(Photo courtesy of Relentless Beats)Phoenix will be shaken to its core by electronic dance music this weekend when Hardwell, the world’s No. 1 DJ, takes over the Civic Space Park next to the Downtown campus as part of the Phoenix Lights music festival.
Joining Hardwell is Robin Schulz, the producer of hit radio tracks like “Waves” and “Prayer In C,” Canadian EDM powerhouse Zeds Dead, British house music star Route 94, and many more artists including local DJs.
Ryan Auhl, an ASU alumnus and partner of the Arizona-based promotion company putting on the show, Relentless Beats, said that besides Hardwell, Zeds Dead is the act to see.
“We’ve had the great opportunity of booking them over the years and every single show has been more epic than the last,” he said. “Plus, they’re cool guys.”
True Music Xperience, the company that brought Wiz Khalifa, Capital Cities and Bassnectar to the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, is also promoting the event.
“Our partner Jarid Dietrich (of True Music Xperience) has a good relationship with the city of Phoenix.” Auhl said. “His networking was able to get a date.”
Auhl said Relentless Beats strives to provide a unique atmosphere and setting with each festival the company promotes.
“It’s really important that we give our artists, and more importantly, our fans that different look so they have a different way to experience each festival,” he said. “Rather than just doing everything at Rawhide or Phoenix Convention Center, we’d rather do the different looks throughout the year like Tempe Beach Park or the Civic Space Park. We’re adding a couple new ones this year that I can’t talk about.”
Auhl said there are plans to use the already existing artwork at the Civic Space Park to enhance audience’s experiences at Relentless Beats’ festivals in the future.
“As we do more there, we want to do more with the art that’s pre-existing,” he said. "For (Phoenix Lights), we’ll feature it as is.”
Relentless Beats and EDM as a genre has significantly grown in popularity and success over the past few years.
After putting on the Wet Electric festival at Talking Stick Resort in April 2014, Relentless Beats announced a partnership with the hotel in March 2015 that will continue to bring DJ talent to its casinos and hotels.
“On the second day (of Wet Electric), they did so many people, that (Talking Stick’s) entertainment director was able to use it as a proof of concept that they should be doing dance music,” Auhl said. “We’re not producing every event there, but we’re buying the talent or helping them acquire the talent.”
He also said the main focus of Relentless Beats is based around a pure love of music and a passion for putting on great events for fans.
“Our company is built around a music community,” Auhl said. “The people that we really want to provide the events for and the ones that we strive to have the best experiences for are the ones that love the music and the artists.”
Phoenix Lights will take place on Sunday, March 22 at Civic Space Park in downtown Phoenix. Doors open at 2 p.m. Click here for tickets and more information.
Reach the arts editor at jhgolds2@asu.edu or follow @mister_jgold on Twitter.
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