NASHVILLE |DT: SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MITCH SCHNEIDER
BARI LIEBERMAN/JOHN OCHOA, MSO
THIS SUMMER’S “IDENTITY”
WRAPS WITH SEPTEMBER 10 SHOW AT THE GORGE
TRAVELING ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL
TO RETURN SUMMER 2012
IDENTITY, presented by SKULLCANDY, has wrapped its inaugural outing with this month’s festival show on Saturday, September 10 at The Gorge in Washington State. “Identity’s traditional touring model, similar to Lollapalooza of yore or the Vans Warped Tour,” noted Philip Sherburne in the October Dance issue of SPIN, ”…suggests the extent to which this new electronic movement is being tailored to fit the particulars of American large-scale entertainment.” Look for IDENTITY to return for its second outing summer 2012.
The debut of IDENTITY, presented by Skullcandy, was the first-ever touring electronic-ONLY music festival that visited major outdoor amphitheatres throughout North America and included sold-out shows in California at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Other venues on the five-week, full electronic music experience tour included the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, IN, PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, Jiffy Lube Live in Washington, D.C., Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, NY, the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, TX and the Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood in Atlanta, GA.
What made the exciting, new traveling extravaganza was the incredible music from its revolving line-up of top-tier artists: headliner KASKADE as well as PRETTY LIGHTS, RUSKO, AVICII, STEVE AOKI, DISCO BISCUITS, DJ SHADOW, AFROJACK, SKRILLEX, PETE TONG, HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR, CHUCKIE, BOOKA SHADE, MODESELEKTOR, THE CRYSTAL METHOD, HOLY GHOST!, NERO, RIOT GEAR, LE CASTLE VANIA, DATSIK, CHAD HUGO (N.E.R.D.), LA RIOTS, MARSHALL BARNES, DOORLY, NERVO, WHITE SHADOW, JESSIE AND THE TOY BOYS, THE EYE, AFROBETA, LE BLORR and FIGO.
180,000 fans from coast to coast experienced the new festival. Here is a recap of IDENTITY in the press:
“Why You Should Go: A festival featuring the biggest names in electronic dance music is usually a destination event, like Ultra Fest or Coachella. But this summer the party’s coming to you: A cornucopia of acts, including Kaskade, Steve Aoki, Rusko, Crystal Method, DJ Shadow, Pretty Lights, Modeselektor, and Disco Biscuits are hitting 20 cities this summer with every niche of electronic music, from electro house to trance-fusion.”
— SPIN.COM “30 Best Summer Tours” (6/16/2011)
“…filled with some of the best in electronic music from around the world.”
— Lauren Lipsay, ROLLINGSTONE.COM (8/22/11)
“All DJ-culture bets are on this newbie affair. It’s a touring festival sanctioned by avid dance-music tastemaker Beatport. With DJ legends mixing it up with newer electronic talent, it promises to be the mother of all festival parties in 20 towns across America (staycation, anyone?).”
— Kim Taylor, THE RED BULLENTIN (July 2011)
“With a range of house, trip-hop and drum ’n’ bass stars on three stages, the traveling Identity Festival is a great way to sample DJ culture.”
— Steve Knopper, NEWSDAY (8/19/11)
“As the stock market plunged and dark skies threatened hail and rain, four girls in day-glo tutus shared a cup of french fries. A guy in a Cookie Monster shirt shook his Cookie Monster backpack. A duo dressed as Mario and Luigi threw their white-gloved hands in the air.Ten hours of ear-bruising dance music at Thursday’s Identity Festival in Bristow must have formed a protective bubble over Jiffy Lube Live, shielding 12,000 colorfully dressed, predominantly teenage fans from reality’s mounting bummers…. For a new generation seeking communion, this was a chance to hear 21st-century music at deafening 21st-century volumes, surrounded by your 21st-century tribe.”
— Chris Richards, WASHINGTON POST (8/19/11)
“Electronic music is clearly having another of its ascendant moments, but one area where it still lags is on the summer festival tour. Identity Festival, which landed at the Comcast Center on Saturday, aimed to correct that, and succeeded overwhelmingly, with a nearly sold-out all-ages crowd. The all-day event was a virtual primer on the diverse genre, with 25 acts, both venerable and influential, such as DJ Shadow and Crystal Method and hit-makers at the top of the crossover game such as Kaskade and Rusko.”
