On June 27-28 the Escapade Music Festival is bringing a stacked lineup of electronic dance legends and emerging artists to the Rideau Carleton Entertainment Centre for its triumphant return to Ottawa.
Headliners include the world renowned Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren and dance music forefather Carl Cox. These men have more than 40 years of success between them, and they’ve never stopped pushing the boundaries of today’s electronic music. Both play on June 28.
Coming to Ottawa for the first time is the Australian dance duo Knife Party, who take over the main stage Saturday night. These guys roared onto the scene three years ago with the album 100% No Modern Talking. Their newest release, November’s Abandon Ship hit number two on the US electronic charts and debuted at number 3 on iTunes.
Escapade is promising another 10 artists who have never played in the capital as well as a handful of Canadian musicians. Laidback Luke will be sharing the festival’s Freight stage with fellow Dutch DJs Yellow Claw, in an unprecedented back to back set.
“It’s the first time they’re going to play a set together,” says Ali Shafaee, Escapade’s director of partnerships. “That’s never been done anywhere in the world.”
The festival’s main stage is the largest they’ve had yet. It’s 130 feet wide and will use a brand new sound system created by the West Coast tech company PK Sound. This system, called Trinity, made its festival debut earlier this month at the massive Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. Trinity is unique because its speakers can be remotely controlled to make sure that each song reaches the entire audience evenly without overpowering the next stage over.
Escapade veterans should also expect to see the biggest firework show the festival’s ever put on and twice as many food vendors as it had last year. Locals like Mr. Mozzarella and the Grilled Cheeserie food truck are setting up in ‘the village,’ an area away from the stages where festival goers can get away from the music and crowds.
Shafaee says the village will be solar powered and have a number of interactive displays.
This year’s Escapade Festival is shaping up to be the biggest and loudest yet. Tickets are 80 per cent sold out and planners are expecting more than 35,000 ticket holders. That’s a pretty great number for a festival that started six years ago in a parking lot during Canada Day.
Shafaee attributes that success to more than just the festival line up. He says it’s the extras, like the private village and fireworks that make Escapade really special.
“The difference between us and others is we really try and create an experience,” Shafaee says.
“We don’t want someone to come to our festival and feel like ‘hey we bought a ticket and saw a bunch of DJs.’ We really try and have them say it was the best weekend of their life, and they’ll remember it forever.”
The 2015 Escapade Music Festival is happening on Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28, 2015 at the Rideau Carleton Entertainment Centre (4837 Albion Road). You can find more info on their website. Tickets are $110 for one day, or $160 for the weekend. Click here to purchase online.
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