I discovered Bratmobile’s Ladies, Women, and Girls when I was a sophomore in highschool. It was the beginning of discovering how to become a riot grrrl. I am a riot grrrl because of Allison Wolfe & Bratmobile. Although the album was made in 2000, it can be felt in feminism today. When I found the CD in WIDR’s collection, I saw a mini-review of the album taped on the back by Migraine Boy. They said “the closest comparison I thought of was the B52’s” and “grrrl punk with a late-70s new wave vibe.” While I agree partially because of the surf-esque guitar, it would be impossible to ignore Bikini Kill’s influence on Bratmobile. After all, Tobi Vail, Kathleen Hanna, and Kathi Wilcox were the original “Riot Grrrls.” The ideology of Bratmobile is far more important than the music itself. They existed because of the lack of girl punk, which is why I believe that Bratmobile looks back at Poly Styrene or The Raincoats, rather than Kate Pierson of the B52s. For example, the second song on the album “Gimme Brains” is far more raw and truthful than that of an 80s hit single. The lyrics are feminist and angry. It feels like a song you know hundreds of other grrrls have screamed together. You can hear the influence of 90s fanzine rhetoric and it feels unprofessional in the best way possible. We know Bratmobile did not want to make radio hits, they wanted to make grrrls feel heard. Other tracks such as “Girlfriends don’t keep” feel reminiscent of twee pop bands such as Beat Happening… Which makes sense. Bikini Kill and Beat Happening are also bands that arose from the Olympia, WA scene. “Girlfriends don’t keep” is a song that you’d think Allison Wolfe would sing, rather than her other hardcore punk tracks. It’s a cute song, but I believe that the intensity of their screaming, upbeat songs like “Eating Toothpaste” changed the lives of grrrls everywhere. While my favorite of Bratmobile is their debut album, Ladies, Women, and Girls is still just as life changing. The meaning and depth of their words showed grrrls they can be angry, feminine, and punk all in the same breath. It’s revolutionary.

"Donda", A word you’ve probably heard daily for the last three months. With it now being released on all streaming platforms, there’s a sudden urge to review Kanye's marketing strategy for the project. It all started when Kanye planned to rent out a luxury room at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Now, this on its own is a headline for fans of his who wondered, ‘what is Kanye doing spending an outrageous amount to reside in the stadium?’ Well, there’s a one-word answer for that, Donda. He set up his space with the producer and began working on the project. While this was taking place, Kanye acted in his usual Kanye persona - deleting everything off of his Instagram to base it around the project and being wishy-washy with the final product through multiple (3) Apple Music listening events. I attended the first one when I heard the breaking news of it last minute through social media. It was kind of surreal since this was the first unveiling of what Donda looked like in Ye’s head. In a typical fashion, he did some weird rituals involving him doing push-ups. But, that’s not even the craziest part. For the third show, however, Kanye wanted something personal for this project. He replicated his Chicago childhood home while turning it into a church then placed it dead center of Soldier Field for the ultimately sold-out show featuring artists such as Playboy Carti, Lil Baby, and Jay-Z. The way it flowed was miraculous after multiple discrepancies of actually placing artists on their respected tracks. He announced multiple times that he took Jay-Z and Kid Cudi off for no reason but ended up putting them on the album anyway. It’s a ludicrous tactic, but it worked well in terms of streaming revenues. However, this wasn’t the only fuel added to Ye’s already highly stressed fire. Kanye’s label had released the project without his consent earlier than expected. Finding that out, Ye was mad until he saw the streaming numbers Donda had created. His producer, however, wasn’t so lucky. The producer overslept the session they’d booked previously and Kanye fired him. He also left him with these words, “Go find God.” In conclusion, this marketing strategy is something that is barely touched on in the music industry, let alone the marketing industry as a whole in terms of mainstream marketing ideologies. The streaming numbers spoke for themselves and did well for an album that has changed its release date more than three times.

If you know me, you know that I tend to resent country music. This isn’t to say I haven’t loved it growing up. I was a big Tim McGraw and Keith Urban fan in my younger days. But then I grew up. I found that my ears needed more visceral entertainment. I ventured into things like drum and bass, math rock, and other unclassifiable music. This about describes my music taste. I like exploring music that is uncomfortable for those who typically get their dosage of sounds from algorithms and not from manually searching for it. However, the algorithm seems to know that there is one country anomaly that I enjoy very much. This would be Kacey Musgraves. I remember listening to Golden Hour during my sophomore year of college and remember saying something to the effect of “this is the ONLY country album I will listen to consistently”. Well, except for Devin Townsend’s gloomy country album Casualties of Cool, which is interesting since Townsend is usually a metalhead. But now, I’m at a new crossroads. I have graduated college and settled back into suburban life a little bit. Things I value haven’t precisely changed, but I think I understand the human condition a bit better. And that is precisely what star-crossed illuminates. I don't want to dig into Musgraves’ personal history too much, but I know creating this album was very demanding and could very easily help to create some personal catharsis. This is a breakup album, but it is cinematic in its construction. Not quite a musical and not superficial in many ways. In my view, many albums produced with corporate record labels seem to have a few throwaway songs that are made as cash grabs. This album has none of that. It has the same spirit as Happier Than Ever and really dives into our human deficiencies that we all experience in relation to love. And don’t even get me started on the production. Ever since Golden Hour, Kacey has been pushing the country playbook. Wild synths serve as a fantastic foundation for songs that you want to just drool at for their perfect composition. If you want an album that will very much make you consider the dynamics of human relationships and the complexities that such entails, then this is an album for you. If you are a music lover, I would highly recommend this too. It hits different, and it’s all due to Kacey’s genuine storytelling.

Keeping time is any drummer's basic duty in their respective ensemble. However, Neil Peart did more than just that which made him one of the greats. He, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee formed Rush, the headbanging prog-rock band formed in 1968. The three had all met in Toronto which is where they formed their band. They all chose free will for their futures. None of them were enticed by working 9-5 jobs like their peers and parents. Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee were the first two members of Rush put in a circumstance to take some chances. The duo, consisting of extensive guitar and bass knowledge, was in a search for the real-life metronome that captured their desired sound. After some searching, they found the man himself. The true master of timekeeping, Neil Peart. Rush had their beginnings like any other band. But when they found their Limelight, everything had come together for their first studio album release of Rush in March of 1974. The album skyrocketed into popularity with its new take on rock and roll. Nobody could believe that they were only a three-person band. The sound was that astonishing at the time, as it still is today. After the first release, everything was shaping up to be as if they’d found their sound. Moving Pictures, Fly By Night and Permanent Waves exemplify this sound. Released in February of 1981, Moving Pictures made Rush widely known with captivating tracks such as "Tom Sawyer", "YYZ", and "Red Barchetta". "The Spirit Of The Radio" off of Permanent Waves had put a spirit in everyone’s radio. It virtually set the tone of how one likes to believe in the freedom of music. Getting back to our timekeeper, Neil has written most of Rush’s tracks with the collaboration of Alex and Geddy. Every drum part is his writing of course but his contributions weren’t limited to just that. He also has chimed in on the lyrical parts, which are sick if you ask me. His most famed solo, the YYZ solo, has reached millions of views on YouTube which raised a lot of interest in fans coming to their live shows to witness his greatness. Neil, unfortunately, passed away in January of 2020. Which was only the start of unfortunate things to happen that year. However, Neil still lives on. When you listen to Rush, you always know he’s there with his magnetic groove and driving force to muscle up those tracks. His legendary performances will never be forgotten. He is survived by Alex and Geddy, his eternal music brothers. Neil always seemed like he was flying from so much joy on the drums. I will never forget the inspiration he and Rush have been to me as a fellow musician. God bless that prog-rock band. Thanks for tuning in to another blog. Make sure to be in touch with widrfm.org to see all the new content we have coming including one of our newest DJ’s, Corey D! His insights include music and food along with the biggest record collection I’ve ever seen. Tune into his shows on Wednesdays from 7-8 PM!

Hey y’all and HAPPY START TO THE SEMESTER BRONCOS!! I just started my final year of classes today as I’m writing this which are already driving me mad. On the bright side, The Skinny Limbs released their new EP, Jade this past Friday which is about the only thing getting me through right now. I really got into The Skinny Limbs earlier this year but they’ve actually been on my radar since high school when they played at my high school's music festival, WO Stock! The Skinny Limbs rock and I’m absolutely in love with Jade which is what I’m here to review for y’all today :) This EP starts off with “Tenderness” which feels very upbeat musically but lyrically... not so much. This is definitely a song of contrast to say the least. The song begins with melodic synthesizer and guitar lines that pair so well with Max’s smooth vocals. My favorite part of “Tenderness” may be the instrumental break in the middle with the beautiful guitar solo and following guitar JAM. Overall despite the not very upbeat message I get really good vibes from this song! Next up is “Folly” which starts off a bit more toned down but keeps with the synthesizer notes in the instrumentals. I’ve listened to quite a bit of The Skinny Limbs’ music and this undoubtedly feels like a song of theirs but to me shows some growth they’ve had. I fell in love with them for their melodic guitar lines and dreamy vocals but the synthesizer brings such a cool new almost 80s-esque vibe. In this song they also change up the feel quite a bit throughout where it will feel like it’s moving faster or slower which is so cool to hear! I'm a big fan of this song too, what more can I say?? “Jade”, the title track is our next song! This song is so interesting and such a contrast from the first two tracks. In this song they introduce a more pronounced base line which gives it a very different energy, definitely matching the feel of the mellow vocals more than the previously prominent high melodic guitar lines. Despite being local to Grand Rapids, The Skinny Limbs’ music feels undeniably island-y to me and this song is no exception. “Jade” feels like a song to listen to on the beach as summer winds down – a melancholy song for a melancholy mood. “Color of Morning” comes next which is one of the three songs on this EP released as singles before it came out. The opening instrumental line that continues throughout the song feels really reminiscent of the music Youtubers I watched would put in their videos way back in the day... don’t ask me why but that’s what it reminds me of. This is again a very vibey song but also feels very adventurous. I’m a fan yet again! “Persistence” is the next song up which is for sure my favorite!! This song has even made an appearance in my show I love it so much! This song to me is the epitome of what The Skinny Limbs do best, it’s got it all! The opening to the song feels extremely dreamy before the light guitar helps transition to the heavier BOP of a guitar line. The first couple minutes of the song are really solid don’t get me wrong, but my favorite part is in the interlude when the vocals trade off with the guitar before eventually just trading lines between vocals. The sturdier lower notes contrast so well with the dreamy higher notes and that section feels so MAGICAL to me! I can’t recommend this one enough, be sure to give it a listen y’all. Last on the EP is “Future Days” which personally is my least favorite but that’s really just because I’m not a big slow song gal. Though this song probably isn’t one I’ll listen to regularly, it is really gorgeous and good to mellow out to. I am so impressed with this EP and will definitely be jamming to it as I suffer through the first few weeks of school! That’s mostly a joke but I am excited with the timing that this lovely EP came out. Thanks for reading y’all and don’t forget to listen to Jade!

