This year the lineup features a list of diverse headliners with DJ Snake, Porter Robinson, and Anna Lunoe. The full lineup is a solid mix of trance, house, drum and bass and bass music, with acts like Adventure Club, Above & Beyond, Fury, Rezz, Seven Lions and plenty more. You can check out the full lineup below and on the website here.

Tickets for Das Energi range from $245 for a 2-day GA to $350 for a 2-day VIP. The VIP tickets are for ages 21+ and include special merch, better viewing access at several stages, and more. You can also get GA wristbands for single days, which are $135 on the ticketing website.

The Venue

The Saltair venue is right on the beach of the Great Salt lake, so one of the stages and the food trucks are on the beach itself. You'll want to plan accordingly with your footwear to be able to walk in the sand to get the full experience. I also recommend getting there before sunset since the sunsets at the Saltair are pretty unreal.

The venue itself is located about 20 minutes west of Salt Lake, right off of the I-80 freeway. You can get there quickly by taking the freeway. The parking situation at the festival tends to change each year, so anticipate that you might have to take a parking shuttle. In the past this has added as much as 30 minutes to the process of getting into the festival. Das Energi is pretty small, so once you're in the door you can get from stage to stage in just a few minutes.

Where to Stay

If you don't live in Utah there are lots of awesome places to stay. Salt Lake is pretty easy to get around, and since the venue is a little bit out of the way I recommend staying downtown to get the most out of your travel experience while staying closer to the event. You can also stay at the airport hotels, but there might not be much around there in the way of food or other nearby things to check out.

Downtown Salt Lake has tons of great food spots and local stores. During Das Energi weekend I recommend checking out Roctaco, Pretty Bird, Eva's Bakery, and Spitz for places to eat. You can also check out Icono Clad for last minute festival gear and shopping. From downtown you can easily Uber or Lyft to Das Energi. It should be pretty affordable and it will only take maybe 20 minutes to get to the festival from that area. Plus, you won't have to deal with parking.

Shuttles

Das Energi is located about 30 minutes west of Downtown Salt Lake. The festival has no public transportation nearby, but there are many options for ride-share apps, taxis, or the festival shuttle. You can grab a shuttle from Downtown or the hotels at the Salt Lake City airport. Get your shuttle pass here before it's too late! 

Happy Hour Long Sleeve Bodysuit 

Flashbang Matrix Reflective Cutout Halter Top

Hypnosis Swim Set Outfit

Viper Vision Halter Cutout Bodysuit With Gloves

At Das Energi

Das Energi has grown so much over the years that each year is so much different from the last. Each year the festival adds more vendors and food trucks, so the choices are always different and get more diverse each year. I always recommend you get the chicken strips from the Saltair food stand inside, since they're so popular. You can get alcoholic drinks upstairs, but check on the bag requirements before you head to the festival because the Utah liquor laws can be pretty complicated.

Lockers

You can rent a locker onsite at Das Energi to store your things while you rave. Charging ports to plug your phone into are included in the locker rental (minus the cord), and you can purchase lockers online before the fest or at the venue when you get there. Rent a locker here. 

Headbanger BB Rainbow Reflective Outfit

What to Wear to Das Energi

Weather at Das Energi is always pretty hot, but it has been known to rain in the past. Dress for hot weather but remember that it's in the desert, so it might get chilly at night. I've included a bunch of things I recommend wearing throughout this article, but you can get creative with your rave looks! If you don't know where to start, take this quiz to find out ur rave vibe.

Sister Sister Pants Outfit

Hot Girls Listen To Techno Outfit

Sunflowerraver x iHR Fishnet Underboob Outfit

Set Times

They're not here yet! 

The Music

Like I said before, the Das Energi lineup is massive compared to other local events (or even any festival within a few hours' drive, for that matter). Das Energi does a great job of combining classic and emerging artists but tends to stick to a couple of key genres that local ravers will enjoy. This year's headliners were Deadmau5, Excision, and Louis The Child, which were hits among the crowd but have played in Salt Lake many times in the past. 

