and we had an amazing second half of the year traveling and going to so many amazing shows and ended the year at Decadence Arizona!
Decadence Arizona is a two-day electronic music festival in Phoenix, Arizona that brings together some of the world’s best in EDM. This year, Alesso, Alison Wonderland, Chris Lake, Dillon Francis, Kaskade, and many, many more were taking the multiple stages! Those are some huge names that take a lot of the spotlight but we found a really nice space at, The Playhouse Silent Disco! This was our first time ever going to a silent disco and it was better than I imagined! The stage presented 3 DJs all doing their own individual sets, color-coded lights let you know what DJ to switch your headphones to and the corresponding color would light up on the headphones you were wearing! You could see what DJ the others in the tent were jamming to as well which made it fun to see the different types of vibe each DJ was throwing out there! For the most part, we were jamming to DJ Elwer! Local to Phoenix but bringing immaculate vibes and keeping the party going in the tent. Directly behind the silent disco was the Royal Ballroom. This tent seemed to host a lot of house music and we were there for it! We caught the sets of Gem & Tauri, Nora EN Pure, and of course Chris Lake in this tent and were absolutely blown away by them all! The most surprising set from the Royal Ballroom to me was Gem & Tauri! Made up of Courtney Simmons and Emma Montalvo this duo has been in the scene for over 10 years and in that time attending and working countless events and making great connections with other producers! Teaming up with, Seven Lions (who we also saw at Decadence AZ) and playing a set on every episode of his live stream, Seven Lions Visions. We love discovering new artists and sharing their music and are very happy to have stumbled upon Gem & Tauri at Decadence AZ!
We spent most of our time at the Grand Palace which was the main stage this year! When I say this setup was big, I mean huge!! Covering the entirety of the stage and it looked to span as much as 3-4 football fields was a dome covered in screens and stage lighting! This was the playing field for the night’s biggest and best and they did bring it! The night started with a local favorite, BIJOU, from Phoenix was the first set we caught at the Grand Palace. Bringing an intense and high-energy set, BIJOU, was a surprise to me! I had heard of him but had never given him a listen and I should have tuned in way sooner! The night only got better from there with Alesso, Alison Wonderland, Seven Lions, Kaskade, and Dj Snake absolutely giving the people of Decadence exactly what they wanted, which was to rage!
Night two was set and we were set up for an amazing New Year’s Eve! Alan Walker, Dillon Francis, Excision, Fisher, Gordo, Lost Kings, Loud Luxury, Marshmello were going to be leading us through the night and into the new year! We were super excited for a DJ Diesel set but for reasons outside of anyone’s control Shaq had to cancel but was replaced with BIJOU who was ready to bring it for a second night! If you’ve never caught an excision set…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! We were in the thick of thrashing and headbanging with the front rail crew! Hanging on the front rail and going absolutely is one of our favorite things to see and be a part of at these electronic shows! Dillion Francis brought us into the new year and also gave us a heartfelt Betty White tribute! Leave it to Dillon Francis to tug at your heartstrings at an electronic festival!
A lot more besides music happens at Decadence Arizona so if you needed a little break you had plenty to choose from! Everything from Bars, to clothing vendors, jewelry vendors, and everything in between! We made sure to stop by the RAW Rolling Papers booth and snag some rolling papers! What we loved about this was all the proceeds went to a local charity and what’s better than supporting local and giving back!! We also made sure we made a few appearances at the GoPuff Roller Disco! Often a hobby that is forgotten about is rollerskating, but Decadence Arizona made sure to think of it and add it to the bill! Not only did they bring it but elevated it with lights and a DJ performing for you as you blasted around the loop!
With so much to do in 2 short nights, Decadence Arizona was one of our favorite festivals of 2021. We didn’t get to attend as many festivals or shows as we would have liked due to the Covid-19 Pandemic but we definitely got to see some of the best shows and best performances of 2021!
We want to thank all of The Wandering Ear subscribers, anyone who has read an article, shared a post, donated, performed, helped us out in any way so much! It truly is because of you that all of us here at The Wandering Ear continue to grow and get these opportunities! We love sharing music with you and our experiences with you and hope that somewhere you have found a sense of community with us here! We decided to lay low all of January to get our next year in order but are excited for our announcements starting soon!!! Happy 2022!!!