The winding down of summer is coming sooner than I expected. Knowing this, there was something I had to do before the weather changed. My two friends and a mutual friend of ours decided to plan a two-day camping trip in the Manistee Trails. Located in Brethren which is a part of Manistee County, these trails have some of the most unique views of northern Michigan I’ve experienced to date. I departed from Kalamazoo that Friday to link up with them in Holland. Ryan and our mutual friend Brayden both attend Hope College and are members of the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity. We took two cars since our gear was taking up a lot of space, I ended up riding with our other friend Owen. We arrived at about six o’clock and started our hike to find a nice camping spot. It only took about two miles to find one we were content with. It overlooked the river off of this cliff that separated the site and the walking areas. We ended up diving into the river to cool off from the long drive and journey. The water felt immaculate along with the stunning views surrounding the river canyon. There was a strong current that almost pulled me away when I tried to swim against it. Luckily, I realized I was getting swept and acted fast. The whole time we were there, we put on a lot of music that fit the scenes tremendously. The main artist put on our playlist was Goth Babe featuring hits such as "Car Camping", "Sunnn", and "Swimming". I definitely recommend these as new tracks for your playlists. He is an independent artist from Nashville who came onto the scene in 2015. He is tremendously versatile with his sound on each record. Later that night, as we were setting up the fire and sleeping arrangements, Ryan informed us that a meteor shower was going to take place around midnight. After preparing our site, we went to the cliff to witness it. The first meteor came out as soon as the clock hit 11:30 and we saw it simultaneously. The rest that followed was pure bliss. They would come in waves of six every ten minutes or so. Up until that I had never witnessed such a beautiful natural event. We went to bed around 1 and got up around 7 the next day. We ended up walking a decent amount and found another enticing camp spot. This one was lower to the ground and right next to the shore of the river. The Manistee River was one of the most refreshing bodies of water I’ve dove into, the water was also very clear. Like I said before, the stream was rapid so you’d have to be careful and swim near the shore more than the outer distance. We went fishing for trout on breaks between hikes and resting at our camping sites. This was one of the best camping trips I’ve been on. Keep on popping into WIDR FM to hear our wonderful DJs speak their taste in music as well as their respected writings in our blog posting. Keep on truckin’.

Sometimes Spotify’s Discover Weekly that they curate for you is a hit or miss, but lately I’ve been finding some good tunes on there! Recently I found Indigo De Souza’s single “Take Off Ur Pants” from her album I Love My Mom and I immediately added it to my liked songs. I was surprised to find out this was released in 2018, but you know, it doesn’t really matter if the songs you discover were released a day ago, or decades ago, the point is that you got to hear it. I was hooked on the low groovy guitar line that introduced the song, which continues to play beneath the rest of instruments once they come in. Also, I really like how the tempo of the instruments have some dissonance with the vocals. When you first hear it, you think it might be a slower, vibey song, but the vocals change it to more of an angsty and faster tune. And we get the crashing of drums and other guitars that join in, especially as we get further into the song. The other thing that I love about this song is the lyrics. The lyrics are repetitive, but that’s how it gets it’s point across. You can hear them clearly, and I also think that they are just entirely relatable. Comparison in this world is almost inevitable, especially with the media, and even just people in your environment. It gets far too easy to focus on other people’s lives instead of our own, and that’s where jealousy and insecurity comes in. She sings of everyday tasks, like “when am I gonna get out of bed, like everybody else does” or “when am I gonna start being cool, like everyone else is.” But she eventually screams out, “now that everyone’s gone, I can tell you the truth,” like she’s finally able to express what she’s feeling without being overcome by others. The media and other people continuously make us feel like we should be in some great place, and that we have to achieve so many things. But it’s perfectly okay to be proud of getting out of bed. Go take a listen to this song! Maybe you’ll interpret it differently than me! To me it’s 100% the kind of song I have to sing out loud to. Thanks for reading <3

In 1964, The Beatles had acclaimed a large amount of fame. Their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th and release of their LP A Hard Day's Night in July of that year helped make this possible. Their tour of North America lasted barely a month but had many destinations. The one I'd like to discuss today is the fab four’s appearance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison Colorado. Beatlemania swept the US under its feet with its hypnotizing harmonies and unique sounding instrumentals. A ticket for this performance would cost you only six dollars and sixty cents. What a deal! It hadn’t even sold out leaving Red Rocks the only venue the Beatles didn’t fully sell out according to the Red Rocks Museum near the amphitheater. Before arriving in Colorado, The Beatles were informed that the air is much thinner due to elevation. They didn’t seem thrown off about it and thought it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle. That is until they played their famous cover of Little Richard’s "Long Tall Sally". Paul McCartney recalled his experience with the altitude change and performing, “I remember singing ‘Long Tall Sally’ and thinking, ‘Hey, this is great, hyperventilation of the highest order! Well, Long Tall Sally, wheeze, wheeze…’ I was sweating, but I got through it. It was an interesting experience, physically. It was a lovely arena. It looked beautiful at night.’’ The Beatles put on an electric performance, even with the altitude difficulties. At the end of the show, the fans pelted The Beatles' with their favorite candy, jelly babies. This was pretty much a ritual at the end of every Beatles concert until they stopped touring in 1967.

Festival fans across the state will have an opportunity to experience a new and independently-run music and arts festival in Northwest Michigan at the end of August. The Big Fam Music and Arts Festival will be celebrating its debut in Lake Ann, MI, after being postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival will take place from Friday, August 27, through Sunday, August 29 at Harmony Pines. The lineup boasts big names that are recognizable from elsewhere on the Festival Circuit, as well as a cornucopia of local and regional artists - many of which are from Michigan. On a personal level, this weekend will be very important to me, as it will be my first festival since September 2019, and the first opportunity I’ve had to write a story about one since August of the same year. Ahead of the big weekend on the horizon, I had a chance to speak with Andrew Martin, who acts as the Marketing and Communications Director for Big Fam. Since we run in the same circles, I’ve met Martin a handful of times, but have never actually had an opportunity to talk with him at-length. Earlier this week, Andrew communicated with me via Email to fill me in on the details. Martin, along with several other people behind Big Fam, has been involved with other small, independent festivals and small-scale events in the past, such as Sacred Vibrations and UpNorth Music Festival. “Our team has contributed to many different festivals and events over the years,” Martin told me. “Those experiences have led us to collaborate with one another and achieve total comradery to create this immersive and unique experience at Big Fam.” Speaking on the mission statement for Big Fam, Martin says the team is looking to create an enjoyable and unique experience for all involved. “We aim to produce a top notch, professional event that builds relationships spanning near and far,” Martin said. “Our goal is to support the community that we are making our home in, we hope to be an impactful and helpful entity in the local community. I hope the attendees will love and cherish this event as much as I do. We’ve devoted our hearts and souls to this project for over two years, and it’s great to see how much support we’ve gained already. My intention is for us to be a bright light for not only the attendees, but the community as a whole. That’s all we can ask for.” With the pandemic considered, Martin says that postponing the event has given the team more time to get creative and reassess the production side of things. To help make up for that, the Big Fam team also hosted a series of livestreams featuring the artists on the lineup, which were viewable on Twitch. “To give a simple response, 2020 gave us an opportunity to sit back and take time to look at this project from a birds’ eye view,” Martin said. “We got to reevaluate some things, gain more production and put a lot more detail into this project in all aspects.” As previously mentioned, the event will take place at Harmony Pines at the Harm Farm. As its name suggests, the venue features several acres of property surrounded by a pine forest. “This property is a hidden gem of over 300 acres of gorgeous fields, forests and magic that we’ll get to unfold together,” Martin said. “One of our Directors, Kevin Kreta, found this property a couple years back, and I'm beyond blessed that we found him and have him as a part of our family and team.” When looking at the lineup, many festival-goers should recognize names on the top bill. For example, Sunsquabi is an electronic jam group who has collaborated with artists like Griz in the past. In addition, readers may recognize Dixon’s Violin, who has played at events such as Electric Forest. Those who have attended may have seen him play his ethereal electronic violin music during yoga workouts in the early afternoon. “We’ve been curating the lineup for about two years now,” Martin said. “At this year’s event, you’ll get to experience a glimpse at each one of our favorite music styles and projects.” In fact, Martin himself will be performing under his DJ Moniker “A Tropical Martian” on Saturday at 1 p.m. Interview With a Local Artist- While the lineup boasts these well-known names, the lower bill also features a curated selection of local and regional artists as well. Among those are the Kalamazoo-based electronic duo FENDZ, who have been active in the local scene for years. Earlier this week, I was able to speak with Patrick McKenzie, one half of the duo. McKenzie had previously been performing under the name Large Mouth Bass before joining up with Travis Wagner, who makes up the other half of FENDZ. To start with, McKenzie explained the style of FENDZ. “We like to do a little bit of everything, but the main chunk of our music comes from the 2012-era dubstep, a little more melodic rolling bass,” McKenzie said. However, the duo’s style isn’t limited to dubstep. Recently, they released the “Chemicals EP,” which encompasses more of an alternative rock sound. “When me and Travis teamed up, he made it clear that he didn’t want to have any side projects, and that whatever kind of music we wanted to create, we were going to put out under one name,” McKenzie said. “That’s truly shown by the Chemicals EP. It’s something he wrote like five years ago. We’ve also been working with a live bass player and a drummer, just writing whatever kind of music we want in hopes of making a live performance stage show out of it at some point.” While McKenzie was originally a solo artist, he joined Travis Wagner about two years ago. “About 2019, we came to the conclusion that we enjoyed making music together more, that we made better music together,” McKenzie said. “I have a pretty good connection as a DJ and a pretty good following in the local scene, and he had a lot more experience producing and marketing. We both figured that we complimented each other perfectly, so that when we teamed up, it would really benefit each other.” In speaking of Big Fam, McKenzie says he is excited to see how Big Fam will fare on its debut installment. “A lot of people that are doing work behind the scenes, I worked with them on Sacred Vibrations too, so I know what kind of work ethic and attention to detail they bring to throwing shows,” McKenzie said. “I know a lot of people that are involved, I’m really excited that it’s like a grassroots festival. No corporate big interest, it’s all put on by people that love music and have been doing it for a long time.” FENDZ plays Sunday night at 7:00 p.m., and McKenzie says he has some surprises in store for the crowd. “A lot of times, I like to play based on what kind of crowd is gonna be there, and we’re gonna play a lot of our originals,” McKenzie said. “We have a ton of unreleased material, we have two EP’s that are almost done. You can expect a mix of everything. We’re just gonna play the music that we love to make.” After discussing the basic details of FENDZ, the conversation turned to the rest of the lineup. “I feel like they did a really good job of putting on people that have been working for a long time, who have been really supportive of the Michigan scene,” McKenzie said. “There’s a couple Michigan people that have blown up and done well, such as Angelic Root, he’s from Ypsilanti and moved out to Colorado. Viskus and Super Future have both blown up in the last year and a half.” He also noted the mix of genres present on the lineup. “I also like the mix of bands and everything they have, like Act Casual,” McKenzie said. “Sunsquabi is an amazing mix of jam band and a little electronic, they’re really fun to see. Yheti brings the weird bass, and the Widdler plays some massive dubstep. The old dubstep where it’s deep and heavy, and not so metallic and crunchy.” McKenzie also said that the lineup appears to live up to the festival name itself. “I really feel like it is ‘Big Fam,’ like they literally reached out to all the people in the Michigan and Midwest area here, that have been doing music, those are who you’ll see there,” McKenzie said. “And the people that are attending are going to be your friends, the other people you see when you go out to these shows. That’s what I think is the most exciting thing about it, it’s literally going to be a big family reunion.” Further Attractions - Aside from the music, there will be other attractions, as well. Several visual artists and painters will be on hand to display their creative works. There will also be several workshops available, including activities such as yoga and guided meditation. There will also be an art gallery and even a recently announced disc golf course. Visitors can also look forward to the KatFish EyeKandy Wonderland, which is an interactive visual experience based on Alice in Wonderland. The festival grounds are also a short drive from Lake Michigan, should anyone feel like going for a swim. Closing - In closing, Andrew Martin offered these words for those that are preparing to embark on this journey - “Big Fam will be an experience not even myself can quite yet fathom, I never imagined being part of such an amazing community and talented individuals,” Martin said. “Everyone is beyond passionate and cares so much about each other. We welcome everyone with open arms and accept them into our Big Family, why would you ever want to miss out on an event like that?” More Information - All information about Big Fam, including how to buy tickets, is available online at https://www.bigfamfestival.com. Again, Big Fam will take place from Friday, August 27 - Sunday, August 29, with everyone leaving for home that Monday. Harmony Pines is located at 4846 N Hulbert Rd, Lake Ann, MI 49650. Recently, WIDR FM held a ticket giveaway contest, during which one lucky winner was selected for two digital passes. We here at WIDR would like to congratulate the winner, who has already been contacted, and wish them a great weekend ahead. RADIO PREVIEW SPECIAL - Under my radio host moniker [DJWILLKILL], I will be hosting a special one-hour preview that will highlight a selection of artists performing at Big Fam. To listen, tune in to WIDR FM This Monday, August 23, at 1 P.M. EST. You can also tune in through www.widrfm.org. In the meantime, readers can enjoy a preview playlist featuring some of the artists that will be performing.

