Thousands of ravers descended upon Phoenix, Arizona to ring in the New Year! Relentless Beats dazzled with a two-night spectacular packed with high-energy music and unique experiences. With a lineup that people traveled near and far to catch, the RB team cooked up an unrivaled New Year’s treat.
While the New Year’s Eve countdown is technically the star of the show, both days were bursting with incredible talent across five different stages. With quite a few Decadence visits under my belt, I had high expectations heading into the new year. I’m happy to report, the RB team blew it out of the water! Hosted at Phoenix International Raceway, the setup was compact and strategic. With the two main stages being angles away from one another, this made for easy access to both spaces without sound bleed-over becoming an issue. To further curate the experience, the Weird & Wonderful team roamed the grounds and sprinkled joyous engagement left and right with all the fest attendees.
Now, the vibes are always flowing at an RB event, so let’s talk about the music! INZO has had an incredible run of shows over the past few years, all the while fine-tuning his sound. His Decadence appearance came with a heavy side of dubstep and a healthy dose of wild party energy! He had the crowd going feral over a new track with REZZ. I’m counting down the days until I can play that on repeat once it’s released.
Speaking of dub vibes, John Summit hit us with a remix of Kx5‘s viral track “Escape” but he pulled it into a club/dub mix that featured a heavy bass line. Tasty doesn’t even begin to describe it. He closed the hit set with his track “Where You Are” and had the whole crowd jumping with love for one another! Thankfully, John Summit had one last treat up his sleeve. With his timeslot backing up to Subtronics‘, the two gave us a little SubJohnics love! Featuring the track titled “Deep End” by Fousheé, the duo gave us a positively wild rendition! Even though we only got one song from the impromptu duo, it hit the spot.
Once Subtronics took the decks, shit got wompy, bassy, and wild! With his hair flying free he carried the crowd through a bonkers hour of bass! My highlight from the evening was Subtronics dropping Armani White‘s viral track BILLIE EILISH. He shook me to my bones with a FAT DROP, I wasn’t ready!
Day two, aka New Year’s Eve, brought an even bigger and more excited crowd out! You could feel the energy in the air as we counted closer to midnight. With talent like Chris Lake, SAYMYNAME, and Green Velvet all gracing the decks through the night, there was no shortage of high-energy vibes all around! A standout performance of the evening came from the powerhouse that is Black Tiger Sex Machine. Even though the iconic trio was down a member for this particular performance, that did not affect their wow factor! They maximized all the light and screens available in the space to take us on an adventure. They took me to church and ya girl has zero regrets!
The coveted and ever-so-important midnight timeslot went to the spectacular and explosive duo, Slander. It always blows my mind how they can seamlessly transition from dirty, heavy bass energy into trills and feels without missing a beat. These boys have RANGE! So much so that their remix of Linkin Park‘s 2003 hit “Faint” caught me by surprise and yet it felt like the perfect fit.
As midnight inched closer, the crowd swelled into countdown mode! As if the night couldn’t get any better, Illenium jumped on the decks for a b2b moment to ring in the New Year with Slander! With confetti, balloons, and endless joy washing over the crowd, we all kissed 2023 goodbye and welcomed in 2024! Slander and IIllenium were 100% the right choice for the midnight spot. Illenium carried the high-energy crowd right into an emotional and dynamic set. Regardless of how many times I see that man live, I’ll never stop being shocked at his ability to take me from the verge of tears to headbanging within seconds, and it feels totally organic! Yes, he’s captain of the sad boi music club, but he can also get hella aggressive in a truly positive way!
From the second I walked into Decadence, the energy was high, the crowd was jumping, and the production was top-notch. As a long-time RB attendee, this has my seal of approval! Take a sneak peek of our photos from the weekend, or check out our full gallery on our Facebook page! Be sure to stay current on upcoming RB events by following their socials on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Happy New Year, my fellow Freaks! May your dancefloors be welcoming and vibey all year long!
