In South Lake Tahoe, the temperatures dropped with the bass over the last 3 days of 2014 leading right into the New Year. There are plenty of options for New Year’s shows and festivals, but SnowGlobe offers something different. It is held in a beautiful winter location that offers plenty to do leading up to the festival. Many fans take part in skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, snowshoeing, or taking in the epic views of Lake Tahoe. The fact that the festival itself is held outside in the middle of winter also adds to the experience, quite literally bringing fans closer together with everyone dancing harder to stay warm.
Photo Credits: Cahill Films
The focus of the festival is on big name EDM acts with headliners like Skrillex and Zedd but there are many other genres of electronic music throughout the festival. There was synth pop, deep house, electro-pop, trap and even hip hop with Atmosphere as another headliner. The lineup went well with the diverse crowd that SnowGlobe has grown throughout the past few years. There was a lot more variety than in past years and the timing of the sets allowed for fans to catch as many sets as possible. Getting from stage to stage was easy to do thanks to the venue being set up perfectly for the amount of people attending. This made it easy to catch partial sets when there was overlapping set times. Considering the weather there weren’t many conflicts and when there were they were handled efficiently and both the artists and fans seemed to be understanding.
The Sierra tent was my personal favorite stage and featured plenty of great DJ’s such as What So Not, Odesza and Bro Safari. This tent was always crowded and could have been bigger to accommodate the crowd since it hosted a lot of big name acts.
The Igloo tent, the smaller of the three, continued to provide great vibes throughout the festival with deep house being one of the main genres featured. It also provided an escape from the harsh temperatures with heat blasting into the tent and it offered plenty of room to dance under the disco balls.
Photo Credit: SnowGlobe Music Festival
Besides dancing the crowd was able to keep warm in multiple heated tents. SnowGlobe also offered firepits and free hot chocolate. This year was exceptionally colder than some of the past years and the festival made sure to let festivalgoers know by posting weather updates and checklists for what to wear.
While there was plenty of options to keep warm there could have been more water available to the crowd as staying hydrated is always important especially at high elevation. With it being so cold it was also great that the shuttle system was run much more effectively this year. They also promoted using the buddy 0system, which was great considering safety has become a serious issue at festivals around the country. It is great seeing a festival improve year after year and SnowGlobe has done just that.
Day 1
The festival got started in true Tahoe fashion with the sun out and festivalgoers getting in some runs on the slopes before getting the party started. Heading to the festival was convenient thanks to the shuttles offered right to the entrance to the venue, which had quick moving lines to get in.
I started off the first day got started with a set by Thomas Jack who was added last minute. Even with the temperature dropping his set was full of tropical house that kept the crowd thinking of warmer places. G Jones threw down an epic set full of heavy bass music followed by Party Favor who has been making a name for himself and is sure to make it even bigger in 2015. His set was full of trap and the crowd got down and dirty to his set. After this I caught some of Skrillex who was headlining on the main stage with skiiers and snowboarders throwing down tricks off a jump set up next to the stage.
Photo Credits: Levin Visuals
Since I didn’t want to miss The Floozies, I headed back to the Sierra tent to catch them end the first day with a epic set of their funky electronic beats that they combine with live drums and guitar that gave plenty flare to their performance.
Day 2
The second day started off with snow falling, which brought colder temperatures but the crowd was even more excited. After all it wouldn’t be Snowglobe without some snow.
The Sierra tent continued to prove that it was the place to be and I started off the second day with Djemba Djemba who played a set full of heavy bass and trap that was very rhythmatic. Heading back outside to the mainstage Flux Pavillion had the crowd dancing to keep warm with the temperature dropping to 15 degrees as he proclaimed it the coldest set he has ever played. He ended up dropping new tracks, which have been long awaited.
With the lighting production on stage the snow had an awesome visual effect that set a great mood. The duo of Odesza drew a massive crowd to the already packed tent and they
Justin Martin got deep in the Igloo tent and played after Porter Robinson closed out the mainstage, which made for a smaller crowd. He dropped a deep house remix of Coco that left the crowd wanting more.
Day 3
On the third day of the festival we made sure to get to the venue early to check out some of the vendors. Besides the official Snowglobe merchandise there was plenty of interesting stuff to buy. Most notable were LunaLobo hoodies, which are each made custom with different fabrics. Another awesome vendor was OneZipWear who had a huge selection of onesies, which were a popular choice of festivalgoers to brave the cold temperatures.
Photo Credits: SnowGlobe Music Festival
The first group on the main stage, Lex got a late start, but this allowed for a bigger crowd to build up to catch their catchy synth pop filled set. They offered something different being an all female group that is just getting started. Due to a scheduling conflict Cherub was able to play twice, which allowed them to switch it up at each set. The one I caught ended with their hit Doses and Mimosas after plenty of electro pop that had everyone grooving and ready to party.
The Steezmonks hailing from Spain made their US debut at Snowglobe and played to a larger crowd due to Tincup not showing for his set. They threw down some great remixes with a lot of reggae and jazz in the mix with a saxophone player to top it off. Flume played a great set despite the sound being lowered because of the noise ordinance in place. They rang in the New Year dropping their song with Disclosure, You & Me, with fireworks blasting off against a silhouette of the tall evergreen trees surrounding the venue.
After Parties
One of the best parts of SnowGlobe is the after parties. Since the festival ends before midnight (except on New Years Eve) there are multiple after parties offered each night at local venues in South Lake. This year the option of a boat party was offered the first two nights, however the weather didn’t cooperate. Fortunately, other venues were available so the parties could still go on. The Mont Bleu hotel and casino is where the official after parties were at with multiple parties being offered each night.
The first night Party Favor mixed tons of new songs and a lot of classic hip hop. After a second day at the festival you could tell everyone was a lot more tired, but the after parties were still sold out. The Odesza after party was overcrowded and I decided to head to check out Justin Martin play a B2B set with fellow dirtybird artist J Phlip. At Odesza, Porter Robinson made an appearance and played a guest set that happily surprised fans.
Brining in the New Year, What So Not played a heavy set followed by a rare Cherub DJ set with a mellow vibe to close out the after party early in the morning on New Years day.
With the festival being in its 4th year it is safe to say that it will continue to be a staple amongst other New Years festival options. The South Lake Tahoe community has been supportive of the festival despite the noise and crowd it brings, with plenty local businesses getting involved. It is a beautiful location to bring together a diverse group to end the year and bring in a new one. The fact that SnowGlobe brought in a sold out show despite the cold weather proving that one thing can bring people together no matter what: music. Planning on going to SnowGlobe next year? Plan ahead with our travel guide!
Written by FestPop Staff Writer
Chris Rozzo
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