Heard It Here First

I want to start this off by saying that I only went to two festivals in my life prior to the pandemic. Those were Moonrise and Electric Zoo. They are larger-scale, more popular festivals that catered to all types of EDM. Moonrise and Electric Zoo contained some of my favorite memories in my high school and college years.

Yonderville Music & Arts Festival was a completely different story. It was a smaller-scale camping festival out in the mountains of West Virginia. It was also the first-ever camping festival I ever attended. Not only did Yonderville blow out Moonrise and Electric Zoo by a hundred miles, but it may have been the best weekend of my life, one I have needed for a while now.

A LINEUP WITH A TWIST

This lineup was not only different from past lineups Yonderville had, but also significantly different from any of the bass festivals I have seen this year.  Yonderville was headlined by five influential bass producers in the scene: EPROM, Chee, Supertask, Tiedye Ky, and VCTRE.  There were also movers and shakers already leaving their stamp on the bass scene, such as DiCe MaN, Mindset, Choppy Oppy, Josh Teed, and Rafeeki. Takeovers came from well-known bass collectives like Sermon Nation, Aspire Higher, Wavecraft, The Gradient Perspective, and more.

But what made the lineup stand out to someone like me was how much underrated talent there actually was at the event. The bottom half of the poster included names deep within the underground bass world. Those that stood out to me were JamL, Lemondoza, Mastuh, Mythic Rogue, Prosper, Undehfined, wood.wurks, and Yung Abner. These were names I have seen pop up multiple times. Some were even people I connected with prior to the festival. The deal-maker here, however, was that there was something for everyone. It did not matter what kind of bass music you were into, because you would be satisfied no matter what.

VENUE + GROUNDS

Yonderville took place at Marvin’s Mountaintop, in West Virginia. I honestly could not think of a better spot for an intimate festival like this. There was a lot of space for camping, dancing, socializing, you name it. In some spots, you could catch the sunset at dusk. And let me tell you, it was a magnificent sight.

On the festival grounds, there were two stages. The main stage was small, but consisted of incredible production and a thick Danley sound system. As mentioned, there was a ton of space to not only dance, but to place a chair or blow-up couch down to kick back, relax, and let the bass take you places. Water was provided at the main stage for free, so whenever you needed to refill your pack or bottle, you could walk up to it with almost no line.

The other stage was the Dub Bus, curated by Dub Day. The stage was literally a bus, unlike any I have ever seen. They connected a proper Hennesey sound system to feature some underground bass artists and late-night music that went until sunrise each day.

The food was provided by Cosmic Charlie’s Grateful Grill. Their food consisted of burritos, loaded mac ‘n cheese, and loaded fries. There were also a few vendors by the main stage that sold tapestries and other festival must-haves.

AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER

I arrived at around 5:00pm on Friday afternoon. There was a Thursday early arrival option that I was unable to be at. I refused to let that distract me from going all out. The music was already going strong, and the exploring was just getting started. This was my first camping festival and I needed to make the most of it.

I spent as much time as I could interacting with people. I was fortunate enough to speak with producers, volunteers, staff members, and, most importantly, the fans. It was so amazing to have that opportunity again. Everyone came from different backgrounds of life, and they were so accepting of each other. I was also fortunate enough to spend time with my family at The Gradient Perspective. I joined back in March, and Choppy Oppy and the whole team have been so amazing to me, and to spend time with them meant the whole world.

The music was also next level. The production and sound were just overall stellar. It still feels surreal that I got to experience EPROM, Chee and VCTRE go crazy on a legitimate sound system, while also seeing Tiedye Ky and Supertask placing the crowd in their feels. Having so much space on the field made dancing ridiculously fun for everyone. I don’t think I saw a single person not enjoying themselves. Everyone got down to the gnarliest bass music you could think of, and it was more enjoyable for me to share that energy with the rest of the crowd. Even better, there were multiple instances of the incredibly gifted Josh Teed joining artists on stage to jam out on his violin, which was truly unforgettable.

On the last night, the Dub Bus received a treat. The special guest slot was reserved for a huge b2b2b2b set from Tiedye Ky, Chee, Mindset, and DiCe MaN. There was nothing holding them back from having the wonkiest, craziest set of the weekend. There were so many bangers played by the boys. DiCe MaN even dropped Nero’s remix of “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris out of the blue, making everyone at the Dub Bus go wild. I will never forget that special experience.

VERDICT

It’s been a week since I stepped foot on the grounds, and I’ve been so happy about life ever since. Yonderville was the perfect festival back for me. The memories I created, the people I interacted with, the music I got to experience, everything added up to make it the best field trip possible. Being at a small festival with so many legends and homies really brought the best vibes. It’s also significant as it was my first time doing media for any show or festival ever. Being able to share this story with the organizers will hold a place in my heart for a long time. Shoutout to Maxwell Stone over at Mosiac Events, as well as DiCe MaN and the entire Dub Day crew, for making sure this event was as fluid and amazing as possible.

Music has called my name for so long. This is my life now, and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.

Be sure to follow the HIHF team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to check out some of the cool videos and experiences we got from this past weekend. And be on the lookout for an exclusive interview coming soon from an amazing artist who played as well!