At the beginning of October, Relentless Beats hosted the 5th annual Goldrush Music Festival, and a few team members took the trip to the Phoenix Raceway to experience it. With the theme this year being Neon Dreams, a nod to old Vegas, Goldrush leaves behind its iconic western cowboy theme. 2022 was the first year the festival took place at the raceway and not at Rawhide Event Center, and although these changes made the festival different from what it once was, it was still a great festival overall. 100+ talented artists performed over the weekend across the festival’s five stages, so we have a lot to talk about! Welcome to the goldrush neon dreams 2022 review!Â
The Setup at Phoenix Raceway
This year was the first time there was more than one large stage at a festival held at the raceway, so we had no idea what to expect. There was the mainstage megastructure called “Paradise Prairie,” a more petite side stage called “Moonrise Mountain” inside the warehouse, and there was a stage called “Coyote Cove,” along with a silent disco and art car. The scenes were far apart; once in the crowd, the sound bleed was minimal, if not non-existent. The production level on the three more giant steps was good but could have been better.
Paradise Prairie lacked pyro and had technical difficulties with the lasers on the first night. Coyote Cove, the warehouse stage, was our favorite, with numerous disco balls above and around the artist, a color-changing desert backdrop, and lasers on every side of the warehouse. The lasers covered every inch of the air above us and put on a spectacular light show to accompany each set. The after-parties were also located inside the warehouse, blasting music until 5 AM each day of the festival.
The Lineup
Goldrush featured something for everyone to enjoy. The festival’s headliners included Excision, Kaskade, Rezz, and more. That’s barely scratching the surface of this massive lineup. The undercard included talented acts like G Jones, Space Laces, HoneyLuv, and many more. There was plenty of local talent, too, with standout acts like Residuo, Tavatli, Avitas, Animate, and Peachy Keen. Like previous years, Goldrush hosted a DJ competition to open the mainstage; this year, Little Fohx was the winner. She performed a fantastic set. If you’re interested in learning to navigate the music scene as a DJ, check out our blog post here.
There weren’t any bad sets. However, a few stood out more than others. Versa made his Arizona debut at Goldrush this year. Despite being one of the first performers, he delivered complex hitting bass music to Moonrise Mountain. Skepsis had the whole warehouse jumping with his bass lines, accompanied by an other-worldly laser show. The energy within the warehouse during his set was unreal. Unsurprisingly Chris Lake put on a spectacular show like he always does; every time he performs, it is an entirely different set. Playing more techno than he usually does on the main stage of a festival is a sight to behold.
After the festival’s second day, Acraze did not play the festival at all for an after-party. He played an insane set full of tech house until 4 AM in the warehouse. Dom Dolla closed out the festival on Moonrise Mountain and played the best set we’ve seen from him, his mixing skills were next level, and he put on quite the show. The after-party that night featured Space Laces, and he tore apart the warehouse; he is one of the best in the dubstep genre. He is a genius producer and an even more talented DJ, and you can see it in his sets.Â
Final Review of Goldrush
Goldrush: Neon Dreams was a great three-day festival; everything was outstanding, from the stages to the production to the lineup. We couldn’t have been happier to write the goldrush neon dreams 2022 review! The sets we ended up catching were terrific, and there were some tough calls regarding set conflicts. Every artist on the lineup is worth checking out, as they are incredibly talented. We had very few problems regarding the crowd, and it was a good time everywhere we went. Overall the festival was terrific; however, it can not compare to the last edition of Goldrush in 2021, where the western town was in the center of the festival. While we miss Rawhide, the new festival grounds are promising and have a bright future.
