House music and EDM, hollering and dancing were brought together inside the walls of Rawhide Arena as KAYTRANADA, Fisher and DJ Mandy headlined Saturday's lineup of the Better Together festival.
The festival was launched on Friday and offers a new experience for those who have attended festivals like Goldrush Music Festival and Decadence Arizona, or those who are new to the rave scene altogether.
"It's not at the Raceway for once, but I think it's smaller than I was expecting," said Tala Al-Thaher, a senior studying sustainability. "I thought they were gonna do it on the field, not in the warehouse. So (the) verdict's out if I like the warehouse more than I like the fields because I've been to the original Rawhide gold rushes"
Performances took place inside the warehouse, and there was plenty to do outside, including eating at the tents selling pizza, tacos and beverages. There were also stands offering merchandise for the various performing artists and the festival itself.
Although tickets were $189 per person for two-day general admission, the festival was easy for university students to attend, as it was only a 25-minute drive from the Tempe campus and had free parking.
While the evening kicked off with performances from DJ and producer Dmitri at 4 p.m., the arena truly started to fill up during KAYTRANADA's performance. People sang and danced to his set which was paired with flashing lights and an LED screen that read "KAYTRANADA." The show ended after midnight when Fisher finished off the two-day-long festival's first run.
Attendees also appreciated the positive and safe environment the festival created, aligning with PLUR, an acronym popular in rave culture that stands for peace, love, unity and respect.
READ MORE: Unpacking Arizona raves, and how their popularity might be killing the culture
"The people that are here are pretty similar to the group that would be at other media festivals," said Lauren Taylor, a senior studying sustainability. "There's a lot of people here, so it's pretty safe, and there's a lot of resources if (anyone) needs to get any."
The diverse genres hosted at the festival attracted fans from all backgrounds, lifestyles and even states in the country, including Carly Deck, a New Mexico resident who traveled with her friends for the weekend to participate in the fun.
"The three of us drove all the way here because we love house music so much," Deck said. "It's our first weekend break, and we're so excited to be here to listen to some Fisher and some house music."
Deck also plans to travel to Phoenix in January to attend Decadence, a New Year's Eve rave celebration. Deck said the Arizona crowd's respect and kindness to one another as a reason for her enjoyment of raves in Phoenix.
"Everyone here is so nice," Deck said. "I'm going through the crowd to get a better spot, and everyone's moving out of my way ... People are dressed beautifully, and I'm telling them that, and they're taking that as beautiful."
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Ramirez and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at njarret1@asu.edu and @nataliajarrett on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Natalia is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked as a politics reporter.
