Escapade proves itself again with record sell out

By Ryan Hayes

In 2019 Escapade tapped in to something that Canadian dance music festivals had been striving for, to avail, for years—especially during the rap hybrid era. The festival managed to curate a diverse, generation spanning, top tier lineup packed with nothing but pure dance music.

In a April 2019 article entitled, Who Reigns Supreme in the Canadian Dance Festival Circuit, we had this to say about Escapade:

“...it is impossible to ignore the power and diversity of Escapade's lineup—easily the closest a Canadian dance music event can come to achieving those Ultra/EDC feels.”

The above statement speaks to the only thing that should matter to a true dance music fan—the lineup.

With curated stages (Deadbeats, House Party, & Ferry Corsten's Unity), unique back-to-back sets (Felix Cartal B2B Frank Walker, & Chris Lorenzo B2B Jack Beats), and artists spanning the full spectrum of dance music; Escapade embodied a complete experience that few festivals can achieve within Canada's comparatively smaller market.

Building on the good will they created last year during their tenth anniversary, Escapade has returned for it's eleventh year with a record setting sell out—and a modern forward thinking lineup that builds off of 2019's legacy.

We reached out to Escapade for comment, and Alex Primeau—one of the events talent buyer's—had this to say about their forty eight hour sell out;

“After last year's ten year anniversary sell out we knew we had to follow that up with a bang! We really focused on producing a lineup that would put the spotlight on Escapade and on the city of Ottawa...and we believe we achieved that. Even with a 25% increase in capacity, Escapade sold out in record time; less than two days after we announced our lineup. And we are very excited and proud of that"

This year continues to build off of last year's success by focusing on an absolutely stacked lineup of supporting acts. Dance music has evolved to the point that an entire mainstream festival can no longer be held up by the might of a single mammoth headliner. Luckily for Escapade fans their lineup offers a vast array of talented artists all with die-hard followings and the ability to hold down headlining slots in larger markets—GRiZ, Don Diablo, Gareth Emery, NGHTMRE, & Seven Lions...all represent the pinnacle of their respective genres. And that barely scratches the surface; as the volatile festival landscape continues to shift within Canada Escapade now represents pure dance music—and fans have taken notice.

Congratulations Escapade!