By Shiaira Bradley
Avondale, AZ - Thousands of people gathered at the Phoenix Raceway March 29 and 30 for one of the biggest EDM festivals in Arizona. PHX Lights, hosted by Relentless Beats, brought some of the largest names of EDM into the city, including Seven Lions, Kaskade, Deorro, Valentino Khan, Nghtmre and Dr. Oliver Tree. The venue also featured smaller stages including the Beatbox stage and the Silent Disco stage, where participants could enjoy a unique experience of dancing to music in headphones.
Hosted inside of the Phoenix Raceway, a unique feature of the event compared to many other raves and festivals that have previously been held held outside of the raceway itself, the spacious area gave room to give audience members a truly unique experience, consisting of vendors, an arcade room, an array of photo opportunities, and plenty of food options.
Living up to its name, the festival brought a spectacular array of lasers and lights across the stages. The crowd was filled with energy, with ravers dancing, chanting, and headbanging the night away. Some ravers chose spots in the back where they have room to dance and partake in what’s called flowing — that is, dancing and moving with a variety of objects associated with rave culture, often as a performance or with others — while others find their ways to the front where they can join the collective energy of the crowd. No matter where the members of the crowd were, the lineup at Phoenix Lights on both days brought a show worth remembering.
Here are the highlights of both days of PHX Lights 2024.
Day One
Day one featured performers such as Nghtmre, Seven Lions, and more bringing a spectacular display of bassy beats and spectacular visual shows
Nghtmare brought a dark, otherworldly sound to PHX Lights, featuring a remix of a single from Subtronics latest album “Tesseract.” His heavier, dubstep sound was an exciting addition to the atmosphere of PHX lights that got many attendees up and moving.
Seven Lions closed the night out with a euphoric mix of bass and electronic house music, putting unique, bass-heavy spins on classic EDM artists such as The Chainsmokers, Slander, and Excision. Seven Lions also performed a newly released single “Not Even Love” in collaboration with Illenium.
Day Two
On day 2 of the festival, performers such as Dr. Oliver Tree, as well as Deorro and Valentino Khan, who performed as a duo, got the crowd hype by performing a mix of classic hits with intense, electronic energy.
Dr. Oliver Tree, known simply as Oliver Tree by fans of his alternative-pop music, got the crowd’s attention with a staggering mix of visuals, ranging from iconic pop culture scenes, viral TikToks, nudity, decapitation, and Tree himself dancing in a bikini. Tree’s eccentric dance moves and catchy setlist of hit singles and original beats kept the crowd moving the entire time Tree was on stage. Tree’s set featured his own hits such as “Miss You” and “Alien Boy,” as well remixes of popular hits such as “Day N Nite” by Kid Cudi, “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi and the Biz, and “Fade” by Kanye West.
Deorro and Valentino Khan made an electrifying pair on the stage. Deorro, hailing from Los Angeles, paid homage to his Latino roots with a variety of visuals and songs giving an ode to Mexican artists. A visual of the Mexican flag appeared as classic and trending Spanish songs alike were given unique flairs, courtesy of the lively production of Deorro and the genre-bending sound of Valentino Khan, whose set was introduced with a play on a popular franchise, “Khan”-Fu Panda. Deorro ended the show with a performance of his hit song, “Five More Hours,” gaining the roaring applause and cheers of the crowd.
Night two ended with a performance from Kaskade, who brought a vibrant, progressive house sound to the venue. Kaskade played classic hits from his discography including “I Remember” and “Escape”, both collaborations with deadmau5. Both songs have become widely recognized across the EDM world, with numerous DJs having remixed these singles, including Subtronics and John Summit.