Upon hearing about Sacred Acre, the first thought that materialized was, “An electronic festival in Alaska? For real?” After attending this amazing gathering of music, humanity, and spirtuality, it is evident that Sacred Acre is more than just “for real,” it’s a must attend event for the rogue basshead travelers amongst us. The sets, the production, the people, and the backdrop of nature were enthralling to be a part of. For this HIHFer, Sacred Acre reignited my childish glee in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a while. It felt as though I was participating in a coordinated dance routine that I’d never heard of but somehow already knew. The Alaska based festival is an encapsulation of the term ‘destination festival’, and its momentum will only continue to grow in the future year after year.
The trip started in Anchorage, a couple hours drive away from the venue. The drive to Ninilchik was a gorgeous and breathtaking foray into nature. On the way to the Sacred Acre grounds, there are beautifully steep and craggy mountains, a crystal clear ocean bay, glacial streams, evergreen forests, and the overwhelming sensation of vastness that only true glories of nature can induce.
After that beautiful voyage, it was finally time to boogie on down. When arriving at the Sacred Acre festival, you can feel a cozy and warm energy coming from all around. The main stage, which is called the River Stage, really has no bad spots. Everywhere you stand has a clear and close view to the artists and incredible sound. The sound systems at the festival were genuinely so impressive. The audio was crystal clear and the bass vibrated attendees to their core. Some long term festival goers noted that the speakers and audio set up were reminiscent of Infrasound festival, which is incredibly high praise, as one of the premiere festivals for bass music in the U.S. Sacred Acre’s vendors, mostly hailing from neighboring towns in Alaska, were all incredibly welcoming, providing tips about the state, the festival, and even offering free goodies to anyone willing to participate in some trivia.
After arriving and exploring the festival grounds, it was time to hunker down and start grooving. One of the best parts about this festival is that there is only one stage going until afters, so you never have to worry about a set conflict. Meduso was up first at the River stage and he definitely started the fest off on a high note. With slow melodic builds and drippy experimental bass, all the Sacred Acre attendees knew we were in store for a weekend filled with sonic delight.
Tripp St. followed with a barrage of crunchy, filthy freeform dubstep, with the people dancing as the sun went down. After a quick pause to take a deep breath and stretch a little, the emcee took the stage, preaching love, compassion, respect, and just spreading good vibes.
Now, it was Maddy O’Neal’s turn. This funky queen dazzled with neck breaking tracks and galvanizing energy. The Chicago-born producer INZO was the next artist to take the stage. His signature fluttering bass mixed with reflective emotional melodies painted a spectacular sonic picture for attendees to dive into.
At last, an inaugural b2b with two of the hottest names in bass music, Effin and Tape B. They started off with their newest single, “ I’ll Never Know” which was released on the same day. From then on it was strictly rump shaking tunes. It felt as though we had been transformed into marionettes and the two dubstep dons were pulling the strings. The set concluded after Sacred Acre attendees had collectively reached a flow state. Then the emcee came back on to rile us up for afters.
After the River stage closed for the night, it was the Ocean and After Hours stages’ time to shine. Phyphr kicked it off at the Ocean stage. He was playing funky bass from the decks and live playing the guitar and talk box. The artist was a perfect microcosm of the festival, an individual parading musical uniqueness for everyone to experience. The energy at that stage continued to flow all night with the psychedelic groovy Opiuo, Okay Jake, and David Starfire. The After Hours stage was indoors. The first night was a bouncy house extravaganza featuring Sterling, Alex The Lion, Dig Sista, and Keshiko. Then it was time to rest up and get ready for the next day, excitement and anticipation still humming through the campgrounds.
