This festival has a very special place in my heart. The lineup is always stacked. The weather is usually nice. Most importantly,  I’ve made some incredible memories at Phoenix Lights over the years. It was the first festival I ever worked as an immersive character. (I had so much fun being a “space bunny” decked out in all silver with my girl gang!)  It was the first festival that I experienced with the love of my life. Every year that I go I have the best time frolicking around pretending to be in another world. Plus, I love aliens. I jokingly consider myself one all the time. 

I know we’re all still shaking off the last little bit of those post-holiday blues. So, it’s time to start planning toward making some fresh 2020 memories! Spring is almost in the air and Spring festival season is right around the corner. Have you planned all the festivals you want to go to? Phoenix Lights is a must for me. But if you’re on the fence still or you need more persuasion on why you should go, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are four reasons why you should experience Phoenix Lights 2020 (and encounter aliens):

Photo Credit: Rukes

1. It’s alien-themed. So, rumor has it, the festival is inspired by the infamous massive UFO sighting that people in The Valley claimed to see in our night sky over 20 years ago. Some say it was military flares lighting up the sky...others say it was UFOs. No matter what it was, I love that this festival is inspired by something so bizarre. That’s the fun of it! I mean, come on, aliens are fun. Having this theme makes everything super silly. All the lights and lasers at the stages taking you on an intergalactic journey. The festival will transport you straight into space. Plus, you can dress super futuristic and otherworldly, like this look here. (Que “Take Me To Your Leader” by Walker & Royce.) 

Swerved Reflective Jogger Set

Psttt..guys, savormeditation has you SO covered for Space-themed men's tees, joggers and tanks. Check them out here! 

Afrojack - The Dutch DJ and producer is globally known for his high-tempo collaborations with hit artists like David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Madonna. He’s best known for songs like “Dirty Sexy Money” with Charli XCX and French Montana.

MK -  This DJ has roots in Detroit and has been spinning since the 80’s so you know he has a great, deep-house sound. MK has made major impressions in the deep-house game with songs like, “17” and “Back & Fourth” with Jonas Blue and Becky Hill. 

NGHTMRE - This DJ is no stranger to the Arizona EDM scene. He’s back to have us all headbanging into another dimension! NGHTMRE is well known for his collaboration with SLANDER called “Gud Vibrations” and “Frontlines” with Zeds Dead and GG Magree.

Walker & Royce - This powerful duo has their own unique and distinct house sound you could spot anywhere with songs like “Dance with Me” with Chris Lake and “Role Models” with Oncue. 

I can’t wait to see what else is in store if the lineup is already this good. 

4. Each year it’s gotten better and better. The experience you have at a festival is EVERYTHING. Having access to luxurious lounging at a festival can make all the difference when you’re needing a break from dancing and exploring. Feeling the music you hear is definitely one of the most key components, but how you treat your body and mind at a festival is everything. I love to have more than “just a place to sit.” I want the real deal. Like, give me a place to sit near art, or a place with some interactive activities going on. Back in 2017, there were little igloo huts offering a comfy place to sit, buffers to massage your body after dancing and more.

Fast- forward to last year, and there were beautiful shaded canopies to lounge at! One of the shaded lounge spaces was hosted by savormeditation! The space was filled with beautiful art and interactive textures, photo op-art cart AND a craft beer garden! (The iHR space was the only place where you could get delicious craft beer too! It was a crowd-pleaser.) How cool is that? Just imagine all the fun things that will happen THIS year!!

If you still need to be convinced that Phoenix Lights is an out-of-this-world experience, check out the 2020 trailer below:

I hope to see you fellow aliens there! :) 

Peace, Love, Unity, Respect!

-Polly

Phoenix Lights has seen a few switches in location over the years, and last year finally found what we hope to be a permanent home. This new venue, The Park At Wild Horse Pass, is an area of Rawhide Event Center designed specifically for festivals like this. Last year, there was a huge grassy area around the main stage, which was impressive considering this festival is essentially in the desert. The venue has continued to grow and add on to what it was last year, so it’ll be exciting to see what new features have been added.

Photo Credit: Phoenix Lights/Rukes

Aside from the great location and amazing lineup, Phoenix Lights Festival will always hold a special place in my heart. This is where I first met savormeditation’ Brand Managers, Tiny Dancer and Mama Unicorn and really felt like I was part of the savormeditation family. There’s a lot more to it than that, though. Something about traveling to a warm, sunny place in the middle of a rainy spring to enjoy incredible music just really got to me. So many of my favorite house artists performed last year, making for a groovy good time.

Tiny Dancer, Mama Unicorn and me and my friend!

This year, the lineup blew me away enough yet again to make me want to make the trip back to Arizona this year. The first two artists announced, Kaskade and Excision, were enough to make many people hooked on this year’s bill.

