7 impressions from day 2 of Bud Light Dreams Festival
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Dillstradamus
Bondax
Day 2 started and ended with perfect weather and hearing the smooth sounds of Bondax was the perfect way to begin Saturday's packed lineup. The British duo were bobbed their heads and grooved to their own beat which the crowd fed off on Echo Beach. Fans took advantage of the extra room available to dance and made their enthusiasm known whenever a track came on and made them happy. Notable tracks included Joe Goddard's remix of "Giving It All" by Bondax, and Mall Grab's "I Just Wanna".
Anna Lunoe
The good vibes continued on as soon as Anna Lunoe took the stage. Seeing so many people grooving on Echo Beach shows that we're returning to a spot where the word dance in electronic dance music is now being emphasized. If we get to a place where DJs try to outdo each other by dropping more danceable tracks than others, then EDM will be in a really good place. Anna Lunoe brought that ethos for her Dreams set and it was a delight to watch.
Jax Jones
The Waterfront stage had amazing energy all day long thanks to the big crowds that filled up the area by 4 pm and kept it going until Malaa past 10 pm. Jax Jones played driving house music that had the crowd lifting their arms, and cheering the entire set. A common theme for day 2 was how the artists got the crowd dancing and smiling, and Jax Jones delivered on all fronts. Notable tracks included Jax Jones "House Work", Offaiah's "Run" (Club Mix), and Format B "Chunky" (Club Mix).
Orjan Nilsen
The trance tent was buzzing all day and especially during Orjan Nilsen's massive afternoon set. He didn't hesitate to unleash his biggest tracks at 5:20 pm and the crowd loved him for it. Orjan was highly animated behind the decks as his gestures could be a compared to a hybrid mix of Dash Berlin and Armin's emotion filled arm raising during euphoric moments. Without a doubt, Orjan's own productions were biggest crowd favourites including "The Late Anthem", "Los Capos"(With KhoMha), "Iconic", "Fair Game" (With Cosmic Gate), and one of his last tracks of the set, "Kilowatts".
Malaa
The enigmatic French artist known as Malaa followed up DJ Hanzel and immediately drew the crowd into his own version of going one deeper with his blistering future house style. The set was a mix of his own tracks, selections from the Confessions label like Dateless's "Hit Em With The Hardcore", and recent favourite "I Want You" by Chris Lake. The front row had a few fans with sky mask Malaa fans who headbanged to the hardest parts of his set.
DJ Hanzel
One of the most anticipated sets of day 2 Dreams Festival was DJ Hanzel's set. The entire stage area was packed including the green hill area in the back as the Toronto crowd knew that Dillon Francis only drops his DJ Hanzel alternate ego once in a blue moon. Besides a few mic cameos of "going one deeper", Dillon Francis let the music do the talking. The vibe was deep as "DJ Hanzel" played recent releases like Aabel's "I Go Deep", the Drezo/Hanzel remix of "Need You", Gorgon City's remix of "Say Less", and Damien N-Drix & STV's "Let It Ring". The crowd came for the curiosity of it all, and stayed for the entire set. People enjoyed themselves as fans knew that they were witnessing a rare set by their favourite techno meme.
Dillstradamus
Dillon Francis had the honour to close down the mainstage and the festival as part of Dillstradamus (Dillon + Flosstradamus). The set started off with all of the pyrotechnics as flames were pulsating from the stage to set the tone of what was to come. The mixing was fast and furious as both Dillon and Floss wanted to give a crowd a bit of everything. Overall the set was a mix of bass, trap, and hip hop with a few notable exceptions. At times you'd head weird combinations like T Pain's "Buy U a Drank" followed up by Flume"s remix of Disclosure's "You & Me". The crowd heard Kendrick Lamar but also Blink 182 and even "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez. followed up by "Deep Down Low". The unpredictability of the set made it especially fun and the crowd loved every minute of it.