Another aspect of Sacred Acre that was enticing was the daytime excursions. Attendees could go on a boat party, take a helicopter ride, or even go spear fishing with a local Alaskan expert. This HIHFer chose to continue to explore the magnificent nature that the state had to offer. Upon returning to the venue, it was time for the real party of the day to start, the festival. Brooks The Wook was the surprise set of the weekend for out-of-staters. As soon as the Alaska-based DJ took stage, the pit filled up with loyal fans. The artist came in hot, dropping deep dubstep remixes packed with energy and wonky bass tunes the whole set. Anyone attending the performance quickly realized the Brooks The Wook was a Sacred Acre staple and definitely an artist to keep your eyes on. Similar to the emcee, Brooks got on the mic at the end and spoke about self love and how that love would ripple out to the people, places, and things that matter. Self love was clearly an emphasis of the festival and that sentiment radiated to all the Sacred Acre folks.
From then on, we were thrust into an all day dance frenzy. MLOTIK destroyed the crowd with a bombardment of bass, DnB, and dubstep. STVSH dropped heater after heater with the sun still very much present in the colossal Alaskan sky. Then one of the other stunners of the weekend, Josh Teed, began his epic performance. All of a sudden, Sacred Acre was thrown back in time, with classical inspired music blaring from the speakers and a super talented musical maestro playing violin behind the decks. Teed astonished, evolving lovely symphinoc tunes into dirty, energy packed, bass anthems. Afterwards, the emcee came back to jazz us all up. Not that the crowd needed it, as we were already seething with vibration, chomping at the bit for more music.
As night was upon us, the festival continued to turn up. Cool Customer impressed with his selection skills and filthy arsenal of bangers. Then it was time for each member of the b2b from the night before to carve out their spot of night two. The penultimate act at the main stage was Effin. The innovative artist came with his trademark euphoric build ups and certified banging basslines. Tape B followed with a set that only the old school x new school producer could compose. His performance was nonstop energy, going from rap to dubstep seamlessly. Tape B showed Sacred Acre an unbelievable time, and got us all geared up for the night.
Those who went to campsite to regroup ahead of afters may have been lucky enough to stumble onto the gorgeous piano playing of local legend Johnny B. The pianist was set up in a little amphitheater off the beaten path and was putting together beautiful and emotion-inducing melodies. He played brilliant covers and artful originals. Listeners got the chance to sit down, take a load off, and slow down a little while immersed in ephemeral notes and magnificent chords. Little surprises like this are a big part of the reason that Sacred Acre is so special.
At last, the lasers and sound systems had been booted up at Ocean and After Hours, letting attendees know it was time to keep the night going. . Dredlok was dropping filthy bass and hip hop flips and even singing live on stage. Tony H put together a groovy house set. Mindchatter showed us a new meaning of what beauty can look like through sound with his cinematic soundscapes. Dystraxion dropped energy-injecting DnB all night, making sure everyone had enough in the tank to keep moving.
As Sunday dawned, the bittersweet realization kicked in that the last day of Sacred Acre was upon us. The Alaskan morning did not disappoint, awakening and rejuvenating the campgrounds. Day three kicked off with a set from the Alaskan native Ike Snow, who put together a high tempo set that got the audience shimmying. Next it was time to get weird with Choppy Oppy followed by Kodiak Kid. Both artists took us on sonic journeys, where the sounds seemingly transformed and evolved in front of us.
The energy intensified when Audio Goblin took the stage. The DJ shook us with unique sounds and heavy bass. As the sets continued with Mr. Bill the pace of the music sped up a tad and we were back to a frenzy of dance. The legendary production master blasted Sacred Acre with his filthy performance. The last one up was Opiuo, performing his second set of the weekend. The Kiwi born electronic icon brought his signature funkadelic sound to Sacred Acre, and closed it out perfectly.
The music was over, the festival was complete, and the attendees were satisfied. Sacred Acre, a small festival located in the middle of the last frontier, is an event that will now hold a permanent and special place for all those lucky enough to be a part of it. After perpetually smiling the whole weekend, driving home with the backdrop of the Alaskan landscape only made my heart fuller. If you get the chance, GO TO THIS FESTIVAL!!!