Goldrush returned to the wild and dusty West, as it returned to the Rawhide Western Town. With huge names like Excision, Dillon Francis, Disco Lines, and the first-ever Illenium B2B Zeds Dead, Goldrush was two nights of high vibes and amazing music that had every cowboy dancing in their boots.
Night one started off well with a quick and organized entry that led you right to the massive main stage. Golden Gorge was a towering neon wild west saloon with large video displays in the upper windows and countless lighting rigs all over. The stage wasn’t just big, but the theming of it fit the festival so well, I was immediately blown away. Even the side of the stage being filled with platinum VIP-level partygoers seemed to fit the theme, with partygoers living up life on the side patios of the saloon, just like cowboys in a western town would.
Making my way to Pioneer Peak, the second stage located in the back of the festival, was a fun adventure through the actual western town. Many of the buildings were open and playing their own dance music for attendees to come in and grab a drink between stages. The smaller stage, named The Hideout, was in the middle of the town. Its lighting rigs, built out over the crowd with support pillars throughout, gave warehouse vibes appropriate for the nasty beats I heard being dropped all weekend long.
Further along into the western town, the silent disco had been constructed into a small corral area filled with people silently dancing to whatever beat was playing in their headphones. As I started approaching the other end of the town, I found the Sound Cabin Art Car with local names playing out their songs. The Art Car was decked out with its own pyro and lasers to keep the hometown crowd happy as they listened to the up-and-coming artists from the scene.
Finally, as I made my way out of the other end of the western town, I was met with the sight of the second stage, Pioneer Peak. Pioneer Peak felt almost as large as the main stage, decked out in video screens at every angle, tons of lasers, and its own set of massive pyro flames shooting out of the top. The first artist I came to see, Arius, was already hyping up the crowd as I approached.
Arius wasted no time getting the crowd moving with some heavy, dirty beats. With some trippy Labubu visuals as they played out their classic “Where My Head Bangers” and their grungy version of The Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps”. These beats were only there to get the crowd going for the real part of their set, the laser dance routines that would blow the crowd away. These dance routines landed just as well live as they do on TikTok. The dancer grabs the lasers seemingly out of the air and twirls them around before somehow reattaching them to the stage. From routines that went along to a specially wonky remix of Ray Volpe’s “Laserbeam” to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and even Yookie’s popular song “Bubble Bass.” I was blown away moment after moment, especially when a second dancer jumped into the mix and the two started fighting like a scene from Mortal Kombat, throwing the laser back and forth like a weapon before one dancer impaled the other on it. By the end, there were five dancers on stage, all doing different tricks with the lasers that boggled the mind. This set was amazing from top to bottom. Amazing music and mixing, and next-level visuals with the dancers. If you told me this act was signed to some major residency in Las Vegas to do this show night after night for audiences, I wouldn’t be surprised because of the amount of talent and care this team showed off for their act.
Eliminate took the stage next for some of his high-energy dubstep. This set blended well between dubstep and bouncy club mixes, all with Eliminate’s own unique style. The crowd loved it when he played out “Turn It Up,” the title track from his new EP that had just been released that day. It was unfortunate that I had to leave early to make my way back to the main stage for Dillon Francis.
It had been years since I was able to catch a Dillon Francis set at a music festival, and what I remembered was the fun party atmosphere he created with his music. I was not ready for the heavy dubstep bangers I heard as I approached the stage. The beats were so hot he even exploded his SD card halfway through the set, causing a short break for technical difficulties. That did not slow him down, playing the popular “Skee Yee,” but doubled with a hardstyle drop. Most artists might shy away from playing their biggest hits over time as they don’t want to be known for that one song, but not Dillon Francis. He played an entire section of Get Low remixes at one point, even doubling the song with the Backstreet Boys. This was the fun party atmosphere I remembered, coupled with amazing song choices and nearly flawless mixing skills.