I have been following poptropicaslutz! for a while. So when I saw they were coming to Detroit in August, I got tickets right away. I have also followed aldrch, one of the openers for the tour for a while, and have played him on my show many times. Last week the two joined forces on a new track, "wow!" Here are my thoughts as I listen through for the first time! The track starts with the distinctive hyper-pop sound I was expecting. Some of the sound effects used remind me of a video game, but the song still has an alternative rock sound. Vocals come in around 23 seconds this the high pitched, hyper-pop, style I was expecting. When the lower rap came in around 0:40 I was a bit surprised, but not upset with the change. The vocals still have an edited sound that make them fit well within the rest of the song. The noise they used to transition into the chorus was really cool, and scratched my brain the right way. It's a super upbeat chorus that I can't help but bop along to. Around 2:15 the backing track cuts mostly out, but it returns even stronger around 2:30. Clocking in at 3:03, this song is pretty long in the world of hyper-pop. I overall enjoyed this song quite a bit. Unfortunately I can't play it on my show, but I did add it to my everyday playlist.

I have been waiting for the release of Intellectual Property for a while now. Waterparks is my favorite band, and I'm always excited when they release new music. I also have tickets to see them in May and am super excited to see them again. Also fun fact the Waterparks account follows me on insta (very exciting for me) I got the target exclusive cd version on release day, April 14th, so I have two additional songs, Here are my thoughts on the album: St*rf*cker - The first song on the album, it is 1:52 and begins with what sounds like a voicemail, followed by various noises, before the lyrics begin. The vocals start with minimal music behind them, before it picks up. This is a fun song, with a receptive and catchy chorus. The song ends quite abruptly. Real Super Dark - I already had heard this song many times before the release of the album. I really love the opening, Awsten's yelling is just a really fun way to start the song. Awsten's lyrics are quite syncopated in parts of this song which is an interesting choice, there is also quite a bit of yelling throughout the song. The chorus is once again super catchy and enjoyable. I also really like the Bridge of this song, and am really looking forward to (hopefully) hearing this song live! Funeral Grey - I already had heard this song many times before the release of the album, and it is probably my favorite of the singles. It's a pretty simple song, but is super fun to sing and dance around to. Awsten uses his falsetto a bit on this song, which is something he doesn't do a ton, but I really like how it plays against the rest of his vocals. Brainwashed - Immediately this song is giving me 21 questions and peach lobotomy vibes, with a more acoustic sound. Although I usually prefer his more rock and energetic songs, there is quite a bit happening in the backing vocals to keep me interested. There are some sections with quite quick vocals, which is really interesting in conjunction with the slower, more melodic, chorus. I prefer the second half of the chorus over the first half. At first listen, this song definitely has the opportunity to become one of my favorites on the album. 2 Best Friends - This song immediately is not my favorite. It has a more spoken and syncopated chorus and just doesn't jump out to me. This song feels very repetitive and overall is not my thing, End of the Water (Feel) - Awsten once again uses his falsetto in this song on the chorus. I believe this is the highest I have ever heard him sing, and am very interested to see if he sings this song live if/how he modulates it. I really enjoy the verses on this song, they are very easy to bop along to. This song includes an outro by Kurtis Conner where he is talking. It is an interesting addition. Self-Sabotage - I already had heard this song many times before the release of the album, and it is probably my second favorite of the singles. It's a super fun song, that I have enjoyed playing (the clean version of) on my show! Its super easy to dance and bop along to. This song is also quite repetitive but it's so fun and catchy that I don't mind as much as I do in some of the other songs. Ritual - This song is much quicker than many of the songs on this album, I would go so far to call it rapping. I wonder if this approach was at all impacted by Waterparks touring with Blackbear. My favorite part of the song is the pre-chorus, its super fun and intriguing to me. It almost reminds me of Melanie Martinez, with a creepy vibe. I really enjoy some of the instrumentation/backing vocals on this song as well. F*ck About It - I already had heard this song many times before the release of the album. The song features Blackbear, who had Waterparks as an opener on their tour in 2022. I didn't love this song initially, but it has definitely grown on me the more I have listened to it. Closer - This song also has a more acoustic vibe, this one however reminds me of Yellow by Coldplay. This song stays a more acoustic throughout the song. As I previously mentioned, this is not my favorite type of song from Waterparks. I enjoy the song, but it is not one of my favorites. A Night Out on Earth - This is definelty the most lyric heavy song, especially in verse two and the bridge. This is also the last song of the regular album. It is also interesting to note that this was the name of their last headline tour. I really enjoy the beginning bell(?) sounds. I really love the lyrics, as Awsten is being a bit more vulnerable and real in this song. The song ends with an audio clip from and interview the band did 8 years ago, showing the progress they've made and how much they have grown as a group as well as musically. I don't love the chorus, but overall really enjoy the song. Target Exclusive songs: Why Can't I - Right off the bat, this song reminds me of some of their earlier albums, specifically Double Dare and Entertainment. This is another slower, melodic song. I really love the lyrics, and it is a shame not everyone has access to this song. It is giving me early/mid 2000s vibes, and I love the nostalgia that comes with that. End of the Water (Alt Version) - Immediately I am feeling Fandom vibes on this track, which gets no complaints from me as it is a spectacular album. It has a totally different vibe than the regular album version. This version is still very easy to bop along and dance to. Overall, and to no surprise to anyone, I really enjoyed this album. Greatest Hits, their previous album, was not my favorite so I'm super glad that I like this one more. In my opinion, the Target Version is certainly worth it to have Why Can't I.

There are few icons that personify the 1990s quite like Sonic the Hedgehog. Originally created to give Sega a mascot that could rival Nintendo’s Mario, it took several designs until the team at Sega landed on the blue spiky mammal known today, complete with a personality meant to exemplify “90’s coolness”. And the Blue Blur was a quick commercial success, with the first game on the Sega Genesis selling 2 million copies in its first year and having sold over 30 million units since. The game’s success led to TV shows, movies, and of course sequels. Sonic the Hedgehog received two sequels on the Sega Genesis, with both aiming to be more ambitious with adding new features and characters like Miles “Tails” Prower and Knuckles the Echidna. But one ambitious move for 1994’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has been long rumored and is all but confirmed. Sonic 3 as well as it’s companion title Sonic & Knuckles were both well received, with compliments going to its gameplay, level design, and of course, music. However, even from the early days of release some eagle-eared fans recognized similarities between the Sonic 3 soundtrack and songs by another notable face of the 90’s, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Jackson had previously worked with Sega for 1989’s Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, a game featuring his likeness and music, but it was unexpected to hear his tracks on a Sonic game. As time went on, more and more fans noticed similarities between songs from Sonic 3 and Jackson’s catalog. In 2003, Sonic fan Ben Mallison argued in an early-internet forum dedicated to Sonic that Sonic 3’s “Carnvial Night Zone” sounded awfully similar to “Jam”, the first track on Jackson’s 1991 album, Dangerous. And upon hearing the two tracks side by side, the similarities are apparent, with Sonic 3 seemingly taking Jackson’s beat and mixing it with the well-known public domain carnival music. And more and more similarities were brought forth. The Sonic 3 end credits theme seemingly was the base of Jackson’s single “Stranger in Moscow”, which released in 1996, three years after Sonic 3 launched. The idea of Jackson potentially working on a Sonic game was astonishing to fans, and many sought confirmation, leading to a common issue on the internet; fans would look for email addresses and phone numbers of staff who worked on Sonic 3 and would send hundreds upon thousands of calls and emails, asking for answers, but spamming someone with lots of emails is a quick way to make sure you never hear from them. The fans finally got a glimmer of hope, however, when Roger Hector, director of Sega Technical Institute and the man who oversaw production of Sonic 3, entered an online forum and alleviated some questions. According to Hector, Jackson did in fact work with the Sonic team to develop the soundtrack as Jackson was a fan of Sonic, though the work was later scrubbed. The reason for this is not 100% confirmed, but the two most repeated reasons were Jackson’s disappointment in the Sega Genesis’ sound capabilities, and Jackson’s scandal. In 1993, the well-known and publicized child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson were made public, and it seemed that this led to Sega wanting to distance themselves from Jackson. As time went on, a few more people came forward and spoke about Jackson’s involvement with Sonic 3. Brad Buxer, who was credited as one of the game’s composers and who was also a long-time friend and collaborator of Jackson, conflicted Hector’s report that the Sonic 3 soundtrack had a very “Michael Jackson sound”, with Buxer instead saying that only 1 of the 41 tracks in the game was worked on by Jackson. He also said Jackson’s unhappiness with the Genesis’ sound was the reason why his name went uncredited in the game. Sega themselves commented on the situation a few times, with them stating that any collaboration with Jackson would have been made without their knowledge. And even Hector would later in 2013 back down on some of his claims, instead saying that any similarities between the game’s sound and Jackson’s music was purely coincidental. The Sonic the Hedgehog games would get rereleases on various platforms over the years, yet Sonic 3 would often get left out. Christian Whitehead’s team proposed a remaster of Sonic 3 & Knuckles for mobile devices, but the plan was shot down by Sega despite the team having already remade the first two Sonic games for mobile and would later create the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania in 2017. After Jackson’s death in 2009, it seemed that the game was being rereleased less and less, likely due to problems with his estate. In 2022, Sonic Origins released, a compilation of many early Sonic games, including the first rerelease of Sonic 3 & Knuckles in over a decade. However, it wasn’t long until fans noticed that many of the tracks in the rerelease were replaced with songs from the Sonic 3 prototype which was discovered in 2019. All of these tracks were the ones that fans or the dev team thought Jackson worked on, which seemed like the final confirmation of his involvement. This was cemented even more when, in an interview, Yuji Naka, former president of the Sonic Team, producer and developer of Sonic 3, and co-creator of the Blue Blur, confirmed that Jackson had worked on the game and even that the development team visited Jackson’s home. He was even surprised that the music was taken out of the rerelease in Sonic Origins. While it seems unlikely that either the team at Sega or the estate of Michael Jackson will confirm the unexpected collaboration, it is all-but-confirmed of the two’s crossover. And it seems that this collaboration might’ve led to the Sonic Team collaborating with more artists in future games such as Crush 40 or Hoobastank’s Doug Robb. And there would be even crazier examples of sampling, such as Hideki Naganuma sampling a Malcom X speech for the final boss theme of 2005’s Sonic Rush. Sources: https://testkitchen.huffingtonpost.com/michaeljacksonsonic/#2/ https://www.destructoid.com/michael-jacksons-involvement-in-sonic-3-knuckles-has-been-detailed/ http://sost.emulationzone.org/sonic_3/interview/rogerhector.htm https://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3/Development/Music

