Ever After Music Festival highlights: A few of our favourite sets & moments

Photos by Andrew Iriah

By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

Festival season is underway and this past weekend, electronic music fans, headbangers and bassheads from all over Canada gathered to party at Ever After Festival in Kitchener Ontario. The festival featured rides and attractions, a waterpark and camping. The three day event attracted tens of thousands of fans for 47 performances.

Here are some of our favourite sets/moments from the festival:

Slander

Slander’s set was one of the best sets of the festival in terms of song selection. The crowd had piled onto the main area by their set time on Friday evening and were having a great time. The hour was filled with chill vibes as Slander guided the crowd through highs and lows. They provided great variety in their one hour set and especially did a great job mixing some throwbacks into the bass heavy tracks that festival goers were there for! They played a few crowd favourites like: "Superhuman" by Slander, "Yeah!" - Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris, "Never be like you" by Flume ft. Kai , "I fall apart"- Post Malone, "Physically" - Mrefjus & Gud, and "Vibrations" - NGHTMRE.

Snails

Right after Slander, Snails took the stage with a set that was bass heavy and such a good time! Although it was still somewhat early in the evening, the crowd was energized and thoroughly enjoyed this set as they were headbanging for the majority of the hour and a half set. His visuals were also lively and engaging. He was also one of the DJs paying tribute to Aviici this weekend with a remix of Levels.

Bear Grillz

One of my favourite sets of the whole festival was mid-day Saturday. The hour that Bear Grillz had the stage seemed like a lot shorter. He had really good control of the crowd and seriously entertained. Another great set with regards to song selection and mixes. There was so much dancing that Bear Grillz actually tired out the crowd, almost a quarter of the crowd by the main stage actually needed a break after this set- clearly shows that they had a great time. He also premiered a new unreleased track during his set which was well received.

Kill The Noise

Kill the noise got everyone jumping: besides the crowd loving well known more tracks throughout the set, he was also one of the DJ’s that premiered new music! He even invited Snails up to the stage to premiere their new collab called "Shake the Ground" for the crowd which was well received. Another great set from day two of the festival.
 

Drezo

A large group of people could be seen leaving the main areas of the festival and heading up the hill to the Upside Down House stage for Drezo’s set. Although the climb up the hill was challenging for some concert goers, this did not stop them as they piled in to the fenced area by the Upside Down House Stage. Totally a different vibe from the main stage, it was a great set as people danced in and out of each other’s dance circles.
 

Excision

It is always great to see headliners completely taking over while they expertly entertain their audience. Excision’s set was just that. He had a great package of tunes, visuals and excitement that  shows clearly why he was closing off Ever After Festival. The anticipation was building up as the sun went down and the crowd welcomed Excision to the stage. It was a great party through and through with fireworks and great visuals electronic music fans love.

Although the festival was not in a big city in Ontario, it was pretty packed. Observing the number of attendees was impressive while walking through the festival grounds. A good number of people enjoyed the rides and attractions but a greater number piled around the attractions that were situated at the back of the main stage to listen to the music with their fellow festival goers.

At times the crowd spanned all the way into the treed areas, and even though the festival worked hard to keep sound levels down in order to reduce the amount of noise complaints, the music could be heard and enjoyed clearly from the hills or the back of the crowd. The result on Sunday was a large and tired-out group of people who had three days of music with some of their favourite DJs.  

If you're still planning for your next festival, make sure to check out the 2018 festival guide below: 

Win tickets to EVER AFTER Music Festival in Kitchener Ontario!

Are you ready to be transported into a fantasy world? That is what EVER AFTER Music Festival has in store for you!

The festival running from June 8th-10th has it all: great lineup of musical acts led by Canada's own Excision, a waterpark, midway rides, games and fun zones including an Enchanted forest and an Interactive EA trail. 

EDM Canada has teamed up with EVER AFTER Music Festival to give our followers a chance to win a pair (2) of General Admission Passes to experience EVER AFTER Music Festival! 

To enter: 

1) Follow Ever After's official Instagram page
2) Follow EDM Canada's official Instagram page
3) Comment on EDM CANADA's EVER AFTER CONTEST Instagram post tagging your friend and using the hashtag #winwithedmcanada

Winners must be 16+ years old (must be able to present two pieces of government issued ID upon entry to the festival). Open to residents in Canada and the United States

The contest is live now and closes at Noon (12 pm) on May 31st! The winner will be contacted via Instagram so make sure to check your messages on May 31st. 

Good luck! 

Win 3 tickets to Ever After Music Festival!

The first big festival to kick off the summer season is quickly approaching as the Ever After Music Festival will be delivering the bass over the course of 3 days in Kitchener in early June. Featuring headliners like Bassnectar, Excision, Zeds Dead, Snails, and so much more - Ever After is the definitive bass centric festival of Eastern Canada.

Not only have they gotten the headliners right, but the organizers have invited a lot of key artists that resonate within the bass community, highlighted by the special day 3 set featuring a back-to-back set with 12th Planet, Cookie Monsta, and Funtcase. 

EDM Canada would like to give fans a chance to win 3 GA tickets to Ever After Festival happening from June 2nd until June 4th in Kitchener. To enter, simply login using the widget above, and choose the various different ways to enter to gain more entries if you wish. You must be 16+ to enter, and if you enter, be sure to note that you will also be registered for the Ever After Music Festival newsletter. Enter now and good luck! 

Check out Excision's impressive new stage setup

Excision is never one to shy away from spending money on his stage production to give fans a truly memorable live experience. His next ambitious project is part of his 40 tour stop known as the Paradox tour, which will also be stopping in 3 Canadian cities. Featuring 150,000 watts of PK Sound, his brand new stage looks bigger and better than ever. Check out the full preview below: 

Excision will be bringing the Paradox tour to Vancouver, Montreal, and Edmonton in 2016. 

Excision released his much anticipated Shambhala Mix 2015

One of the most highly regarded annual mixes is Excision's Shambhala mix which originally helped bring dubstep to the fore of the electronic dance music scene. Excision goes ham in this hour plus mix and it should be mandatory listening for all bass heads out there. Check it out: 

If you want to download this mix, click here