Breakaway Arizona returned to the Sloan Park festival grounds last weekend. Even though this festival always carries the name of huge headliners with it, I had always ignored this festival, fearing the larger mainstream crowds those names were sure to attract. That changed this year at the behest of a friend and a stacked lineup featuring some great artists in the EDM bass scene like Grabbitz, Effin, Dr. Fresch, and Mersiv. It was time for me to see what Breakaway was about for myself, and I’m happy to say that even with the outward look of a festival catering to the mainstream influencer crowd, Breakaway still carries the heart of a smaller, vibey EDM festival if that’s what you’re looking for.
Day 1 started well, even with the expensive $25 charge for general admission parking. The walk to the entry was short, and security moved quickly, with everyone working there seeming to take a genuine interest in the attendees having a good time, laughing and joking as they checked bags while keeping the line moving.
Inside the festival, there was mostly a wide-open space. The main stage was in the middle of an enormous grass field that immediately stripped away my worries of the festival being overcrowded later in the evening. The second stage, called The L.A.B., was located just past a small segment of road that ran through the middle of the festival in the parking lot of Sloan Park baseball stadium. Next to it was a very well-manicured grass lawn that had plenty of shaded picnic tables set up, as well as a free water refill station that had enough fountains to make sure there was never a line for water.
I spent some time walking around and exploring the open space. Moods were high in the clear Arizona day as people danced around and already started to kick up dust at the main stage. I enjoyed the view from the elevated Celsius platform that was open to anyone in GA, along with a free cold energy drink, before finding my way into the silent disco.
I ended up spending more time inside the Jimmy John’s-sponsored silent disco than I had planned, just because of the fun atmosphere it provided. The small area was covered by shade and had a large sandwich-shaped disco ball hanging in the center. Three DJs threw down at all times for the headphone-wearing crowd that gathered. Along the sides of the dance space, there were even shelves lined with free bags of Jimmy John’s potato chips. I loved how this silent disco was set up to be a destination rather than just some fun side activity tucked away in a corner.
After the fun I had exploring, it was time to head back to The L.A.B. for Mersiv to take the stage. I expected Mersiv to come out with some slow, wonky, heavy bass, but instead he opened with a remix of Crankdat and Juicy J’s “Open the Pit,” setting the tone for his set as the sun started to sink lower in the sky. Instead of playing out his slower sounds for the would-be wook, which were mostly missing from Breakaway, Mersiv instead played a lot of high-energy future bass to keep the crowd moving. His remix of Deftones’ “Change (In the House of Flies)” had me losing my mind, and the remix of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” had the rest of the crowd losing theirs. Mersiv got my night really started, and my energy was high as I headed back over to the main stage for Isoxo.
This would be my second time ever seeing Isoxo, and he did not disappoint. I’m still not sure how I would classify his music, shifting between heavy bass and fast dancing beats. Isoxo creates an environment that feels like it’s filled with limitless energy, and you can’t help but jump with the music and let out a few screams. Isoxo calls for the pits to be opened before his intro is even done playing. He starts his set off in front of the decks, screaming for the crowd to get up and get moving until there is no one left sitting down. This being my first set at the main stage, I got to see the full production with lights, tons of pyro, and fireworks shooting up into the sky as the bass dropped. Isoxo kept shifting the energy from heavy bass to hardstyle to trap for massive crowd reactions. His song “Smack Talk” had the loudest reaction as the pyro went into overdrive when that drop hit. He even took some extra time to play out a few remixed drops from his newer hit “Fuck the Speakerz Up” while someone was in the pit with a camera so you could see the chaos unfolding on the big screens behind him. My legs hurt from all the jumping, but I had to make it back over to The L.A.B. for Grabbitz.
I knew what to expect as I meandered over to see Grabbitz. I could already hear the dubstep booming out as I got closer to the stage. “Power,” his collab track with Subtronics and Level Up, was playing when I arrived, and people were breaking their necks to the heavy drop with Super Mario 64 visuals lighting them up. It was clear how much fun Grabbitz was having on stage, playing for the wild crowd that had gathered for him. He said this was one of the loudest crowds he’s played for in a while before showing off his crowd control skills with a small Freddie Mercury-style call and response before singing his Bohemian Rhapsody remix to a crowd singing louder than the music. Grabbitz closed out his set with a new heavy remix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema” that had me breaking my neck before I had to head back to the main stage to find a spot for Marshmello.
