Cascade Equinox Festival 9.22 - 9.24.23

-


Deschutes County Fairgrounds
Redmond, OR

Words by Ryleigh Hutson
Photos by Alexander Fornes

The Pacific Northwest is calling home to a new festival in Redmond, OR held at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds. The first annual Cascade Equinox Festival was an exploratory event that embodied the wide range of Central Oregon’s music scene and also brought many artists, performers, and attendees from all over the globe. This event had a wonderful and expansive range of musical styles that supported the different interests of the attendees. From jam acts like Goose and the alternative rockers of Phantogram, to the electronic fusion of Pretty Lights, all the way to the new age folk sound of Gone Gone Beyond and Trevor Hall.

Cascade Equinox Festival consisted of six stages, with three being outside (Equinox, Harvest, and Axis), and three being inside (Tilt, Cosmic Drip, and Gravity). The main stage (Equinox Stage) was the center of the festival. This stage brought the event to life with major headliners such as Big Wild, Emancipator, Goose, Phantogram, and Pretty Lights. This outdoor stage stood as a powerful center for the event showcasing amazing live painters, fire dancers, and aerial performances. The other notable stage (Tilt Stage) was located inside of the largest barn on the fairgrounds. This stage highlighted heavier electronic music throughout the three-day event, but became known as the center for the “after party” where attendees would close out the night.

A highlight of day one happened at the main stage just as the sun was setting with Portland, OR based producer Emancipator. His sound of smooth electronic beats and shifting visuals gave a sneak peak of what the main stage was capable of and certainly helped get the party started. Phantogram followed with a fiery performance that captivated the audience. The lighting for this set in particular was explosively powerful as the backdrop of light synced perfectly within the energetic sound of their set. Another Portland based artist Big Wild made his way to the Equinox stage closing out the night.

Night two was all about the big return of Pretty Lights. After a five year hiatus, his return for many brought about an extra sense of nostalgia and love. The set would include many of those old bangers everyone was hoping he would throw down. Opening with “Hot Like Sauce” showed exactly how hot this newly recharged supergroup could get. While during their set, they blew their electronic system and the performance had to experience technical difficulties before getting back up and running. As soon as it did, they continued a massive 13 track set that included favorites such as “Finally Moving” and “I Know The Truth.” Middle of the set included a beautiful remix version of “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller Band mid set and they closed out the night with “Head Nod Freedom.”

Day three saw the beautiful drizzle of rainy weather that the Pacific Northwest is known for. Many embraced the rain as acts such as Gone Gone Beyond and Trevor Hall graced the Equinox Main stage. Both giving powerful and emotional performances before Goose came on to ride out the night. Goose delivered the longest set hosted at the main stage while the night became brisk with the reflection of the entire experience. The setting of the final night captured the transition of the fall equinox as we felt the freshness in the air and impressive improv jams filled our ears.

What separates the experience of this festival from others is that it is embracing more than just the label of a music festival. Cascade Equinox Festival is an exploratory event that promotes transition and the expression of self through art, movement, and collaboration. While there was a heavy focus on musical performances, this festival represented the transition of seasons through art, educational workshops, and movement. This festival owes its success in distinction to the experience of its creators who are also responsible for the Gem and Jam Festival in Arizona. It was beyond exciting to have been a piece of this memorable event and we are so excited for the years to come!

Alexander's Photo Gallery

www.cascadeequinox.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

-
Image
Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus
Read more

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

-
Image
Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least
Read more

Billy Strings 4.18.19

-
Image
Salvage Station Asheville, NC Words by Jason Mebane Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography When asked to write a review of last week's Billy Strings show at Asheville, North Carolina's Salvage Station I almost passed on it. I just wrote a review of his last Asheville show a few months ago and I thought it may be hard to come up with another set of words to describe to the readers exactly what a Billy Strings show is all about. I am sure there are a plethora of other reviews that other people have written focusing on how well he has mastered his instrument. I suppose I could recycle those thoughts and just sit here typing out a few adjectives describing each note Billy and his superb backing band played this past Thursday night, but that wouldn't be fun for me. Additionally I'd imagine a review like that wouldn't keep your attention either. Instead I have decided to focus on a few random parts of the Billy Strings show that seemed interesting to me. One: B
Read more

Shwarma, Cloud Catcher & Kaepora 6.21.24

-
Image
Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Words & Photos by Pavel Gábor Kaplan Two weeks ago, Denver locals Shwarma graced the stage at Cervantes’ Other Side for the second time as headliners, with support from other Denver locals Cloud Catcher (stoner metal/power metal) and Kaepora (metal/funk/fusion). Coincidentally, both this year’s Summer Solstice and the Strawberry Full Moon transpired around Shwarma’s Album Release show, with the full moon falling on the night of the show. Certainly strong energy to power up the night of dancing and raging - from appropriately cosmic occurrences for a cosmically cool bill. It’s rare to have a full moon actually fall on the same day as a solstice. However, something not very rare is an unforgettable performance from Shwarma at Cervantes! I totally enjoyed photographing their Otherside shows last February when they opened for Lespecial to perform to a sold-out Ballroom-side, as well as their performance last Halloween at ‘Oogie Boogie’ alongside Dopapod,
Read more

Yarmony Music Festival 6.28 & 6.29.24

-
Image
Rancho Del Rio Bond, CO Words by J. Picard Photos by Scott Seifert Gratitude and appreciation have been the foundation of our time at Yarmony Music Festival (formerly, YarmonyGrass). Gratitude for the beauty of the space, Rancho Del Rio, and the mighty Colorado River that flows through it. Appreciation for the experiences, friendships and memories created. Over the span of the fourteen years that we've attended, we have seen firsthand a bonding of a core group of people who have become great friends, characters in each others' stories and in some cases, life partners. Following the incredible energy of the 2019 festival it was announced that Yarmony would be put to rest, to the dismay of many pirates. Though times got strange and folks were pushed apart, there was still a low, slow, pulse beating in the background. We did what we could to keep the spirit of the memory alive until one unsuspecting day, a long five years later, promoter Andrew McConathy announced that from its re
Read more