Happy New Year's to all of our fellow ravers in the universe! If you're reading this, welcome to the year 2023. I'm AJ Hollywood and I'll be doing a recap of the Decadence Colorado 2022.
Now let's talk about NYE (New Year's Eve) weekend shall we? The event was held in the Colorado Convention Center, and is regarded as Colorado's premier dance music event during NYE weekend. The lineup featured some of the very best in all of dance music. Artists featured were Ganja White Night, Porter Robinson, Kaskade, CloZee, Big Wild, Chris Lake, Zeds Dead, and many others.
The 2022 edition of this event definitely did not disappoint when it came to the music. Kaskade had set the tone early with his signature 'Redux' set, which has him dig deep into the catalog with a few fan-favorited tracks, as well as some newer music. The set was described by many as "Nostalgic", playing hits like Atmosphere and playing a newer version of Room for Happiness. Big Wild also wowed the audience during his set, with his sensational stage presence giving us all of the good vibes. Between the live instrumentation and energy from his set, I definitely felt that this was a standout performance. I also was able to witness the greatness of LSDream, an artist who is not afraid to push the envelop in regard to originality. His set showed that he has so much range, and it was on full display for the masses. Everything LSDream threw at us included wubs, heavy bass, trippy sounds, and even melodic tones as well. What felt even better, was the transition from him to CloZee. We already had somewhat of an out-of-body experience with LSDream, but CloZee took us to an entirely new level during her performance. The range of emotion that we (yes, many of us present during her set) endured was really magical. From the deep-hitting bass to those soulful, melodic harmonies, this set was surely one to remember. How can we forget about the one and only GRiZ? His set was definitely amazing on all fronts, and he really brought a lot of high energy for his performance.GRiZ throwing down some bass music will always be treat when you experience him live. Oh, and Chris Lake...word's can't even explain how awesome his set was. There may be a little bias here, but Chris Lake sets usually never disappoint. From start to finish, he had the crowd shuffling, shaking tail, and jumping all over the place. I have to say that he gets better, each and every time that I see him live at an event.
Some other noteworthy things to mention besides the music, was the layout. It was a bit different from years past, with the introduction of a cyber hub. This place had the silent disco area, food trucks, and plenty of seating area to be able to relax. It was nice to have this part of the event revamped and have this type of area away from the main stages. Lastly, let's talk about those restroom lines. Night 1 of the event had lines that were so extensive, that people made it known that it was an extremely long wait. The bar lines were no different either. However, there was an additional restroom line added on Night 2 of the event. This was definitely needed, as it helped with eliminating longer wait times.
Overall, I would say that this event was satisfactory and many in attendance enjoyed it. Between all of the performances of the weekend that I had witnessed, LSDream takes the cake for me. And how can you not love that Kaskade Redux set? I think the next edition of this event will have to out-do this one, because a pretty high bar was set for sure. By the way, congratulations to Ganja White Night for the NYE ball drop performance at Decadence. If there was anyone to do the ball drop in the bass capitol, then we are glad that it was them. Global Dance successfully ran a star-studded weekend that will be talked about for many years to come.
Photo Credit: Global Dance Team