— Luke O’Neil, BOSTON GLOBE (8/22/11)
“America’s first touring electronic dance music fest, the Identity Festival, officially launched in Noblesville, Indiana, on Thursday, and the crowd was treated to sets from the likes of Kaskade, Steve Lawler, Chuckie, Steve Aoki, LA Riots, Manufactured Superstars and many more. And from the looks of it, the fans that came out to the Verizon Wireless Music Center were giving the artists as much energy as they were receiving. ”
— Akshay Bhansali, MTV.COM (8/12/11)
“What better time than now for the inaugural run of a new touring digital music festival?Case-in-point, the Identity Festival. “Grandfathered” by EDM legends Kaskade and Steve Aoki, who helped pick out the jaw-dropping lineup, Identity has been sweeping the U.S. with rotating slots featuring the likes of White Shadow, Holy Ghost, Datsik, the Disco Biscuits, Rusko, DJ Shadow, Skrillex, Pretty Lights and, of course, Kaskade and Aoki themselves at select spots.”
— Zachary Swickey, MTV NEWS (8/30/11)
“In terms of musical selection, Identity did well to represent major players in dubstep, with the likes of Skrillex and Rusko; house, with Kaskade and Steve Lawler; and the seminal producers who have been around for over a decade, with Crystal Method and DJ Shadow.”
— Kate Magoc, PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER (8/17/11)
“The DJs playing Identity…all seemed to hold the opinion that it takes more than a dude spinning on stage to entertain a festival crowd. But the fest goers on Sunday gave back just as much or more energy than they received. Their happy feet, creative neon getups and communal spirit kept the beat going.”
— Hunter Hauk, DALLAS MORNING NEWS (8/29/11)
“After leaving Identity, the biggest surprise for us was how much more curious we were about dubstep and the new sounds currently making the electronic youth movement spin.”
— Craig Hlavaty, HOUSTON PRESS (8/29/11)
“Fans collectively danced their asses off… the people in attendance soaked up every beat, rhythm and bass groove thrown at them.”
— Jeff Hahne, CREATIVE LOAFING (Charlotte) (8/17/11)
“Much like the Vans Warped Tour brings a slew of pop-punk heavyweights to American cities/parking lots every summer (and Lollapalooza used to do the same for alt-rock bands), the new festival Identity seeks to do the same for dance music.”
— David Bevan, PITCHFORK (5/6/11)
“The Identity Festival touched down in Hollywood on Sunday, and damn if it wasn’t a hip-shaking sub-bass sonic frenzy of a good time. This touring electronic music festival, the first of its kind in the United States, has been roving the country since August, sending intergenerational audiences wild with a revolving lineup of some of the genre’s best known legends and hottest newcomers.”
— Katie Bain, HUFFINGTON POST (9/6/11)
“The all-day, all-night event featured the full electronica experience with pulse-pounding music, bright lights and crazy outfits. The lineup included some of the hottest cutting-edge artists of the genre including Kaskade, Steve Aoki, Pretty Lights, Rusko, Avicii, Disco Biscuits, DJ Shadow, Skrillex, Pete Tong, Modeselektor, the Crystal Method, and many more.” —
— METROMIX WASHINGTON DC (online) (8/19/11)
“…the extravaganza turned the theatre into an electronic music fan community with more than 20 artists performing. Numerous vendors and organizations set up tents throughout the venue to give the IDENTITY festival its own unique feel.”
— John Froelich, METROMIX DETROIT (online) (8/15/11)
“2011’s Identity Festival has toured from coast-to-coast bringing an assortment of artists from the increasingly influential if not outright dominant genres of electronica, house and electro – producers, musicians, DJ’s and bands alike – face-to-face with very diverse audiences that reflect a new generation of Americans in the new millennium.”
— Mark Miller, HIGH TIMES (9/6/11)
“If throbbing bass, gnarly dubstep, ferocious house and other tributaries of modern dance music make your widdle heart go pitty-pat, then the IDentity Festival is your must-experience roaming carnival.”
— Dennis Cook, JAMBASE.COM (9/3/11)
“Identity Festival was a smash success. With a diverse bill that featured some of the biggest names in the electronic dance music scene today and a tour that hit almost every major city in the U.S., the brand new festival made a name for itself this year, pretty much ensuring that it will be back next summer.”
