With the inaugural Body Language Festival a little over 48 hours away and a lineup that is stacked with world-renowned artists in the underground techno-house scene, there comes the high promise of body-grooving beats to dance away the winter as the first signs of spring are also starting to show. Hosted by Relentless Beats and RBDeep, Body Language will be taking place in downtown Tempe, AZ this weekend – March 4-6 – with music going from afternoon into the night over three stages.

Relentless Beats was founded by Thomas Turner, who also serves as the CEO, back in 1996. It has since grown to be Arizona’s leading dance music and EDM promoter, bringing the biggest shows, concerts, and festivals to “[save] AZ nightlife one event at a time.” We had the great privilege of speaking with Thomas ahead of his latest endeavor, touching on the history of his company and what he sees for its future. Read on to also learn more about his pursuit of Body Language, including the vision and execution.

How did Relentless Beats come to be? What was the inspiration and vision behind it?

Relentless Beats was brought on by my ambition to be surrounded by more house music with emotional support from many friends. It started as small shows for a very limited number of people and has grown into an incredible business from there. 

Throughout its journey, what would you say have been some of the greatest milestones of RB?

Mad Decent Block Party in 2014 was truly a turning point for the company as it was our first foray into events with 10,000+ attendees. In 2015, we created Phoenix Lights, which would be one of our flagship events. From then on, we continued to throw events on this scale, which led to another significant milestone in Decadence 2016, which was our largest attended event to date at that time. This event allowed us to grow and expand as a company and confidence to continue taking risks and producing massive festivals in Arizona. This confidence led us to create Goldrush in 2017 in an 1880s Wild West town, accompanied by three stages over two days and one of our largest curated lineups ever, including Marshmello, Excision, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, and more. With the pandemic in 2020, we were forced to be innovative, becoming the first electronic music promoter in North America to do a drive-in concert, which later morphed into socially-distanced pod concerts. In 2022, we have some exciting things on the horizon, including experiences in new spaces and expansion into other cities across the country like Honolulu, New Orleans, and more.

RB has a number of large festivals under its name – Decadence AZ, Goldrush, and CRUSH, to name a few. Now you’re adding Body Language to the mix, which is focused on bringing the underground techno and house scene to AZ. Can you tell us more about the reasoning behind the focus on these particular sub-genres? 

Since our inception, I have always been passionate about underground music, but it had never been the right time to bring something of this scale to Arizona. With the explosion of the genre in Arizona and America in general, Body Language comes when the demand is at an all-time high.

It’s no doubt that organizing a music festival is a lot of work and requires a lot of planning, especially when you’re bringing big ticket names that regularly headline in countries like Europe. What are some of the challenges that go into organizing a festival like Body Language that people may not normally think of? 

Finding a time when all of these artists from other countries are touring in America is likely the most significant hurdle. 

How does it feel to be bringing a brand new festival to fruition? Is there an adrenaline rush that comes with it that you don’t feel with more established festivals, or does it all feel the same?

It’s always exciting sharing something new with our fans. We all love to see people’s reactions and see them get behind and advocate for something that we have created. While that continues over time as the brand ages, there is very something refreshing about creating new ideas and concepts.

What are a couple of words you would use to describe your career and everything you’ve built up over the last 26 years of RB? 

You have to be passionate about what you do for it to resonate with others. I think that my passion for music has helped foster this community of dance music fans. For everyone coming together and supporting this passion of mine and their own, I am eternally grateful.

What does the future of RB look like? What are some goals you have for the next 5 years? 

We are always resilient. I have an incredible team whose passion burns as bright as my own, so I know that the future of RB is an exciting one. Over the next five years, we aim to continue to bring our fans incredible experiences of all kinds in our clubs and our festival spaces and work with our partners to bring these incredible experiences to places beyond Phoenix.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us? 

We aren’t stopping any time soon. Be on the lookout for many exciting announcements over the next few months and into the beginning of next year… You know the Super Bowl is here in Arizona in 2023, right? 😉

The forecast this weekend looks beautiful – ample sunshine, perfect temperatures, and hypnotic sounds. So grab your friends and dancing shoes and make your way over to Body Language! The set times have been released and tickets are still available at bodylanguagefest.com.

• Author Details

Elena Lin Administrator

I am a concert/festival photographer based in St. Louis. I’m always eager to travel for new music and experiences and to meet new faces!

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Elena Lin Administrator

I am a concert/festival photographer based in St. Louis. I’m always eager to travel for new music and experiences and to meet new faces!