When I was gathering information about the Tomorrowland Brasil festival on the internet, I was shocked to find that it was one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world. Held only 50 minutes from the country’s biggest city São Paulo, the festival boasted record-breaking sales and sold-out tickets. I knew this Tomorrowland installment would be impressive, and knowing that made me all the more excited to check it out! I am an avid festival-goer so I thought the experience would be similar to most others I’d been to, but immediately upon entering the event I realized why they call this event Tomorrowland. My emotions began to get the best of me as I realized it wasn’t just a music festival, but an interactive, visual experience full of meaning.
Wherever you looked you could see what a large scale this festival was on. Through all the colors and lights, the visual identity of the festival could be seen in their attention to detail. The sponsors had taken special care to install huge art installations throughout the festival, which has never before been seen at a Brazilian festival.
Tomorrowland Brasil 2015
The festivals camping area explains it all – called Dreamville, this area is a vibrant camping site that welcomes thousands of festival visitors at the end of every day at Tomorrowland Brasil. DreamVille goes beyond anything you might expect from a typical festival camping, and had many super cool features like Marketplace, where you can shop for things you might need. They also have several community centers, wonderful activations and their very own warm up party, called “The Gathering”.
You can tell festival curators really put thought into every aspect of the fest. They want to make sure that everywhere you turn you still see magic, and don’t break the spell of the event until it’s over. This is a really special feature to me, because it reminds me of how I felt when I went to my first festival. It was like entering another world, an adult playground full of wonder. Many festivals since haven’t evoked the same feeling, but Tomorrowland definitely brought it back.
Tomorrowland Brasil 2015
There were six stages, which included the main stage, and several slightly smaller stages. While roaming around, I noticed that each stage was like a entering a different chapter in a book, or even a Disney movie. The colors, lights, and extremely intricate artistic designs implemented gave each stage a special feel unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As I walked around I was flooded with good memories and emotional feelings as the stages reminded me of happy childhood times. The set design was part of a unique visual experience that I’ve never experienced at a festival before. Each stage had its own theme and interactions acting as a perfect landscape for the DJ’s uplifting musical journeys.
I met people from all parts of the world, as Tomorrowland was a melting pot of different cultures, Brazilian joy, and amazing music. There was no other place I would’ve rather been at that moment, and all my friends were just as happy and excited to be there. I had planned an itinerary with my friends aimed at the underground DJ’s that we enjoy the most. Although they were playing on smaller stages, the visual experiences were just as incredible as the largest main stages.
Tomorrowland Brasil 2015
We started off on Friday with Patrick Topping at the Paradise Stage, which is a part of Hot Natured by James Jones. I’ve never seen him play before so it was a great surprise! He was followed by Guy Gerber, who killed it like no other. He played a great set and thanks to the festival we had the opportunity to hear his latest work. That night was closed by Jamie Jones and surprisingly he played a heavy set; far from the deep house that he usually plays. All the producers went above and beyond with their sets, and in the middle of everything all the little extra elements that Tomorrow Land integrated into the scene (like confetti, smoke machines, intelligent light fixtures and amazing fireworks) made this a weekend to remember.
Steve Aoki headlined the fest, closing out the Mainstage Friday night with a vocal-laden “Neon Future” performance before spinning on the Dim Mak stage Saturday evening. Shifting gears for his set at the Dim Mak stage, Aoki laid down a banging selection of new label tunes from the likes of Crookers, Blasterjaxx, New World Sound and many more. Stream his full one and a half hour set below!
Saturday night was incredible and we stayed at the Dynamic stage, also underground, almost the entire time. It was a perfect ending to an indescribable day. Besides catching my Brazilian friends, DJ’s Diogo Accioly and Junior C. who opened the festival stage, we had a great time dancing to Stimming, Adriatique, and H.O.S.H (I had never heard him live before… but he was really good)! We closed out the night with Solomum. I’ve heard him play before at smaller parties, but Saturday was extra special. He played a much heavier set than usual, full of instrumentals and bass heavy beats. My personal favorite.
The light shows at every stage were some of the best I’ve ever seen. Lasers on lasers on lasers mixed with colorful lights and creative visuals turned the festival into a surreal wonderland at night.
Tomorrowland Brasil 2015
On Sunday HIIO was a highlight of the day, hitting the stage in the early evening, they raged out with the thousands of festival goers. Having played Tomorrowland Belgium the last 2 summers, you could tell Nico and Ortzy felt close to home playing for the people of South America. This months episode of Elements Radio Show, features their 1:45 minute set live from the festival (see at the very end of the review).
At the end of each day skies of Sao Paulo would light up with fireworks, creating an atmosphere of celebration and joy. Standing beside my best friends taking in all the beauty, I felt extremely grateful that the Tomorrowland crew had worked so hard to put all of this together. All that visual stimuli, set to the rhythm of the best DJ sets in the world. I will absolutely never forget Tomorrowland Brasil 2015, and am definitely going to be there in 2016! Make sure you don’t miss what we’re calling Brasil’s best festival!
Written by Festpop Staff Writer
Marcela Strazer & Mayra Carvalho
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