By: Annie Egan (ig: @egan.nie) Lana Del Rey, or Elizabeth Grant, is arguably the “it girl” of a generation. Preteen girls found comfort and relatability in her debut album “Born To Die” released in 2012 which was soon followed by “Paradise”, since then, Lana Del Rey has released six studio albums, and recently released her ninth album titled “Did You Know There Was A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” on Friday, March 24. Like many of her other albums, “Did You Know There Was A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd '' carries tones of melancholy and old americana. This album heavily features themes of death and memories, religion, family, and growth. Track 1: The Grants Titled after Lana’s family name, this song opens with sounds similar to gospel singers, with tight harmonies and soulful voices. She sings of how a pastor tells her of how after death, the only thing we take with us are our memories. This serves as a powerful precursor to the rest of the album as she sings of both positive, and negative memories. One thing that has remained rampant through all of Lana’s albums, is her view on the female experience. Towards the end of this track, she mentions her favorite memories that she hopes to carry with her in the afterlife, one being her sister’s child, and her grandmother’s final smile. Growing up, Lana Del Rey was raised Catholic, which will become more obvious as this album progresses and her unstable faith becomes a topic in multiple songs. Lana is stating that regardless of which religion is ‘true’ that “It’s a Beautiful Life”. Track 2: Did you know there’s a tunnel under ocean blvd The singer describes a once, beautiful tunnel that runs underneath Ocean Blvd in Long Beach, California, which was closed to the general public in the late 1960’s. Since then, it has faded into obscurity. Lana uses this tunnel as a metaphor for herself. She fears that since she has aged out of an era where she was an object of lust from the viewpoint of the male gaze, that she too, will fade into obscurity. “love me until I love myself”, This lyric is portraying that self acceptance cannot exist without approval from others, which the singer recognizes is an oxymoron. This song serves simply as a plea to listeners to not forget the singer despite the fact that she may not be the person she once was. This remains relatable to many “born to die”-hard LDR fans as they have grown up with her music and find themselves in the same troubled young adult-hood that Lana has experienced. The song closes out with the same gospel vocals from track 1 that will lead us into the solemn track 3. Track 3: Sweet This song hits hard for me because Lana is recognizing her humanity. She claims that she “is a different kind of woman”. She knows that many men in her life want her simply as an object. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album since it feels very calm and romantic, although it carries her anxieties of how she does not fit into the conventional standard of women that her 1950’s americana aesthetic suggests. “Do you contemplate where we came from?” Once again, Lana expresses her philosophical questions of religion and the after-life. Track 4: A&W (Strong trigger warning for sexual assault.) The title alone carries multiple meanings, A&W is a popular root-beer brand, synonymous to the era of soda shops and sock hops that this new LDR era embraces. A&W is also a popular american fast food chain, often times a drive-through, which is also a term used for women who sleep around a lot, this fits with the theme of the song as Lana reveals A&W is meant to represent her status as an “American Whore”. She opens the song speaking about her loss of innocence and how she has felt objectified from a young age. “It's not about havin' someone to love me anymorе This is the experiеnce of bein' an American whore” Lana sings about the common female experience of wanting to feel wanted. She feels that because of how she looks, she is automatically going to be an “American Whore” when in reality she wants to be loved. “If I told you that I was raped Do you really think that anybody would think I didn't ask for it? I didn't ask for it I won't testify, I already fucked up my story” Lana sings that since she has had many consensual sexual relationships, she fears that if she were to testify against the one that was not consensual, she would not be believed since she has already been labeled as an “American Whore” “God's a charlatan, don't look back, babe” Once again we see Lana’s loss of faith as she ages, she struggles with her religion because she cannot understand how a God who is “Good” can allow bad things, like this, to happen. About halfway through this track, the direction shifts completely, from a slow track, to one that can be compared to the more “hip-hop” style of some of her earlier music. This can be attributed to Lana’s desire to feel the way she did when she was younger. The remainder of the song surrounds the line “Jimmy, Jimmy Coco puff, Jimmy get me high” a play on an old song “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop” by Little Anthony & The Imperials. This tune was an old Do-Wop that fits with this albums aesthetic. Jimmy, being the name of a man she has a relationship with, and a Coco Puff is referring to slang that is used to describe a way on ingesting cocaine. Lana uses drugs as a metaphor for herself. Like drugs, people only want her for a short period of time, and once that ‘high’ fades they discard her. Track 5: Judah Smith Interlude Although this track is not one I will be putting on my personal playlist, it serves the album as a whole quite well. It is about five minutes of mega-church pastor and christian influencer Judah Smith (@judahsmith) as he gives a sermon. It seems as though Lana is recording this sermon from a recording device like her phone while an appropriately melancholic piano track plays underneath. We can often hear Lana giggling at the remarks made by Smith. Smith has been criticized for his homophobic remarks and using his religion as more of an instagrammable cash grab than a spiritual journey. Following A&W this track uses Smith’s preachings against him as it points to the selfishness of man. “I used to think my preaching was mostly about You And you're not gonna like this, but I'm gonna to tell you the truth I've discovered my preaching is mostly about me” Track 6: Candy Necklace (Featuring Jon Batiste) (Trigger Warning: Suicide) A candy necklace is traditionally known as a necklace with candy beads for children, that once finished is a gross piece of slobbery string. Lana recognizes that her lover gives her small pieces of affection and attention, like a candy necklace, but that he may not truly care for her the same way she cares for him. She knows that he sees their relationship as fun and reckless while she recognizes that this is not a sustainable way to live. She cannot live on ‘candy necklaces’ alone despite how much she may want to. She knows that the drive for his affection is bringing her down since his superficial acts of love are never as satisfying as she hopes. Part way through the song she realizes that this relationship may be the reason she is feeling so depressed, although she does not want this to be true. “Sittin' on the sofa, feelin' supеr suicidal” This line is in reference to the Marina and The Diamonds track “Teen Idle” which carries similar themes of superficiality, religion, and youth. The song closes out with the deep voice of Jon Batiste who simply sings “Candy Necklaces” repeatedly. His dark tone portrays the depression Lana feels from this relationship and her fear of leaving. Track 7: Jon Batiste Interlude There is not much I can say about this track. It is simply meant to represent the good parts of any relationship that make it hard to leave when the bad parts get worse. It appears as though the vocals on this track may have been pulled from the recording session of “Candy Necklace” when Lana and Jon were having fun and laughing in the studio. The piano underneath feels nostalgic, as though it were someone looking back on their fond memories of a relationship. Track 8: Kintsugi The title is referring to the Japanese art of breaking pottery and mending it back together with gold or silver. Lana sings of many family deaths she has experienced and how, although sad, they have to happen so that she feels her pain and appreciates her life more. At its core, this song is about how we, as humans, have to experience pain so that we can experience happiness. With Harrowing vocals from LDR, she recognizes her desire to escape and ignore her pain, while simultaneously recognizing it is unhealthy. “like cracking, the light gets in” Track 9: Fingertips (Trigger warning: Suicide) This song is about Lana’s fear of dying with regrets. She cherishes her family and she fears as though she is not fit to accomplish all the things she wants to. “Charlie, stop smoking Caroline, will you be with me? Will the baby be alright? Will I have one of mine? Can I handle it even if I do? It's said that my mind Is not fit, or so they said, to carry a child I guess I'll be fine” In this verse, she imagines what will happen when she dies. She worries that her psychological problems will deter her from her having children and that will remain a constant regret in her life. She recounts the death of her Uncle Dave , who killed himself in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Lana had to move on and perform after the passing of her Uncle. She also reminisces on her childhood crush , who would later die in a car accident. Twice in the song, LDR uses the line “I give myself two seconds to cry” to portray how strange it feels to her, that people are able to move on from death so quickly, for her, all the deaths in her life have felt extremely shocking. Track 10: Paris, Texas (Featuring SYML) Lana describes her escape to Paris, Texas. She whispers “Texas” as she knows it's not as romantic and beautiful and the Paris we all associate with the name. Lana also mentions similar cities, Florence, Alabama, and Venice, California, fitting with the Americana theme of the album. This track portrays Lana’s desire for escape from her life, but as she escapes to similar rural towns with romanticized names, she realizes there is no escaping the life she was handed, no matter where she is. Track 11: Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep sea fishing (Featuring RIOPY) This track serves as a symbol of transformation, as butterflies are a frequently used metaphor here. Lana recounts her journey with her sense of self and many speculations regarding whether or not she was an industry plant. She begs the audience to recognize her humanity and also begs a higher power to send her some sort of sign that she is on the right path and that she will be ok. The track features a enchanting melody and melancholy piano that really drives home the anxiety Lana has about life and death. Track 12: Let the Light in (Featuring Father John Misty) This song truly represents the genius lyricist that LDR is. She references track 8, Kintsugi, where if we embrace what makes us broken, we can live to accept who we are and what we have become. Over the course of this album, Lana shows transformation, this song is to show this transformation is extremely beneficial to her wellbeing. Track 13: Margaret (Featuring Bleachers) This track was written by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff, and is titled after Antonoff’s fiancee. Before this track, we are introduced to Lana’s fear of aging and death, but here she recognizes things that have gained value with age, like certain jewelry and the old Hollywood glamor that many of her era’s have embraced. She theorizes that she too, will gain value with age. Track 14: Fishtail Fishtail, at its core, represents inconsistent love. Similarly to Candy Necklace, Lana describes how depressed these relationships can make her, but yet she thrives on these tiny pieces of approval. “You wanted me sadder” This relationship thrives on Lana’s lack of self confidence. She knows that they work only because she is so hungry for these small moments of love. “Maybe i’ll take my glasses off so I stop painting red flags green” For Lana, this relationship is a guilty pleasure, she will do anything to excuse the abuse so she can stay in this relationship. Track 15: Peppers (Featuring Tommy Genesis) Essentially, this song is about Lana owning her sexuality. She is so in love with this person that she is reckless with how they love. At the current moment, she does not care about the repercussions of their actions because she is so clouded by the love. At the end of the track, Lana mentions and partially samples “Wipeout” by the Sufaris, this alongside the sample from “Angelina” by Tommy Genesis represents the fun and carelessness of this relationship. Track 16: Taco Truck X VB The first section of this song or “Taco Truck” is a response to the media which has been very critical of LDR throughout her career. She claims that she doesn’t care but also gets frustrated when they twist her words or misinterpret her. The second section, VB, is a different draft of another LDR track from another album “Norman F*****g Rockwell” This version is not as soft as the previously released track. It’s easy to assume she is singing about a romantic relationship in this version, but I believe she is referring to her younger self, the version of herself in “Norman F*****g Rockwell”. Lana chooses to close the album with this track due to its nostalgia and themes of growth and youth. Album Rating: 8/10 Favorite Track: A&W Least Favorite Track: Judah Smith Interlude Most Underrated Track: Grandfather Please Stand on the Shoulders of my Father While He’s Deep Sea Fishing Track to Dance to: Peppers Track to Cry to: Fingertips