— Jessie Wood, SLUG MAGAZINE (9/9/11)
“In the ’90s, the Lollapalooza festival emerged as a way to bring the music of the ‘alternative’ generation to the masses, going to different sites across the country with a stellar lineup of acts and a vibe that was as much traveling circus as rock show. The creators of the Identity festival seem to be after establishing something along similar lines for the world of electronic music with their own itinerant event…”
— Jim Allen, BIGSHOTMAG.COM (4/28/11)
“Kaskade was the perfect way to end such a great day of music. The light show during his set was in sync with every track and every track was a mix of beats sent from heaven. As the crowd jumped to the hardcore electro and swayed to the mellow house, it felt like a whole new world at the Verizon Wireless Music Centre..”
— INDYCONCERTS.COM (8/15/11)
“It’s evident that Identity has taken the idea of a day festival to a new level. Performers were able to be more involved with the layout and the visuals of their shows, allowing them to show creativity in additional ways than through their music. Identity Festival is continuing to storm the country, so I’d suggest not missing your chance to see this brilliant collection of DJs and musicians.”
— Lauren Stieff, THE NEW PHILADELPHIA (online) (8/22/11)
“Identity, the traveling circus which is making its way across 20 North American cities this summer, is hitting some pretty conservative markets and the large crowds are showing that dance music’s influence is being felt everywhere from LA to Indiana.”
— Chris Crowley, BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS (online) (8/22/11)
“..I found the festival educational and saw a few unique and inspiring acts like Booka Shade,Modeselector, Leon and Darius Syrossian.”
— Joshua Anthony, GENXGLOW.COM (8/18/11)
“Neon colors, glow sticks galore, on August 11, Verizon Wireless felt the bass rapture of IDentity Festival. For the first day on the tour and the biggest electronic music event in the history of Indiana, the day went by without a hitch. Let’s hope this festival becomes a yearly ritual.”
— Kimberly Duncan, ZAPTOWN (online) (8/18/11)
“…one of the best festivals I’ve been to since the days of the old Lollapaooza fests.”
— Mikel O.D., MOTOR CITY BLOG (online) (8/14/11)
“It was a unique and one-of-a-kind experience. Everyone involved in the tour should be proud because they pulled off something certainly very special.”
— Alexis Simpson, NAVDO.NET (8/14/11)
“If you are a fan of any of the artists that are performing on this festival you have to go! It is such a great experience and when will you ever see this many of these artists together?”
— Josh Custer, EXAMINER.COM (8/13/11)
“…boutique electronic roadshow — Identity Festival — has been a huge success this summer. Touring the US with forty different artists over the course of twenty different cities has given the electronic music scene the ability to redefine it’s potential.”
— Marco Curiel, DANCING ASTRONAUT (online) (9/13/11)
“Never in the history of music has something like this been attempted. You can expect to be blown away…I.D.’s mutant line-up consisted of Indie, Electro, Dance, and dubstep that left the crowd dancing, chanting and panting into the night.”
— WASTECHESTER (online) (8/16/11)
“…Identity Festival in Camden was a great success. Fans left the Susquehanna bank center sweaty, satisfied, and exhausted. Although some fans still had bouncing energy as they exited the venue doors. Identity Festival continues throughout the country through September and will surely please ravers and party-goers every stop along the way.”
— Zack Weinstein, TRI STATE INDIE (online) (8/26/11)
“The perfect sendoff to summer, Cricket Amphitheater felt like the day before Christmas, antsy, impatient, and a little unsure of what insanity could potentially be unwrapped.”
— THE MIXSTER (online) (8/15/11)
“Three stages, 10 hours, and a plethora of your favorite artists; Identity festival has had much to offer to even the most avid festival goer…”
— VACAY VITAMINS (online) (8/29/11)
“IDentity Fest was a great success!”
— PEACE.LOVE.EDM (online) (9/6/11)
“.. Identity Fest was everything we hoped for and so much more! Every artist absolutely killed it and the crowds energy just kept rising and rising throughout the day.”
— THE NOISE TRAIN (online) (9/8/11)
“…Identity Festival was a huge success…thousands of loyal fans continued to pack stages from opening to close in order to catch some of the best artists in the industry for what was a fun-filled and most importantly safe day – a smashing hit for the first nation-wide touring electronic festival ever!”
— DEATH BY ELECTRO (online) (9/6/11)
Keep up with IDentity at:
www.IDFestival.com
www.facebook.com/IDFestival
www.twitter.com/IDENTITYFest
# # #
For more information, please contact MSO PR:
MSO: 818-380-0400
Alexandra Greenberg: agreenberg@msopr.com
Bari Lieberman: blieberman@msopr.com
John Ochoa: jochoa@msopr.com