The crowd was hyped now, and Crankdat was about to take to the stage to elevate the energy even higher. Crankdat has been ascending the ranks of festival names recently, and this set showed off exactly why he has become such a player in the bass scene. Casually dropping his new collab with Subtronics near the start of his set as if it were just another song. A new remix of “STFU” with a drop that hits like a semi-truck. A new collab with Wooli that I personally need released ASAP. This set had everything except a chance to catch your breath. Even playing out “Freebird,” but doubling it with an extra bouncy Crankdat house beat to keep people from standing still. My personal highlight is probably the new collab with Tape B and Leivity that somehow seamlessly combines all three artist sounds into one amazing drop.
Excision ended the night at the Golden Gorge, playing out all of his hits and some surprises, too. Including a cool drum and bass remix of “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones. The night was capped off by a special fireworks show before everyone left to clean off the dust and heal their wounds for night two.
Night two started at Pioneer Peak as a lesser-known artist, Drinkurwater, took the stage. I had seen Drinkurwater perform at some other local shows over the years and was excited to check in on how his sound has evolved over the years. I was happy to find he has grown into something truly unique in his corner of the bass scene. I would describe his own brand of riddim as very wet; whether you like the sound of that or not, I bet you’d like his music. Run D.M.C.’s “It’s Tricky” flowed into some ear-tickling heavy bass, and his crazy heavy version of “Mind Pluck” were the highlights of a well-rounded set.
Next, Versa B2B Mvrda came out to an awesome western intro before falling into some bone-shattering riddim. I lost my mind and broke my neck on the rail for this set, sadly not taking any notes of what was actually played. I can tell you this was a showcase of how to mix riddim, chopping between two, three, and four tracks at once in a way that made the crowd scream. If riddim isn’t your thing, you would have bounced away from this stage quickly, but for those of us with the taste for riddim, this set was a treat from start to finish.
Kompany came out with a brand-new collab between him and Wooli. He dropped in Excision’s “G-Shit” into Subtronics’ “Mind Pluck” for a crazy crowd reaction. Cher’s “Life After Love” fed into a drop that slapped me in the face with how heavy it was. I screamed the words to Kompany’s viral hit “Jackpot” with everyone else, and I can’t wait for his new song that samples “The Downfall Of Us All” by A Day To Remember, but with a heavy house beat.
At long last, Space Laces took the stage to show off his talents. This set was everything I wanted it to be and more. The new “VIP” of Survive is bound to go just as viral as his “Dominate VIP” did a few years ago. He added his signature grindy, glitch-heavy bass sounds to “The Final Countdown,” and threw down a heavy bass cover of Marilyn Manson’s “This Is The New Shit” with a different vocalist. His hardstyle remix of “Internet Friends” had everyone in the crowd jumping. The energy was so high that he even split the crowd in half for a wall of death, with something ungodly heavy being thrown out to the mosh pit. All of this on top of so much unreleased music, it left me hoping he is preparing to release his “Vautage 004” mix soon.
Space Laces left me broken, beaten, and covered in dust. I slowly made my way over to the main stage for Illenium B2B Zeds Dead, hoping for a slower, vibey set that I could relax to before making my way home for the night. I was wrong. Even though these artists had never taken the stage together for a B2B before, it felt like they had been playing together for years. My expectations were for Illenium to play out his signature emotional songs with Zeds Dead filling in between with their trippy beats. Instead, this was a hard-hitting set that was hard to tell who was playing what. Yes, the well-known hits by each artist were there, like Illenium’s “Crashing” and Zeds Dead’s “Where The Wild Things Are,” but what blended them was hard-hitting bass beats, making the songs almost indistinguishable. The climax of the set was the two premiering their new collab for a massive crowd with an awe-inspiring fireworks show.
Now that the dust has settled and the muscles have started healing, I think it is safe to say this was my favorite Goldrush I have ever attended. The artists showed off their talents for a massive crowd that was handled well by the layout that Relentless Beats made through the western town. This year’s festival wasn’t just a return to the Wild West; it felt like a step up as well. Not just a step up in size, but in theming and planning. This year’s festival felt like Relentless Beats saying they are ready for more attention on a national scale, and it is leaving me with endless optimism for what next year’s festival will entail.