Pretoria is a Grand Rapids five-piece band, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a two-piece from texture alone. And despite the Bandcamp description saying it’s a five-piece, only two are identified. Nonetheless, a big-volume band definitely suits their aesthetic. Going through their discography, Pretoria always goes for an older vibe with their tracks, something to sit out as the sun sets on a vacation to. Tracks like “Expert” splash originality into their classic concepts and predicate their latest EP, “I Blew It/Roller Derby,” certainly some of their best so far. I Blew It is simple but not necessarily clean. Pretoria’s opener features a rocking gentle and natural beat, well-constructed if generic. The Glass Animals and Tame Impala inspiration in the vocal mixing is obvious, like it’s being played over speakers in an empty Rollerworld, which I suppose is relevant given this song’s follow-up. The lyrics, like the beat, seem generic. “It's a gust of evening when carrying away the paper lanterns” evokes typical, tried sad-music imagery, and “but as I was hanging on the edge of my seat/Trying to form my sentences/My synapses were firing off a wild shot of electricity” is just clunky to hear. Rather than evoking a sense or summarizing a concept in an image or words, it feels like Pretoria wrote what they wanted to express with more refined lyrics and just went with that initial draft. At about 2:30 is the most interesting part of the song, where a sitar-like arpeggio starts repeating, and the vocal mixing becomes less cloudy—it feels like standing over a rest stop in Tennessee, looking out onto the Appalachians and thinking about who you could be looking at it with, had you not wrecked your chances. The ending, unfortunately, interrupts this too-short new sound with a glitchy fadeout and random-seeming synthesizer ambience effects. While sometimes these make a song feel like a real jam, listening at a rehearsal, the lack of any predicate for that—no gearing up at the start of the song, barely anything synth-y besides—is odd, and leaves me missing the sitar that could have faded out forlornly. Perhaps, however, this is the purpose: as a song about dropping the ball and losing a perfect relationship, Pretoria grabs you thematically with a wonderful sound and then scatters it away. Roller Derby seems to describe the relationship I Blew It laments, giving the listener the woe and then the experience that led to it. It injects a new very ‘50’s sensibility to the story, though, adding much more interest. The simple chord progression at a fast and fun bouncy pace is interspersed with sounds evocative of revving, providing a lot more energy than the last piece. And aesthetically it fits perfectly, given the song is a little story piece about action, and the ‘50’s association with cars and teen romances kissing in the backseat. There are even doo-wop factors playing in, with a call-and-response styled chorus. The lyrics are much more interesting, conveying love for a passionate partner in a busy, busy life. “The clock is always ticking down/(What a rush falling in love in the city)/Ticking down, it's ticking down/(What a rush falling in love)” is intense, the sounds of the words themselves conveying this exciting rush as well as the glitz they imply. Enjoyably, the song opens with how the couple met, the girl throwing elbows into the narrator at the roller derby, and then closes with the concept of “we were dancing, touching/Bumping into each other” to convey how reactive the relationship was. A good bit of parallelism and even recontextualizing past lines is always welcome. The last chorus is a lot of fun, and the lead’s confidence in his pacing and rhythm he sings with comes out of nowhere and is something I’d love to hear more of. I’m passionate about when artists come back to a chorus and add flair, excitement, syncopation, or even ad-libs to it, and this seems like something the lead singer could be strong at! Definitely, the standout of the two is Roller Derby, aesthetically and conceptually unified in a way I Blew It isn’t. While both about losing love, the pairing of these two songs seems more like Pretoria simply finished them at the same time and released them together. There’s not really an auditory consistency between the two, and they probably would do great on an album at the same time, but are less coherent this way. While it opens on a bit of a bummer, immediately closing with a higher point does make the pair stick in the listener’s mind a bit more than it would besides. Since the release of this EP, Pretoria also released a single: Fat Chance, on March 31st, 2023. This piece combines my favorite parts of their previous EP. The lead singer seems to be having a ton of fun, almost riffing on the groovy, wonderful beat and synth line. The lyrics aren’t the newest thing ever, but the concept allows for more new ideas than “I’m sad we broke up,” which requires something very new to be injected into it to be interesting. Resenting and rejecting an ex trying to get back with you is not nearly as common of a topic lyrically, and the snideness is very welcome. There’s constant changes in the composition, but it all feels like one coherent song, and a jammy outro actually feels relevant to the piece. It may be my bias toward fast paced, bouncy music, but Fat Chance shows a lot of growth and brings much more anticipation to following Pretoria a bit.

Introduction - Following my experience at the first-ever Big Fam Music and Arts Festival in 2021, I truly could not believe how well a first-time independent festival could run. In terms of production, music and venue choice, I really felt that it was one of those “lightning in a bottle” scenarios. With the news that Big Fam would be held in Farwell for its second year at a venue previously unknown to me, I had to wonder if the staff could catch that proverbial lightning a second time. I’m delighted to report that the answer is “yes.” But really, I shouldn’t have had any reason to worry, as I had also concluded that the festival would be in good hands regardless of what the future held. I was also reminded of an important personal lesson I learned years ago when it comes to festivals - sometimes, just when you think things can’t get any better, they can! After its stunning debut in Lake Ann, the EDM, Jam and arts festival made its mark in Farwell during the weekend of September 2-4, 2022, bringing its own brand of family values for an even bigger follow-up. [Big Fam Map Photo] The operative word here is “Big,” as the second installment was distinguished by bigger stages, a bigger venue, and an overall bigger experience. Even with a brief weather interruption, the positive energy was undeniable. As a longtime concert-goer originally from Mount Pleasant, I’d like to think I’ve been to most venues that the Great Lakes State has to offer. So when it was announced that the event would be held at the Liberty Mountain Event Venue in Farwell, I was surprised that I had never heard of it before. It would prove to be an absolute gem of a spot, and one I look forward to returning to in the future. Methodology - Before the inaugural installment in Lake Ann, I had the opportunity to see the venue (Harmony Pines) ahead of time to get an idea of what the finished product would look like. This time, I decided to forego any such preview and experience Liberty Mountain for the first time organically. In this sense, it was less of a, “Here’s the spot, and here’s what we’re gonna do with it” experience, and more of a “Here’s the spot, let’s see what you did with it” experience. When it comes to the performing artists, it’s been an ongoing trend for me to not look too much into the lineups of whatever event I’m attending, which is the opposite of what I would normally do. Just like Liberty Mountain itself, I decided that I wanted to continue this trend of discovery and experience the artists with the best first impression I could possibly have, whether I knew them by name or not. The only way to achieve this was by going in with as little information as possible and letting the artists speak for themselves, aside from those I already knew and was planning to see anyway. As with my previous Big Fam review, it is my intention to recount my experience as an attendee by providing a written boots-on-the-ground report, while also providing a behind-the-scenes perspective from the staff and performers. Day One - Friday, September 2 - Getting the Lay of the Land My crew and I assembled at the Meijer in Mount Pleasant and prepared to utilize the classic “snake method” of traveling to a festival, where you have to all arrive at the same time to guarantee being parked next to each other. The hot, sunny afternoon weather was promising enough for the weekend ahead, and upon pulling in, gate staff members were once again very efficient at checking vehicles and delegating appropriate passes. The volunteers in charge of parking took extra care to make sure our large caravan would be parked together, even helping us find flatter ground to make sure we weren’t parked or sleeping on a steep angle. The area would quickly fill in around us and our spot started looking more like a home in good time. Even with a crew as large as mine, I never felt like we were short on space. [Big Fam Sign Photo] While the general admission campgrounds themselves were sizable enough, they did not prepare me for the actual scope of how much space the venue included, which was nothing short of breathtaking. It took me at least a good hour and a half to make a full circle of the venue grounds, but that may have partly been because I was running into people I knew every five minutes. That’s another thing I loved about this festival which remained true for the second installment - the name delivers what it promises, creating a space for a “big fam.” Especially considering that this would only be the second of three camping festivals for me in 2022, it was so nice to constantly run into friends. But this time, it went beyond people I knew from other festivals and college; I was also running into old high school friends left and right. Similar to the previous installment, the stages and attractions were set in a bottleneck format, meaning you would see everything you needed to by continuing in a straight line, only even more so this time. The Bayou - First Impression The centerpiece of Big Fam is the “Bayou” area, which functions as an ever-changing interactive art exhibit with its own stage set in a wooded area. The area changes subtly depending on the time - a chill, atmospheric forest scene by day, which slowly became more lit up and colorful as the sun went down. By night, you would think you had walked into the grounds of something like Electric Forest or a similar large-scale festival. Big Fam may be its own thing, but it’s difficult to not draw comparisons to those events, which should speak to the production levels. In the first year, the bottleneck format would take you through the vendors to the main stage and back, while you would have to take a separate path to get to the Bayou. But this time, the Bayou was part of the main path, serving as the first area you would come to past the first vendors. Once I saw the stage itself, my jaw dropped. Hand-built out of wood and projection-mapped with a nautical theme, plus two mini-stages on either side for flow dancers, I walked in and was greeted by the downtempo Drum-n-Bass of Detroit’s LSTER, which was the first set I saw that weekend. [LSTER Bayou photo] My amazement could not be contained. The 2021 Bayou stage was more of what I would call your typical “stage,” but this new wooden nautical stage was my first clue of how production had ramped up. All I could think was, “How did they DO this?” It was hard to believe this stage didn’t exist before this event, as it looked like something that just naturally belonged there. Elsewhere, various decorations contributed to the nautical Alice in Wonderland theme. When I had previously spoken with one of the two curators of this area, Kat Fisher of Katfish EyeKandy, she had told me that the idea was to create a new chapter in the story of Alice. Indeed, I was greeted by various whimsical actors dressed as characters from the story, such as a playing card in the Tea Party area. Alice herself and the Mad Hatter would host various parties here throughout the weekend. [Bayou photo 1] Returning staples included a light-up fountain that emitted fog, multiple bookshelves, mirrors, and paintings that would appear animated with projection lights at night. The boathouse from the previous year also returned, tucked away in an area further down the path to the main stage. As Fisher told me in the preliminary interview, one new feature was a Fish Market, where actors dressed as mermaids and fishermen would appear at various times. Later on, intricate displays made of strings that created vortexes and other shapes would appear in the connecting area between the main stage area and the Bayou, courtesy of Chris Griffin and Neural Patterns Deco. [Strings in the Bayou by Chris Griffin - Photo courtesy Emily Sabourin] Interview with Dave and Kat Fisher of KatFish EyeKandy - Following the big weekend, I spoke with Dave and Kat Fisher, who serve on the board of directors and are the curators of the Bayou, to learn more about the second endeavor. [Note: For the purposes of this section, Kat refers to Dave as “Fisher.”] As previously stated, the theme of the area is a combination of Nautical and Alice