Even with the second stage shutting down and Marshmello now being the only artist playing the end of night one, the crowd seemed manageable as I easily found a spot to enjoy the headline set. Marshmello came out fast and hard with a bunch of hardstyle and hard techno songs to keep up the energy the crowd was still holding onto after Isoxo. I had fun bouncing around to his set as he threw out songs that the crowd clearly knew every word of, even though I had never heard them before. His hardstyle remix of “Fuck the Speakerz Up” had me jumping again before he went back into his regular catalog. Half an hour before the end of his set, Marshmello got on the mic and asked the one question I had been waiting to hear all night: “That’s enough of that. You guys ready to turn it up a notch?” I screamed as he dropped “Movement,” his collab with riddim artist Hol!. I was so happy when he mostly stayed in the world of riddim and heavy dubstep until the night concluded with a massive fireworks display, and he let “Happier” end his set.
I started day two exhausted from the previous day. This is the day I became extremely grateful for the shaded picnic tables being situated so close to The L.A.B., so I could take breaks between dancing my feet off. Sitting at the tables led me to my biggest surprise of the festival, Steller.
I had never heard of Steller before she started playing, but her dubstep drops quickly caught my attention. The crowd built up as she got going, showing how many of the people here today were craving some real bass to get them going, and Steller gave it to them. She showed some really impressive mixing skills as she transitioned back and forth between heavy face-melting drops and wonky drops without slowing down. Every GRiZ remix she played had me telling myself to look her up after the festival, and the new Muse remix she ended her set with blew my mind. I was hooked on Steller for her entire set and will be revisiting her on Spotify until I get the chance to see her again.
Next up was Habstrakt to throw down his dirty bass house beats. He went into bass house mode as soon as he started and stayed there for most of his set with nonstop heavy bouncing beats. As soon as I had the thought of wishing he would change it up a bit, he would throw in a few dubstep drops to mix it up. He paid homage to yesterday’s main stage act with bass house remixes of Isoxo’s “Smack Talk” and “Fuck the Speakerz Up.” Closing out his set with a hardstyle remix of his classic “Chicken Soup,” before he introduced Dr. Fresch to the stage.
Dr. Fresch commanded the stage immediately without letting the energy die down for even a second as he kept Habstrakt on stage to play the duo’s new collaboration, which they are working on. Dr. Fresch brought his entire family on stage with him, including his fiancée, making it a party on the stage and in the crowd, with everybody jumping around and dancing. I was surprised when he premiered a new collab he is working on with Liquid Stranger, but I was even more shocked by the amazing house remixes of Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” and Knocked Loose’s “Counting Worms.” When I had lost all hope of hearing some riddim at Breakaway, he then played out another new collab, this one riddim with Hol!. It felt like the crowd reaction whenever he mixed in dubstep was so loud that he eventually switched to playing almost entirely dubstep beats. The party atmosphere was locked in when Dr. Fresch called fellow house DJ Bijou to the stage to play their new collab, and also had the crowd wish him a very happy birthday.
The final artist I would see at Breakaway this year was Effin. I had just seen him play when he toured in support of his “Daydreams” album that released last year, and I was excited to see how his sound transferred over to a big festival sound system. I knew this set would be good, but I was also worried that a lot of it would be repeated. Thankfully, it was not a repeat at all. Even though he did play mostly every song from his album, everyone was a new VIP or remix that he didn’t play on tour. His remix of Svdden Death’s “Shadow Lands Burial” with a funky drop blew me away. I loved the new collab he and GRiZ are working on with a heavy industrial drop, and closing with a preview of something he is making with Wooli was the icing on the cake.
After Effin ended his set, I was so tired and covered in so much dust that I decided it was time for me to end the night and head home. Breakaway Festival was a good time that I will be sure to check out again next year. The large mainstage crowd I had feared never developed, and the vibes of the festival stayed high with everyone being kind to each other. Breakaway really did feel like a couple of nights of breaking away from real life and letting the music take over. If you’ve been eyeing a Breakaway lineup but are fearing the size of the crowd these festivals seem to attract, maybe give them a chance. It’s clear the friendly festival heart is still beating inside Breakaway.