[FESTIVAL COVERAGE] Forever and an Eternity in the Backwoods: Forever Festival Recap

[FESTIVAL COVERAGE] Forever and an Eternity in the Backwoods: Forever Festival Recap

[FESTIVAL COVERAGE] Forever and an Eternity in the Backwoods: Forever Festival Recap

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[FESTIVAL COVERAGE] Forever and an Eternity in the Backwoods: Forever Festival Recap

Two weekends ago, React Presents hosted its first ever Forever Festival in the backwoods of Sterling Heights, MI, just outside Detroit. The single-day festival brought music-lovers from across the Midwest together for an event filled with spectacular acts and great energy. The festival had two stages with some incredible performances, including Calvin Harris, Flux Pavilion, and Project 46. Beats Antique stood out from a lot of the other music styles at the festival and kept the energy level high just as most of the other performers. Morgan Page also threw down a great set but didn’t bring his full 3D stage setup that he’s recently been touring with.

Calvin and Flux closed out the day at the Forever stage – located in the main portion of the amphitheater – and they absolutely tore the place down.  Calvin played a very progressive mix and hit the crowd with banger after banger, being sure to mix in both gritty sounds and plenty of his well-known crowd pleasers. His remix to Fatboy Slim’s “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” had the crowd going wild to the hard and steady bass line and it was hard no to sing along as Calvin dropped tunes like “We’ll Be Coming Back”. A couple songs really stood out in his set though, with the debut of his brand new remix to The Killers’ “When You Were Young” and an awesome remix of an old school house music staple, “Anthem” by N-Joi.

Calvin Harris – “When You Were Young” at Forever Fest

Check out our video of Calvin’s take on “Anthem” here.

Calvin set the bar very high for Flux Pavilion but Flux picked the crowd up right where Calvin had left them just minutes before. Seeing two of the biggest names in the game perform one after the other was a thing of beauty, and comparing and contrasting their song selection and overall performances is nearly impossible because they both really just got out there and did their thing.

Flux’s set was both filthy and melodic at the same time, a skill that few DJ’s can harness. His heavy drops and augmented bass shook the amphitheater to its core while his gritty yet melodic tones filled its attendees with tons of emotion.  His drop of his “Starlight” rework, with an absolutely phenomenal visual backdrop, was definitely one of the highlights from his performance. He also threw down an unidentified track with some great female vocals including the memorable line “Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love.”

While Flux’s set was just shifting into high gear I decided to sneak away to the Eternity stage for some much more intimate Trance action. I can’t tell you enough how different and amazing the atmosphere of the Eternity Stage was.

I’d highly suggest you check out our Project 46 video here to give yourself an idea of just how intimate of a setting I’m talking about!

Just imagine, Project 46 is playing smooth melodic trance as you stroll up to a small crowd of no more than 50 people… As you approach you can already feel the love and energy of the crowd just dancing and swaying with plenty of room to get as loose as their hearts desire. There’s no hassle as you slide right up to the front, and you get nothing but the most beautiful faces smiling back at you on your way.  Everyone was there for one reason, to feel the raw trance energy and emotion.

Project 46 played an awesome set full of melodic trance and really made it worth missing part of Flux Pavilion. So much unrestricted trance grooving happened in the backwoods of Michigan that evening, it’s a shame that not all of you readers could make it.  Enjoy the video coverage and make sure to be ready for this little festival next year, because with React’s track record they’re just getting started…

 
Mech Raver at Forever Festival
 

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Kris Hi there! Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Sights and Sounds. Been doing this music writing thing for most my life in one way or another and loving every opportunity it's brought along. Shoot me an email if you have any suggestions for the website, comments, or if you just want to chat. Cheers!