in Wonderland imagery, the idea being to create a new chapter in the story. The project itself is the culmination of years of work by both Dave and Kat, who have done visuals, projection mappings and art installments at various events. The first subjects we touched on were the Bayou being in a location that made it impossible to miss, as well as the evolution of the stage. [Bayou photo 2] “Last year it was a little bit more hidden,” Kat told me. “We could have had more lights, there was a huge hill, but this year if you were in GA, it was right on the way to the main stage and it was the first stop people made. I feel like we graduated from the small stage at the festival to the second stage, and that felt really good. Some people told us that it felt like two main stages. That was intentional, we could see the spark of the Bayou and what was to come of it after year one. We knew with a little help we could put more ambition into it, and fortunately we had some extra help and sponsors to make sure we could.” The area had to be cleared of leaves and other debris, which you wouldn’t have guessed, but the stage itself had a surprisingly simple origin story. “It started with a drawing,” Kat said. “I had this idea that we wanted to modify the stage from year one. Fisher went up to the property and dismantled the stage that was existing, along with the Sugar Shack, and tried to transport that so people still had that familiarity, like ‘I remember that from last year,’ even though it’s in a totally different place. We wanted to build on what we had the previous year. It took a collection of found objects and new things together to create the look of the stage. We wanted it to look like an old fishing village that had been in that area, like maybe it was part of the Bayou where the water level had receded. But with the whole aesthetic, we built that around the theme, and we had special intention to include flow performers on our stage. Not only do you have the centerpiece for the performer, but we also have the side stages for flow artists in a great viewing area.” The idea to add side platforms for flow performers was actually a last-minute addition, as Kat joked that a lot happens in the final moments. [Bayou photo 3] When it came to selecting which artists would play at which stage, intention was kept in mind to include artists and producers who also play an instrument. This is how artists like Josh Teed and Manthom Phenace, both of which include live violin in their music, as well as artists like Groovee, who plays saxophone, were selected for the Bayou. While the team works year-round considering which artists to book, with all 10 directors offering input, some of the selections were discovered by happenstance. For instance, Dave noted performer Jason Leech was selected after seeing him at Electric Forest and thinking he would be perfect for Big Fam. Marketing and Communications Director Andrew Martin would also tell me that the lineup selection process is challenging, but the most rewarding part of creating the event. Beyond instruments, artists were also selected by virtue of matching the “vibe” of the Bayou, such as the Ohio-based duo InnerVines. “I love their sound, their music includes frog noises and sounds reminiscent of Charles the First, and we really wanted that kind of swampy vibe, which is what they do,” Kat said. “We were really happy they were able to play after Josh Teed, it was one of the biggest crowds they’ve ever played in front of, and we were really happy to bring them there.” While Kat admitted that there were some ideas that time didn’t allow for, she said more will be implemented in the coming years. Regardless, by the end of it all, both Dave and Kat were more than satisfied with the results. [Manthom Phenace at the Bayou Sunday night] “It was special for me to stand up in the Sugar Shack at the end of the festival and look out and see the entire Bayou lit and filled with people,” Kat said. “Just to see an idea that came from a piece of paper come to life before us. I was so happy Fisher was able to work with me and help make that stage possible, it’s something I will never forget. We were happy a lot of the artists would give us a shoutout, they knew how much work we put into it. I had some tears in my eyes at the festival, there were a lot of moments when the artists we booked were thanking ME for creating the space! It just all came together so perfectly, and we’re excited for the future and what we can do. We can’t do it without the support of the community and the attendees.” The Main Stage I was so enthralled with my first impression of the new Bayou that I almost forgot there was more to see. After letting the charm soak in, I continued forward to the main stage area. Walking through the path and up some stairs would take you to the secondary vendor area, where various types of food trucks were set up. Beyond that would take you to the Main Stage, dubbed the “Apogee Stage” for the purposes of Big Fam. This stage was more akin to the setup of something like the Pine Knob in Clarkston (formerly the DTE Energy Music Theater, and the Pine Knob before that). A flat concrete area lay directly in front of the stage, and further up was a very large hill. [Main Stage as seen from the hill photo] “Massive” doesn’t even begin to describe it, and I don’t think any photos I took could properly illustrate the scale. I was told ahead of time that this was the largest permanent stage in Michigan, which I could buy easily. I don’t know how big it is compared to the Pine Knob main stage, but I would say it’s at least comparable. I had to question, again, how I had not heard of the venue before now. “It was hiding in plain sight, that’s the best way to describe it,” Kat joked. “It was here all along and we didn’t know it! But as soon as we started sensing that there were issues that would require us to move locations, like with the unfortunate passing of Carl Harm, we just had to start looking for a new venue in the area, something that would be accessible to our community and our attendees. Traverse City is a beautiful area, but it’s a little far. So even having Farwell be in a closer proximity so we can easily access the property to build, it made things a lot easier.” [Ma Baker photo] As I was passing through, the Ann Arbor-based electronic jam group Ma Baker was performing, who I’ve seen multiple times at various events. I stuck around for the end of the show, enjoying their lighthearted jam mix before continuing on. With a stage this big, I couldn’t imagine how impressive the nighttime slots would be, but I was eagerly looking forward to more. I would find out later for myself, seeing in person that the nighttime production included a ridiculous amount of lasers, dancers and more. At the rear of the main stage, a large concrete wall surrounded the bottom area, where artists were creating a mural with spray paint that would be worked on over the weekend. [Mural photo 1 - Friday] Beyond the main stage area on the hill were more vendors, upgraded camping areas, the returning art gallery, and finally, the canopy stage. I threw cursory glances at both and decided I would return later - after all, it was still relatively early in the day, and I still had a whole weekend ahead of me. All in good time. [A Scene from the Art Gallery photo] Other Friday Highlights After returning to camp and vibing out for a few hours, I ventured back into the Bayou to see what would become of it by night. The entire area had been transformed with various lights, lasers, fog and other special effects, and I had yet another Deja Vu moment of being back at Electric Forest. Had I hung out starting earlier and for long enough, I’m sure the effect would have been much more subtle, but since I was away for a while, the transition was astonishing when I got back. The crowd had come fully alive as well - by my reckoning, most people had been scattered about through the day, but the Bayou was now PACKED. And who could blame them? With the lineup at even just that stage for Friday, it was certainly a great spot to be. At this time, the Colorado-based bass music producer Shwilly had taken the stage, providing what I considered to be the perfect soundtrack for the setting. [Shwilly at the Bayou photo] All of the directors I spoke with ahead of time had told me each artist on the lineup was booked intentionally, and with Shwilly, it really showed. The day had transitioned from downtempo/chillstep artists into the super hype ones you would expect to hear on a Friday night. As much as I was enjoying the set and area, I had things to do. I stuck around long enough to catch the tail end of Shwilly’s set before making the trek back to the hill, where I would be entering the Canopy Stage for the first time that weekend. Another Deja Vu moment came here. The Canopy Stage was almost exactly the same as it was the first time around, but frankly that’s fine, as it provided an intimate setting with very impressive lasers and an astoundingly crisp LED visual wall. Detroit’s own Mac Diesel was wrapping up his set, which encompassed House and DNB type sounds. I had never heard of him before, but what I did made me wish I had arrived sooner. Regardless, it was a good transition into why I was there in the first place - I was wrapping up some unfinished business by finally catching a set from Faren Strnad out of Grand Rapids. [Faren Strnad photo] I’d been trying to see Strnad for a number of years, but every time a show was nearby, something would clash with it. The same was true this time - her set overlapped with Daily Bread at the main stage, who I only got to see a little bit of at the first Big Fam. I was hoping to see more of him this year, so I figured I would just watch half and half, but that’s not what ended up happening. This was one of those times where the set just got better and better as it went on, to the point where I didn’t want to leave, and I’m really glad I didn’t. Strnad’s eclectic mix of techno, house and DNB started off light and colorful, later being characterized by dark, red, almost Darth Maul/Rezz-type vibes and visuals that matched my headspace much better. It may have taken me five years, but I’d say it was worth waiting for, and Strnad would become one of my favorite sets that weekend. And that was only day one! Though I would see plenty of other good performances that night, including J.Philip, Shlump and Toadface (who was playing an all-original set), none stood out more in my mind that night than Faren Strnad. Stormy Saturday Shenanigans The forecast for Saturday called for storms later in the afternoon, but you wouldn’t know it in the early morning. The day began with a nice breakfast at camp with a custom Jenga game on the side, along with a beautiful sunrise greeting us. [Chris Stewart, R1XO photo] Once the Bayou area opened up, listeners were treated to a set by one of Big Fam’s directors, Chris Stewart, performing under his name R1X0. Stewart was actually replacing Dave Fisher [FSHR] for this slot, who was getting some much-needed rest at the time. Stewart’s chillstep vibes set the tone for the early afternoon - nothing too crazy, just relaxed sounds to wake up and face the day with. Much of my time for the first part of the day was spent at camp and perusing the vendors, during which my partner and I received some essential CBD massages from Bloom Massage Healing (Thanks again, Marina and friends). Once the forecast started becoming more ominous, we had to face the unpleasant truth - we were probably going to be dealing with some bad weather again, just like the first Big Fam. [Dark skies photo] Being no strangers to the concept, we started preparing in advance - waterproofing the tents, taking down the flagpoles and reinforcing the canopies. There was always the hope that maybe it won’t be as bad as the forecast says, but it just becomes wishful thinking after a certain point. Starting around 3:00, there was finally some cloud cover over the grounds which took the edge off the heat. The majority of us wandered to the Bayou in time to see the beginning of a back-to-back set featuring TRPLSTVK and Groovee, both of whom I was unfamiliar with at the time. After a quick intro from TRPLSTVK, Groovee took the stage. His part started off great, as he was playing funky beats with a real saxophone to match. But after about five minutes, light sprinkling could be felt through the trees. [Groovee Photo] Initially, I was unphased. I’ve already dealt with way worse even in the months before Big Fam, and my thinking at the time was, “great, maybe a little water will cool the place down.” Then, a couple things happened in quick succession - Groovee exited the stage abruptly, so at first I thought TRPLSTVK was going back on. I saw Director Dave Fisher walking through the area and I went up to say hello. Before I could, he looked at me and said “We have to evacuate.” That’s when I noticed the music had stopped altogether, and right as all the dots connected in my mind, the storm unleashed with torrential proportions. Those who were gathered exited the scene quickly, with my crew high-tailing it back to home base. Leaving the Bayou revealed a very different scene than when we had walked in - thick sheets of rain came down, thunder rumbling in the distance. I would later be told that Groovee and TRPLSTVK were able to play a make-up set, but I didn’t see them myself. Back at camp, I helped my friends bust down the canopy, made sure it was reinforced, and crawled into