Seismic Dance Event 5.0 – Hand Warmers, Heat Lamps, House Music, and a Whole Lot of Fun!

All photo credit, including featured image: Elena Lin

Well, Austin, you sure chose a bad weekend for the temperature to drop, but that didn’t stop the party at Seismic Dance Event 5.0. Hosted by RealMusic Events, Seismic Dance Event is known for bringing top-tier artists in the house and techno scene to The Concourse Project, which is home to many other shows of the same vein throughout the year, and creating an unforgettable three-day weekend for the thousands of festival goers who leave it all on the dance floor. Many Texas locals made their way to the festival this year, but I also spoke to people who came in from Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, and it’s wonderful to see the well-deserved growth in recognition that Seismic is experiencing.

Speaking of growth, and a testament to the commitment that RealMusic Events has to giving its people the best experience possible, there were definitely a lot of upgrades made this year to the production on all three stages, which really elevated the overall enjoyment of being in the crowd. As with last year, there were three color-coordinated stages that each had a unique design that also matched their respective names. The Volcano Stage was the one inside stage with all red lights and some intense laser shows that occasionally went rainbow. The Tsunami Stage featured all blue lighting with massive LED panels behind the artist as well as billowing curtains down the side of the stage, mirroring the actions of the waves associated with tsunamis. The Frequency Stage was moved to prevent sound clash but still featured frequency wave decorations and (my personal favorite) a massive disco ball hanging above the center of the stage along with multi-colored lights that bounced off the disco ball to make for some really cool effects on the artist performing. I found myself at Frequency pretty frequently over the weekend – partly due to the acts but also because of that disco ball.

Of course, even the coolest stage and lighting design is nothing without the music. The lineup for last year was top tier, but this year’s lineup was somehow even better and just as amazingly gender diverse, which we love to see. From the moment sets started each day all the way through the end and into the after parties, every minute was filled with non-stop variations of techno and house genres that kept the crowd moving. From the dark underground techno vibes on the Volcano stage to melodic house or tech house vibes on the Tsunami and Frequency stages and everything in between, there was no shortage of great sets to rotate between or stay planted at. And thank goodness for the plentiful heat lamps that were nested throughout the outdoor stages because that helped with enjoying the sets, which you definitely wanted to do because the amount of international touring acts on this lineup was unlike anything else you’ll find readily in the United States, and that is something that makes Seismic so special.

To wrap up this review, I want to reflect on something else that I’ve once again found to be special at Seismic – the community. When I attended last year, I automatically felt at home despite it being my first ever house and techno focused music festival and not yet really listening to either genre deeply. In the last year, I’ve started listening to a lot more house and techno, thanks to Seismic Dance Event 4.0, and kept in touch with a handful of people that I met. My favorite part of being back at the festival this year was being able to reconnect with so many people that I met last year. There truly is nothing better than forming friendships through the common love of music, and I love the joy and excitement in the atmosphere that lingers at Seismic Dance Event.

If you haven’t yet made your way down to Austin for Seismic Dance Event, you really must make it a priority next year for 6.0, particularly if house and techno music is your thing. Fingers crossed for warmer weather…and if not, bring some hand warmers and layer up!