I have a confession to make. I was never the biggest fan of Detroit. Something about the city put me on edge every time I had visited. I felt a sense of danger, and heeded the cautionary tales from my mother of “not going out at night if it was unnecessary.” My opinion changed a great deal last year when I attended my first ever Movement festival. See, I come from an era where friends still called it DEMF. Although I have been corrected more times than I can count that it is now called “Movement,” my besties in Indiana will likely never give up their opinions that Movement is their favorite electronic music festival of all time. I consider myself a convert after spending time with my homegirl Lea, and my rave brother from another mother Gary, all who truly encouraged me to find the unique vibe that only a festival in Detroit has to offer.
Last year, day one was a bit too minimal musically for me. Truth be told, I love House and Trance. Day two I was finally getting the hang of it, and by day three I just couldn’t wait to see Carl Cox, the master himself whom I’ll be honest, I had only been able to tolerate snippets of his sets in the past. His set at Movement was everything Gary promised me it would be, and I came home singing praises of the one festival I had always avoided in the past. Not to mention Richie Hawtin.
Last year’s lineup was more obscure for my tastes. I had to really do my Soundcloud and Mixcloud research to even know who a good 2/3rds of the lineup was. (Techno newb problems). This year, I feel more prepared and was extremely excited to hear the glorious lineup announcement this afternoon. If you haven’t done this festival yet kids, this is the year to do it.
Leading the pack is the man himself, Claude Von Stroke, who’s Dirty Bird merch was spotted on half of the crowd last year, followed by Loco Dice B2B Martinez Brothers, and then are you ready for this? Mother Fucking Wu-Tang Clan for their 25th anniversary. Never in my life did I ever think I would see them. I’m overly stoked at how absolutely epic their set will be.
The best thing Movement did this year, was announce every phase all at once. This alleviates the problem of waiting until the absolute last minute to score tickets waiting for that one big announcement. I am a fan of the direction Paxahau is going this year. Check out the stellar lineup below, and grab those tickets. Did I mention it is one of the better valued three-day festivals in the US? Give it a go… I’m sure I won’t be the only one who comes back a “Detroit Hustles Harder” convert after this year!