the front seat of my car, not knowing how long I would be there. Lightning touched down uncomfortably close to the grounds in a field off to my left, and the last thing I remember before I passed out was, “Oh crap…the rain is moving SIDEWAYS.” *** I regained consciousness around 5:30 and stepped out to survey the aftermath. The rain was still coming down, though nowhere near as violently as before. Most of our tents, including mine, were undamaged, but a few had caved in from snapped poles or were otherwise flooded. It would be a while before the stages would reopen, so for now, there was nothing else to do but clean up the camp and try to make the best of the situation. One perk is that the place finally cooled down, though I would rather deal with extreme heat any day. I killed time by cracking jokes and gathering trash, later making my way to the RV section to touch base with some friends from Kalamazoo. Sometime after that, sunshine broke through. “I think we’ve come to expect the rain at this point,” Kat joked about the weather. “For year three, I think rubber boots should be part of the Big Fam uniform. We were definitely better prepared for it, but it’s still scary when you’re dealing with rental equipment, other people’s property, lighting equipment and art pieces that could potentially be damaged. In both years, the rain we received was quite a torrential downpour. We had to follow protocol to shut down the stage and evacuate for people’s safety. But it lent to the look of the bayou - it’s meant to kind of look like that anyway.” I was receiving conflicting information on whether the stages were back open or not, and unfortunately missed the Ann Arbor-based jam group Chirp as a result. At some point I was informed that the “secret set” on the Saturday schedule was the producer known as Jaenga, who I don’t know much about, but I missed him too. Regardless, I thought his appearance was a funny twist, since playing the actual game Jenga has been a running joke in my camp for a while now. I wouldn’t find myself back in the festival grounds until much later that night to wrap up some more unfinished business, this time with the Traverse City-based progressive jam group Biomassive at the main stage. During the first Big Fam, rain and lightning blew in Friday night, meaning several sets had to be canceled including Biomassive. Even though I’ve seen them play here and there before, I was disappointed because that was one set I’d been looking forward to, and didn’t get the chance at any other point between the two Big Fam installments. [Biomassive photo] I actually came in towards the tail end where they finished off with an enjoyable mashup of well-known contemporary hits, including “Sandstorm” by Darude and “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation. Maybe someday I’ll see a full set from them, but for now, I have a very enjoyable memory to get me by. More importantly, I needed to get back to the Canopy stage to see one of my most highly-anticipated sets of the weekend - the return of local artist Ashton Robertson, the mastermind behind Spaceship Earth. I first saw Robertson perform as Spaceship Earth during a one-night festival in Bangor in 2016. The idea of an electronic artist doing live mixing while also playing electric guitar was a new concept to me, and I made sure to talk to him after the set to tell him how much I enjoyed it. Each of the times I’ve been able to see him perform since then have always been a treat, but this performance was extra special, as it marked his return to the stage after two years. Pandemic-related issues putting a hold on all live performances aside, Robertson also experienced medical complications during that time that left him with a loss of feeling in his legs. However, you wouldn’t know it from watching him play that night. Interview with Ashton Robertson, “Spaceship Earth” “I was so nervous, not about the music, but about my legs, since I had lost my ability to walk,” Robertson said in a phone interview. “I was playing a lot of new music and I was lowkey nervous about it, but I thought it went really well, especially with the sound system they had, the BassBoss system just sounded so good. As I started, more and more people started showing up, and it turned into this dance party vibe. I was feeling so grateful and couldn’t have asked for more. It was a really surreal and beautiful experience for me.” [Spaceship Earth 1 photo] Robertson has described his music to me in a number of ways, using terms like “quantum dub” and “psychedelic electronic bass” to explain it. Whatever you call it, the music is laced with spiritual and sci-fi themed samples that only add more ambiance to the experience. Furthermore, Robertson said about half of the material included was being played live for the first time. In my best opinion, the set could be described as “Mystical Drum-n-Bass,” but even that isn’t totally doing it justice, as the set incorporated many different styles, all accentuated by Robertson shredding on the guitar. He even dropped in some heavy reggae-dub type music towards the end, putting a satisfying cap on his big return - one that I was honored to witness. Robertson also shared some observations about playing his first set post-pandemic, echoing several thoughts I had myself over the course of the event. “[The pandemic] is something I almost didn’t think about to be honest,” Robertson said. “It felt really good, I played like two or three shows during the pandemic that were all sit-down, socially distanced, masks only, and I really supported all that stuff. I thought it was important to have live shows. But to get on the outside of it, that return to normalcy felt better than you could imagine. You never know what you have until it’s gone. Music, live music is the greatest thing ever, and more than just my set, seeing music live felt so good, and seeing people dance in the crowd without limitation was really cool. It’s so beautiful to experience humanity again.” [Spaceship Earth 2 photo] Aside from his own set, Robertson added that he enjoyed the festival weekend overall. “I just really appreciate how Big Fam has a combination of jam bands like Twiddle, amazing electronic music, and hybrid acts like myself and Josh Teed, while also incorporating visual and performance art,” Robertson said. “It’s really a community thing, and I think that’s what has the potential to really grow and create an awesome culture. To me, it’s not only about the music and art, but it’s about growing our communities into safe, expansive places, and fun places where people are really enjoying themselves. So I really appreciate that about Big Fam, it kind of says it in the name, but it was cool to experience it, especially as an artist.” Spaceship Earth was ultimately my favorite set across the board that weekend, which is saying something given how many I would actually see by the end of it. To keep up with Robertson and Spaceship Earth, readers can follow his social media platforms at this official Fanlink. For a short clip I recorded of the performance, click here. After that profoundly enjoyable experience, I regrouped with my friends at the top vendor area, smashed a double cheeseburger, and headed to the main stage for the remaining headliners. A light sprinkling was back at this time, but only added to the atmosphere, along with the flame and flow dancers flanking both sides of the stage. We arrived during the last five minutes of Khiva, just before the Widdler was set to make his second-ever Big Fam appearance. gh Disclaimer for Saturday Night - Just like the band Green Jelly at Michigan Metal Fest a month before Big Fam, I really must confess myself ignorant to several things regarding the Saturday headliners. First, let me remind the reader of my strategy going into this festival - to do as little research about the performers as possible, whether I’ve heard of them or not, with the intention of getting as many authentic first impressions as possible. While this strategy absolutely paid off for me here and at other festivals in 2022, there are a few drawbacks, namely that you might miss important details ABOUT those artists. For instance, while I had heard of the label “Deep Dark & Dangerous” and seen the logo, I didn’t know (or somehow missed the fact) that Saturday night was intended to be a DDD takeover. To that end, I didn’t know that a lot of these artists on the lineup were on the DDD label, or had otherwise released music through it before. Furthermore, I didn’t know until later that the New Zealand-based downtempo duo Truth, the closeout headliners of the evening, are also the founders of that label. It also came as a sudden flashback that, during Electric Forest a few months prior, a friend of mine had said he wanted to watch Khiva because she would be playing at Big Fam. I remember feeling only more impressed that the lineup included artists that had already been at such big-name festivals that year. Back to the Recap Meanwhile, we still had the Widdler going on. I’ve seen him live plenty of times, previously at the first installment of Big Fam, and the set was good, but I find it problematic trying to explain what he sounds like. A friend had previously said that “he’s called the Widdler because that’s what he does to your brain. He ‘widdles’ it.” That’s about all I can say. His reggae-infused bass sets are always enjoyable, and my brain got Widdled, but the close-out performance by Truth sticks out more in my memory for being something I’d never seen before. [Truth photo] Truth was very different from what I was expecting, but in reality I didn’t know what to expect, as I hadn’t heard a single track by the duo that I could name. Interestingly, only one half of the duo was present for this set, Andre Fernandez. It started off with very chill and dreamy type vibes, and I found myself sitting cross-legged with my eyes closed for much of it. Like the Widdler, the sound is difficult to explain, but the best term I could come up with was “Introspective Dubstep.” Even though I was sitting with my eyes closed, the music itself was taking me on an inner journey, going to several different places and considering many things in my personal life. This wasn’t one of those “sound bath” sets, but on my end it may as well have been. I snapped back to reality toward the end when a sample unknown to me declared, “The fact that I existed at all was astonishing.” Isn’t it, though? All in all, “Deep, Dark & Dangerous” is no joke, and like the Big Fam name, delivers what it promises. I finished off Saturday night with a set by producer and violinist Josh Teed, which was a testament to Dave and Kat’s desire to include artists that used real instruments at the Bayou. I enjoyed what I saw of Teed, and I’d never seen a DJ set that included a violin, but I was exhausted and decided to call it a night after a while. You could say Teed was a “lullaby set,” and a damn good one at that. Sunday Funday - I Don’t Want to Leave! Sunday was much kinder in terms of weather. The rain had vanished completely, leaving only a gray sky and cool, even temperatures in its wake. Since the sun was hidden behind the clouds, there were no further issues with heat and humidity, creating what I would consider to be “ideal” festival weather. [Sunday weather photo] I know I keep using words like “atmosphere” and “ambiance,” but it cannot be understated that the “ideal festival weather” was a major contributor to the general feeling on Sunday, which was damn near perfect in my eyes - downtempo electronic music in a forest and big hill environment set against a gray, early-fall sky. Speaking of Downtempo, the first set I saw on Sunday was OBSRVR at the main stage, a Lansing-based producer and drummer who I had never heard of, even with me living in the city. It was the perfect way to start the day - chill, atmospheric beats, inducing feelings of wonder, nostalgia, and a refreshed appreciation for everything I had done so far that weekend, and still had yet to do. It also induced a feeling of wistfulness, if that’s the right word, as I knew I would be heading home around that same time the next day. Trying not to think too hard about it, I soaked up every last moment as best I could. A month later I would see OBSRVR perform at a Devil’s Night event (October 30th for those who don’t live in Michigan) at The Avenue, a Barcade in Lansing. Had I not stumbled into him during Big Fam, I may not have even considered going in the first place. And that’s what happens when you go into a festival with as little knowledge about the lineup as possible - you get to DISCOVER things that were previously unknown to you, and isn’t that half the fun of events like these? [Updated Mural photo] The area of the main stage had also been noticeably transformed itself, as marked by the progression of the mural wrapping around the concrete border. After OBSRVR, Big Fam Marketing and Communications Director Andrew Martin took the stage under his own name A Tropical Martian, marking the second time I’ve seen him perform. Like his name suggests, Martin usually plays tropical house beats, but the set was much “funkier” than the last time I saw him play. Seeing him make the jump from the Canopy stage to the immeasurably larger main stage was quite a sight. [Andrew Martin, “A Tropical Martian” Photo] Under the gray sky, Martin’s performance was contrasted by a shocking color palette of blues and oranges, mixed with images of palm trees and other beach-type themes. Those visuals