Das Energi is a great festival to check out if you're into house or bass music, but is really ideal for ravers who enjoy a wide variety of dance music and have no hard preference. If you're strictly a house head, maybe Get Funky is the better festival for you. Deadmau5 played an amazing set, as to be expected, and had an extremely lively stage presence that showed he appreciated the crowd. For a smaller, regional festival, this can be rare to see from more established DJs. Too often Utah is treated as just another tour stop, so to see an artist genuinely appreciate their audience makes the experience that much better.

The other artists that really stood out to me this year was Level Up and Jessica Audiffred. Both artists not only played sets that got their respective crowds going crazy, but both had a particularly lively stage presence that matched the energy they were bringing. Personally I am particularly grateful for the Born This Way bass remix that Level Up played, and the dubstep remix of Zedd's Clarity from Jessica Audiffred. 

Das Energi stands out against other local festivals in the sheer size and scale of the event, but what I would love to see in the future is a more diverse lineup that introduces ravers to emerging styles and genres. Regional festivals like The BUKU Project (RIP) became a destination not only for its unique venue and vibe, but for the diversity of its lineup that showed its willingness to take risks.

In 2017 I saw SOPHIE (also RIP) play an original set on a stage made of industrial sheet metal. It was one of my most memorable experiences to-date at any festival I've ever been to, probably because genres like SOPHIE don't often get booked at festival slots. I'd love to have a moment like that at Das Energi, which is already extremely unique for its stunning venue and beach. 

On behalf of the hot girls, give us a hyperpop stage to put our lip gloss on at. Give us Paris Hilton sliving on the decks at the beach stage. Give us 100 Gecs headbanging inside the building. Give us Fred Again raging at sunset. In 2016 you gave us EPROM before he really hit it big, so I'm just looking for that moment again. 

The Venue

This year Das Energi expanded its festival grounds further into the beach, which was sprinkled with art installments, brand activations and food trucks for people to explore. The Great Saltair—the venue that Das Energi is held—sits on the beach of the Great Salt Lake and is home to the kind of pink, glowing sunset that will play back in your mind as a core memory for decades to come. 

The building itself is old, but gives the sort of warehouse vibe that you want from a rave, and the beach is really unlike any other event you can really find (aside from maybe Burning Man). It did rain before the event started on Friday which caused a little bit of mud, but it wasn't so bad that you couldn't hang out in the area. It rained again on Saturday, but that only made the crowd go wild as the rain glittered in the lasers. If the rain did slow down the festival, it wasn't apparent as an attendee. 

Das Energi offered more food this year than I had seen in the past, and had a lot of options ranging from local favorite spots and food trucks to what you would generally expect at a festival like pizza or tacos. The lines were never more than a few people long, which made getting anywhere quick and easy. I don't like being in tight crowds, and the crowds at Das Energi were always spaced out really well and never got pushy—even at the front of the main stage during Deadmau5. 

Over the last Decade Das Energi has gone from a small local rave to a major regional festival. I attended the first ever event back in 2012 just a few weeks after I graduated high school and have grown with the event over the years. In that time the addition of the beach stage, art installments, food trucks and interactive activations have really brought Das Energi into the spotlight, and I'm excited to see how it will continue to evolve in the coming years. Das Energi is run by V2 presents, a small local company that has spent decades working to put Utah on the map in terms of its electronic scene. With the success of Das Energi and the announcement that its annual Halloween festival, Get Freaky, will add a third day, I think I can definitely say that V2 succeeded in making Utah a must-go for its rave scene. 

Today V2 is a major part of the local scene, with festivals like Get Funky, Get Freaky, Get Lucky and its annual summer festival Das Energi. Over the years events like Das Energi have grown from a single day rave to a multi-day festival that takes place at the end of each summer at The Great Saltair. What makes V2 particularly different from other local promoters in the scene is that they amp up their production to massive festival-level entertainment. The V2 dancers, much like the Ultra Angels, have become a staple at V2 events with wildly creative, custom costume design and intricate makeup artistry.

