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- May 3, 2022
Project Glow Brings High Caliber Festival to DMV Area and Announces Philadelphia Edition
Featured image credit: Ivan Meneses
For all of the years I’ve been going to festivals and shows, I can officially cross an Insomniac event off my list and for it to be the first-ever Project Glow made it even more special. With such an extraordinary lineup that traversed all corners of EDM, how the weekend unfolded was really just up to the 40,000 attendees and there was certainly no shortage of good energy throughout the days. Even with rain looming above RFK Festival Grounds on day 2, spirits remained high as food and drinks flowed through the crowd moving between the three stages, making for a long weekend of dancing to celebrate over 20 years of dance culture in the nation’s capital.
The well-known Boombox Art Car was set off by Unity Square, which was home to vendors of all sorts. Crossing between Unity Square and the rest of the festival grounds, attendees were greeted with a Ferris wheel as well as a massive blue and purple art installation, complementing the color theme of the weekend. The Pulse Stage featured LED panels behind the elevated platform for artists and an overhead canopy for shade from the sun for attendees. The stage was hosted by Higher Ground, Diplo‘s house music label, on day 1 and was closed by none other than the label boss himself. It also saw artists from Insomniac Records on day 2 and all-in-all was the stage to be at if you were in need of house vibes. The Eternal Stage featured notable gear designs which depicted the continuation of dance culture’s sound and time since the 90s. Decorated by more than 150 lights, 10 flame units, and confetti raining over the crowd, this stage curated a roster of artists significant to Washington DC’s music scene over the years, like Above & Beyond, Martin Garrix, and Roberto Gonzalez.
Project Glow also partnered with homegrown nonprofit organizations GOODProjects and DC Vote to contribute to the surrounding community. DC Vote’s interactive art piece prompted festival-goers to add their own color to a black and white stretched canvas and create art, all in the name of DC Statehood, which will now permanently live on display at Echostage. GOODProjects and Project Glow brought volunteers together who helped with neighborhood clean-ups, prepared garden beds for planting, and other activities during the week leading up to the festival, with GOODProjects information also on full display for attendees to learn more about their services.
As is expected when it comes to festival fashion, the crowd at Project Glow certainly came correct and ready to make a statement with their clothes. Neon wigs and glitter were abundant and there was even a group of friends each individually dressed as Waldo, claiming to have a prize for anyone who found all 10 Waldos (I tried, but only found 6). Smiles were plentiful along with strong fashion sensibilities, even during the gray of Sunday. Many of the attendees that I met who are based in the DMV area mentioned to me how excited they are that Washington DC finally has its own festival and hope that it continues to grow – which, knowing Insomniac, it will only get better from here!
For anyone who may have missed this edition, or is simply looking for another great weekend, Project Glow will bring the second edition to Philadelphia’s Subaru Park on Saturday, October 1, and Sunday, October 2. Tickets will be on sale this Friday, May 6, at 10 AM ET at ProjectGlowFest.com.