 However, for me, the excitement didn’t stop there. As more and more artists were announced, it became more and more clear that Phoenix Lights needed to be a priority on my festival list this year.

Right after the first two artists were announced officially at Decadence Arizona, Relentless Beats started dropping the official first phase of artists. This phase included A$AP Ferg, Sasha, Griz, Claude VonStroke, Shiba San, Arty, San Holo, Jay Lumen, Party Favor, and more. As if this weren’t enough, Relentless Beats came in with another round of top-notch artists after that first initial lineup announcement. Phase two included Big Gigantic, Lane 8, Subtronics b2b Squnto, Phantoms, Svdden Death, Must Die, Elephante, Doctor P b2b Cookie Monsta, and more. When we put all these together, we get a beautiful compilation of house, dubstep, trance, hip-hop, trap, and everything in between.

Lineup Courtesy of Relentless Beats

Another cool part about Phoenix Lights? This year, Phoenix Lights will be partnering again with Surreal to offer fans amazing prizes! One winner will receive a VIP ticket to Phoenix Lights for themselves and a friend, roundtrip airfare (courtesy of Orbitz), accommodations for a hotel, and the chance to hang backstage with Kaskade and Excision. All net proceeds will benefit Relentless Beats’ charity partner, Child Help. You can enter between now -March 19th by submitting a donation through several different tiers. Donations start at $5 for any individual experience. You can learn more and enter here:  www.givesurreal.com.

Don't miss out - get your Phoenix Lights tickets before they sell out. See you there!

The Kandi

The Arizona Rave Fam never disappoints when it comes to hospitality and good vibes. We can say without a doubt that these are some of the most PLUR ravers we're ever met! They've definitely abducted our hearts with some amazing hugs and kandi trades. From Aliens, to cacti, to spaceships and personalized kandi...PLUR was thriving all weekend long! We received so much kandi here that we will cherish along with all of our Phoenix Lights Memories.

Arizona Sunsets

 Photo Credit: @jveronetm @tmvision_media // Ravers: @jessicakslep, @tinydancer88_, @mamaunicorn175 & @maddiflows 

The Theme

Convenience

Not only was the theme rad, but the convenience and ability to move around the festival from stage to stage was a breeze. Security and ticket check were seamless for us each day and we enjoyed how easy it was to go from lounging in the grass at the Mothership to dancing under the arches of the Colony. 

The People

The Relentless Beats attendees are one of our favorite things about Arizona in general. We go to a lot of festivals and we meet a lot of people, but there is something about the Arizona Rave Family that makes us always feel like we're at home. We spent the majority of the daytime roaming around the festival meeting all the awesome people and we even made some friends for life. We're so thankful for all the friendly, courteous and PLUR people we met this year and can't wait to be back to reunite with them again soon.

Photo Credit: @lionlens_ // Ravers: Jade the Donut, love.you_em, ladyravepool, dillonyarfit, betsy_ville, bri.delisser

Not to mention the people were amazing, but Mama Unicorn even made friends with a cactus we named Chad. Even the plant life in Arizona makes us happy.

Seven Lions

Seven Lions is one of the artists I can’t miss when he’s playing at an event! He’s known for effortlessly mixing in trance and dubstep into his sets, taking the crowd on a journey of feels to headbanging to some hardcore bass. His first episode of The Observatory is a perfect example of his musical taste, starting off with the slow melodic tunes of Lane 8 and later bringing in the fire with ‘Cold Hearted’, his collaboration with Kill the Noise. If you’re a dubstep and trance lover, Seven Lions is for you!

Goldfish

A unique experience to witness, Cape Town’s Goldfish is one of the few upcoming artists you absolutely MUST check out! Their tour includes a live performance of the duo jamming out on the keyboard, double bass, flute and saxophone along with the electronic synths. Their latest mixtape is just a taste of what to expect when you see them live in April!

Chris Lake

"Ring ring goes the telephone, there’s no one home..." Sounds familiar, right? You’ve probably heard house producer Chris Lake’s famous song, ‘Operator’ without even knowing. You might have even gotten the catchy tune stuck in your head. Lake has even collaborated with Chris Lorenzo to make an equally groovy single called ‘Nothing Better’, which I currently have on repeat. If you like to shake your rave booty, Chris Lake better be on your set schedule!

Martin Garrix

This a little embarrassing to admit, but I have never seen Martin Garrix live. The only song I really knew from Martin Garrix was ‘Animals’, the song that made him popular back in 2013. Browsing through his Soundcloud, I fell in love with his single called ‘Pizza’, which reminded me of the good ol’ days back in 2012, when house music was at its peak. If you’re attending Phoenix Lights, catch his set for me!