Spring and early summer at The Great Saltair is a great time to catch the sunset—and after a heavy winter, a few mosquito bites. This year Get Funky Festival, which happened over June 23 and 24, celebrated the start of the summer in the best way possible: with great music, great vibes, and great views.
As a younger raver I used to complain about The Great Saltair. While it may not technically be abandoned, it's an old warehouse that certainly gives off that impression when you walk in. Today's Saltair is much different than it was when I first attended events there over 10 years ago. At Get Funky, the venue premiered a new multi-story viewing deck from the back of the outdoor amphitheater, which gives a stunning view of the crowd, stage, mountains, and shores of the Great Salt Lake from above.
With several festivals throughout the year, what V2 and The Great Saltair was missing in the past was a chill music festival that offered a lineup of only house and techno artists. Festivals like Get Freaky in the fall and Get Lucky in the spring offer lineups of the biggest dubstep and EDM acts, respectively, and the late-summer Das Energi Festival brings a cornucopia of electronic artists across all genres. But if there's one thing that I can tell you about desert raves, it's that house music hits different. Thankfully, V2 started Get Funky just a few years ago.
The Lineup
With sets from major players like Chris Lake, Dom Dolla, Tokimonsta, and Walker & Royce, V2 was able to transform the shores of the Great Salt Lake from a quiet desert oasis into a bustling, funky dancefloor where people couldn't stop dancing for two days.
Some of the highlights of the lineup were Lee Foss and Walker & Royce, who gave us a taste of what Desert Hearts and some of the other transformational festivals have to offer. The community these artists bring is something special and unique, and I was happy to see these vibes at Get Funky throughout the weekend!
As a smaller festival, V2 always seems to put extra attention into curating a unique lineup that stands out against the bigger events throughout the summer. This year's Get Funky brought killer sets not just from its headliners, but its openers too! Blossom and Honey Luv played fun sets that kept the crowd moving from start to finish.
The Festival
With only one stage this year, you would think that crowds would want to spend some time exploring the festival grounds. Like I said before, house music hits different, and I noticed that most people ended up hanging out in the grass or in the new concrete area at the back of the mainstage.
The chill vibes at Get Funky made it feel much different from other Saltair raves, which seemed apparent to everyone around. The crowds were never tightly packed, and everyone on the dancefloor seemed happy to share their space with others.
What Get Funky lacked, however, was more seating areas or spaces to just sit and hang out. V2 did a great job of providing lots of things to explore and hang out on at Das Energi in 2022, including food trucks. Get Funky is much smaller, but it would be awesome to see V2 expand it in the future to something similar to its late-summer festival.
Overall, Get Funky is one festival that I would not miss in the future! With easy access to downtown, getting there and back was a breeze. The venue recently implemented a new parking strategy that let you pay in advance, which made the process much faster and somehow made it easier to get out at the end of the night. If you're in the area, make sure to check out Get Funky in the future. If you're not, make a trip out of it! You'll be amazed with what you find.
