This past winter, electronic music fans were overwhelmed with stacked lineups all around the state of California. It seemed as though every artist in the industry was bringing in the New Year somewhere in the golden state. However, out of all of the given festival rosters, it seemed as though one stuck out to us: Snowglobe. The lineup was stacked with artists and genres that went beyond the typical festival expectations. This year, the Daily Beat team decided to go for another round at Snowglobe. This New Year’s experience was unique and exclusive to all the Globers that attended this year.

As people from Southern California, it’s typically difficult to come across a festival that provides any other weather besides scorching heat. As we pulled up to the box office to get our passes, we saw some festival attendees looking like marshmallows, waddling around in the snow in a penguin like formation, and some brave souls wearing only fur coats. At that point, we knew that we were in for something out of the ordinary.

As we trudged through the snow with crowds of people ahead of us, we came to find that the line was extremely short and was moving quickly. This is almost completely unheard of at festivals, seeing that many festivals might not take into consideration how thick the masses of people tend to be at certain times. We decided to stay with the rest our group, seeing that we did not need to wait for more than ten minutes in line to get into the festival. Security was polite, the line was short, and soon enough, we found ourselves in what seemed like our very own winter paradise filled with art, music and snowflakes.

As we walked through the gate, we could see the Main stage on our left. As we got in deeper into the festival, there was the Igloo and the Sierra Stage. Access to stages, bathrooms, water supplies, and eating areas did not prove to be a feat. In between stages, there were pieces of artwork and local merchandise booths that allowed festival-goers to enjoy the Tahoe experience within the boundaries of festival grounds. Beyond just the music, the festival’s safety and accessibility made us feel as though we could enjoy ourselves and gain a safe, unique experience in between sets.

Our first day on festival grounds, we walked in and immediately scoped out the area. Fearing that we might miss acts that we were eager to see, we immediately found ourselves at the Sierra stage vibing to Whethan. Most of our group went and saw The Chainsmokers instead, but we wanted to stay and support the smaller, yet just as talented, acts. We then slipped over to main stage to see none other than RL Grime, who of course, managed to throw down one of the best sets of the weekend. He played all of the classics like Because of U and Scylla and threw in some unreleased tracks that fans have come to recognize as “RL Grime – ID” time and time again. After RL Grime’s set, we found ourselves at main stage again waiting impatiently for Flume to perform. His set was based heavily off of his Skin EP; however, he also incorporated some throwbacks like Insane and some of his tracks from his newer Skin Companion EP I. Flume’s innate ability to mix live never ceases to amaze the crowd. To end the night, we traveled back to Sierra to see the Snails, who threw down a set that kept everyone’s head knockin’.

Day two quickly approached, and we hustled and bustled our way into the festival. Unfortunately, we came a little later than we did the day before, so lines were a little longer. However, security managed to move everyone through quickly, and we didn’t have to wait more than 20 minutes in line. We started our day off with an intimate set from Chet Porter, who's live set fit the exact vibe one would want to start off their day in a winter wonderland. After trekking through the snow, we managed to get an amazing spot for our favorite performance of the night, Lido. He performed tracks from his new album Everything, along with the classic song that made everyone fall in love with him in the first place, Ain’t No Sunshine. Watching Lido's performance almost felt like we were at the screening of a film with the best score of the century as his visuals were filled with intimate and mysterious short clips that matched flawlessly with the music. After having our hearts completely melted, we continued on to witness the epic music that could only come from Big Gigantic. Their high energy tracks paired with killer sax parts and drum solos brought us up to the level we needed to be at in order to power through the rest of the cold night. We ended off our night at Party Favor, who managed to party hard and destroy the crowd. Unfortunately, during his set, his equipment froze up, quite literally, because it was so frigid outside. However, tech resolved this issue within seconds, and people were back to head banging in no time.

In a bittersweet way, it was finally day three. We quickly made our way into the festival to catch Point Point. Only Aazar was performing at the time, but he did an excellent job representing the rest of Point Point. We left Point Point’s set a little early to catch Mr. Carmack’s set in full. Mr. Carmack brought out his uncle, who performed a stunning dance routine to accompany the opening of his set. As expected, Mr. Carmack came with a wild set that that highlighted all of his unique and incredible musical abilities. As soon as his set ended, we waddled back to the Sierra stage to catch the highly anticipated bass artist of the weekend: Bleep Bloop. His set was nothing less than perfect. The bass from his set was quite literally shaking snow off the trees as it took the brain of every person in the crowd onto a journey into outer space. Next came Baauer at Main Stage, whose set blew everyone in the crowd away. Post Baauer, we ran quickly over to Sierra to see Sam Gellaitry perform. His set provided all of the beautifully crafted, funky tunes that one might expect and all of the emotions that come from his songs like Odessey. We then coasted over to see the wavey Rüfüs Du Sol, an Australian band whose music emanates funk and feels. Next came Illenium, who neither of us had seen before. We were both pleasantly surprised to experience his artistry and skillful crafting of tunes seamlessly. The New Year snuck up on us too quickly; we found ourselves timidly waiting for Odesza to bring in 2017. They started off with some of their older tracks from Summers Gone and dabbled in their newer album In Return. They rang in the New Year with stunning fireworks and a drum line that grooved along with their tunes.

Despite the frigid weather, the soaking slush and the icy pathways, Snowglobe was deemed a success. From day one to ringing in the New Year, each aspect of the festival ran smoothly and every moment we spent there we enjoyed.

A special thanks to the Snowglobe team for letting Daily Beat attend this year’s Snowglobe. Hopefully we’ll be seeing you at next year’s winter wonderland! In the mean time, make sure you all stay updated on Snowglobe's social media. When they drop next year's lineup, it won't disappoint.

Photos By: Dominika Wilczek