The brainchild behind V2s dancers and costume design is Megan Fullmer, the lead designer and creative who works with the dance team to create custom looks for each event. We talked with Megan ahead of this summer's Das Energi Festival to learn about her approach to rave fashion, and what Das Energi fans can expect when they enter the gates of The Great Saltair this August.

savormeditation: Hi! Can you tell us a bit about the V2 festivals from your perspective as a dancer?

Megan Fullmer: It’s hard to think about our events from any other perspective than as a dancer. It is the only perspective I know and I’m so grateful for the world we have created over the years.

The weeks leading up to our festivals get a bit hectic, [my design partner] Roxy and I usually hunker down to conceptualize, design, and create all the outfits. Once that part is done, the rest comes naturally. We try to bring on new talented dancers, flow artists, and makeup artists at almost every festival to keep things fresh and showcase new talent, while keeping our main crew around who have been with V2 Performers for years.

Photo: Courtesy of V2 Presents

iHR: Which V2 event is your favorite to prepare for/attend and why?

MF: Not surprisingly, Das Energi is my favorite V2 festival and I would guess the same goes for all my other dancer babies and most people involved. The preparation takes a lot more time than others due to the larger team and higher attention to detail that I put into Das Energi as our biggest festival of the year.

Being outside during the festival and one of the best times of year at The Saltair is always magical, and vibes that our attendees bring to Das Energi are just unmatched. It is an all around beautiful festival! 

iHR: Tell me about your creative process in designing the costumes for an event?

MF: So many Ideas for designs come to me naturally, while others are more strategic. Recently for Get Funky, I knew that I wanted to go with an emo/punk look for one night and a purple and gold look for the other. After knowing the colors I wanted the second night, I began searching for fabrics in those colors and the rest just came together. I think that the finished product turned out nicely!

iHR: What are some of your favorite pieces you've designed over the last several years?

MF: As a horror fan and enthusiast, I always have an especially fun time designing our costumes for Get Freaky. Each year, I try to top the shock and gore value from the previous year, while still keeping our team looking sexy and fun. Combining these two aspects from two favorite hobbies of mine is very fulfilling and fun! 

iHR: What are your favorite rave fashion styles and trends these days?

MF: I love to see so many different styles from different people at different festivals. One of the most fun parts about a festival is to see all the diversity of many people trying different things that make them comfortable and happy.

In terms of my own designs, I always try to create something different that hasn’t been done before, that still fits within the general trending styles of rave-wear.

iHR: Are there any newer rave fashion trends you're excited to see more of this festival season?

MF: I get excited about everybody’s creativity and watching people express themselves through their outfits every year, regardless of trends.

iHR: What are some of your favorite or most memorable rave trends over the years? Are there any you'd love to see make a comeback?

MF: Fluffies are definitely one of the most memorable. They are definitely making a comeback, but I’m unsure how I feel about that ;)

Photo: Courtesy of V2 Presents

iHR: Are there any trends you're happy to see go out of style?

MF: I personally am not a fan of fluffies 😂 but I think they look great on the right people. They also make dancing even hotter than it already is.

iHR: Do you have any favorite savormeditation pieces?

MF: The “Sky Full of Stars” sets are my favorite from savormeditation! I design the majority of our costumes from scratch, but usually will grab fishnets and other accessories from savormeditation because they accompany my designs so perfectly.

iHR: If you created your own line of rave clothes, what would be the theme?

MF: I am currently building my own line/brand called Shmeeks. I like to make outfits that everybody feels comfortable, sexy, and happy in. I also draw from a wide range of inspiration, so not sure that my brand will follow a specific “theme."

Das Energi Festival will take place at Salt Lake's Great Saltair on August 12 and 13. The festival features headliners like Deadmau5, Excision, Louis The Child and Subtronics with a stacked lineup that isn't even fully revealed. Das Energi is one of my favorite festivals in the United States because it has a unique vibe in a beautiful venue. See you there ;)