were provided by Kat Fisher, the only main stage set to feature her touch. “This festival is home to me,” Martin said in an email after the festival. “I perform a limited number of shows a year, as my goal is to give many other artists opportunities to display their crafts. However, being one of the curators of this event, I have a unique opportunity to express my own craft, not to have boundaries or be restricted to playing a particular genre when I perform at the festival. I play what feels right, and it’s always different from what music I'm connecting with during that time.” Beyond that, most of my mid-afternoon was spent in the Bayou, enjoying a tea party hosted by Alice and the Mad Hatter and just vibing out, watching the patrons come and go. [Alice and the Mad Hatter photo] I would later return to the art gallery by the main stage and make another loop around the festival grounds to make sure I’d seen absolutely everything, returning to the Bayou in time to see a set from Kalamazoo’s FENDZ, another returning act and one close to my heart. I spent eight years and some change living in Kalamazoo for school and work, becoming well-acquainted with the local EDM scene along the way. Even though I live in Lansing now, I still wanted to show love to that scene, which was essential to my experience while I was there. While FENDZ usually performs as a duo consisting of Travis Wagner and Patrick “Large Mouth Bass” McKenzie, McKenzie was performing solo this time, as Wagner was unable to attend due to personal reasons. Nevertheless, this made for an interesting opportunity, as I hadn’t seen McKenzie fly solo anytime in recent memory. Interview with Patrick McKenzie of FENDZ “It felt really good [to be back],” McKenzie said in an interview after the weekend. “I’ve always really liked this festival, and I know a lot of the people involved in putting it on from previous festivals throughout the year. So it’s really great working with them.” Although the duo has branched out into other genres, to sum up, McKenzie explains that FENDZ is basically a mixture of old-school hip-hop and the early 2010’s dubstep sound. [Patrick McKenzie, Fendz Photo] “When [Travis Wagner and I] perform together, we bring something different because we both have a bit of our own style, so it’s more my older project, Large Mouth Bass, when I play by myself,” McKenzie said. “That comes out more.” True to his word, the set incorporated a lot of west coast hip-hop accentuated by spooky high-oscillator synths, even including a remix of the theme from Requiem for a Dream. “My set was in the early afternoon and I was in one of those types of moods,” McKenzie said. “It was early afternoon, it was like getting the party started. I just felt that west coast vibe, it felt like the right time of day for that. [The Bayou]’s sound was so nice and clean there, shout out to the BassBoss [amplifiers] for providing excellent sound for that venue. Being enclosed like that, having everything tight and close, really set a sweet vibe.” Interestingly enough, McKenzie is an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and the visuals accompanying his set incorporated graphics that looked like rolling 20-sided dice at times. However, McKenzie maintains that this wasn’t on purpose, as he was not in control of the visuals and hadn’t told anyone he played the game. Just a funny coincidence. The set was great and fun as always, but it was one of my favorites because tons of friends and acquaintances from Kalamazoo had turned out for it, making it a reunion for me and all involved. A “Big Fam Within a Big Fam,” if you will, much like my own crew. “It’s really nice seeing that many people turn out and show up,” McKenzie said. “Just having all my friends in the crowd getting down, plus the sea of people in the trees, to watch them go from swinging in their hammocks to dancing on their feet, it was a great experience overall.” Since I’m rarely ever in Kalamazoo anymore, this was a very big stand-out moment for me in a weekend already full of them, and one that I’ll cherish forever. [FENDZ with Crowd Photo] Readers can keep up with FENDZ on Soundcloud and Facebook Sunday’s Last Stand After FENDZ finished throwing down, I decided to take a brief interlude and return to camp for the purposes of vibing out and appreciating the people I came with. A dinner of homemade chicken stir fry was dished out, laughs were shared and energy was replenished for the final stretch. It was around 9 p.m. when we returned to the Bayou, during which the duo Manthom Phenace was onstage with more violin-laced bass music. While that was happening, I enjoyed another tea party with Alice and the Mad Hatter and other various guests. At that time, producer Zen Selekta, a returning artist to the Big Fam lineup who would soon be taking the stage, could be seen enjoying a cup of tea herself. “One of the favorites this year was definitely the Zen Selekta set,” Kat would later tell me. “She played the canopy stage in year one, then when we decided to bring her back, we wanted to make sure she was in the Bayou because we knew she was a fan of the tea party. So we were happy to have her back, along with the flow performers on each side of the stage during her set.” [Zen Selekta photo] All the while, the activity in the bayou had swelled beyond belief; everyone was clearly taking advantage of their final night in Farwell. Aside from people being packed in tight, flame dancers were flanking the stage and live painters were creating all sorts of art everywhere. I even saw someone who appeared to be working on a live piece via photoshop and a touch tablet, which was something I hadn’t seen before in a setting like this. In my own circle, if I ever need to know where to meet people, I can always count on Zen Selekta being the set everyone will be at. And indeed, a large crowd was gathered for her at ten p.m., myself and friends included. While Zen only impresses with her deep, downtempo reggae dub sounds vibrating the audience, it really is nice to see when you’ve been following her as long as I have. [Fire dancers during Zen Selekta photo] My first time seeing her play was in 2018 inside the barn stage at a different music festival. It was late (or early, depending on who you ask), probably about four or five in the morning. I was actually waiting for Spaceship Earth to come on, and Zen played just before him. I had no idea who she was at the time, but this was another one of those moments I’ve described about “discovering something new” and getting the best possible first impression of an artist when I knew nothing about them. That also became one of my favorites of that particular weekend, and it’s been nothing but a joy to see how far she’s come since then. Just as I wrote of her performance at Big Fam 2021, her style has only become more refined since that chance encounter years before, and it’s great to see her keep coming back to Michigan for events like this. Plus, the fact that I got to see her perform the same weekend as Spaceship Earth for the second time in my life felt like one of those “full circle” moments. Unfortunately for me, these pleasant memories, juxtaposed with the new ones being created in front of my eyes, also served to remind me that my time here was almost up, and I still had more to see. I left after Zen finished and returned to the main stage to see what remained of the jam rock band Twiddle, who I hadn’t seen since 2019. [Twiddle photo] The heavily bass-slapping rock music had all kinds of styles in the mix, but truly, the standout moment for me was when they performed “When it Rains it Pours,” the lyrics of which perfectly matched my state of mind at the time. Here’s an excerpt via Genius - “Now listen to the words I'm Saying in this line that your life will be just fine and Troubles do not stay they Get replaced with good times Now you got a great life Smile as you walk by Thinking about the Day” What I found really remarkable was that I’d never heard this song before, and yet it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was another case of being in just the right place at just the right time. Finally, it was time for Dixon’s Violin, who was closing out the main stage for the second year in a row. [Dixon’s Violin photo 1] At the first Big Fam, I didn’t understand at first why Dixon was selected as the closeout act, but upon experiencing it, I knew why - his ethereal violin sounds served as the “cooldown” set for the weekend, tucking everyone into bed on his way out. Again, after a weekend full of bass and jam music, it was nice to have something utterly relaxed and dreamlike to put a cap on everything. It was a genius move having him in that slot. Aside from his music, Dixon also has an incredible talent for saying short, simple messages between songs that speak volumes to the audience. At the start, he encouraged everyone to dance, vibe, flow or do whatever else it was they felt like doing, and to forget about looking weird, because “Guess what? We’re all weird!” Nothing short of sage advice. Between songs, he reminded everyone that they would be going home the next day, and the world out there would not be as kind as it was in here, because not everyone has been able to experience something like this. He advised the audience to remember the feeling and to carry it for whenever you were feeling down next. As fate would have it, I would be feeling down the very next day, Labor Day. I would drive home and return to my day job with barely enough time for a shower in between. Aside from being exhausted, I would deal with several rude and entitled people that were allegedly on vacation, and it was a jarring contrast compared to where I had just been earlier that morning. It was like an alarm clock waking you up from the best dream you’ve ever had. The only thing that got me through was the wave I rode from the weekend, which was a result of me taking Dixon’s words to heart. [Dixon’s Violin photo 2] In a way, I’ve still been riding that same wave since I left that morning, one which is tinged with wonder, love for my friends and the people I shared the experience with, the sense of discovery and adventure, and a longing to return as soon as possible. Following Up with the Staff - In addition to Dave and Kat Fisher, I also followed up with Andrew Martin after the event to get more perspective on how it all went down. “The overall experience of the festival was great. However, we’ve been faced with many challenges this last year,” Martin said via email. “We’ve embraced those challenges and are ready to face them together heading into year three. With this incredible team, I know that anything is possible. We will make the necessary changes to make a tremendous step forward this year and become successful together.” Martin says most of those challenges had to do with getting used to the new space, but he is confident that the third installment will be even better. “It’s difficult to compare year one to year two with the differences we’ve experienced, as there were differences in the lineup, infrastructure, location, team, etc.,” Martin said. “Each event had its own incredible highlights as well as challenges to overcome, and the biggest obstacle was navigating the logistics and structure at the new venue. But it’s Big Fam, so it should be suited for a Big Property, and we are ready for the return to Liberty Mountain in 2023. Liberty Mountain has an incredible amount of infrastructure at our disposal, and we’re hopeful of collaborating with the venue to make it into an even better platform for successful events in the future. Expect upgrades and new features to the property in 2023.” With that said, there is always room for improvement. “We need to improve our marketing, logistics, and infrastructure,” Martin said. “Specifically, we aim to improve awareness both locally and nationally. Also, we want to enhance the available transportation and overall traffic flow of attendees traveling throughout the property during the event. In addition, we also want to make features more visible and accessible to give a more immersive experience.” Not wanting to give too much away, as always, Martin said to just “keep your eyes peeled” for details on the next installment. When I asked Kat and Dave Fisher for some final thoughts, Kat said one of her favorite parts was the immediate family aspect. “So many of the people that worked on the staff, including myself, like, my mom came to the festival,” Kat said. “A lot of people in the industry, our parents aren’t necessarily familiar with the things we do. They don’t know what it takes to run production for events in Detroit like we do. But for our parents to come see us in action, working the festival, and to take them around and show them what we’ve been creating, that was really special to me. I loved seeing that so many of the directors had their family members there to experience it with us.” Conclusion When Big Fam made its debut in 2021, it was like a cold drink of water after being lost in the desert for a long time. Thanks to the pandemic, it was the only large-scale event that I was able to attend that year. At that point, I couldn’t even remember how to get excited for a festival, which was a bad sign for my overall mindset. Ultimately, it made me remember why I ever loved going to events like this in the first place. While 2022 was most definitely the “comeback year” for everyday living, getting back into the swing of things was very rough. Even the return of Electric Forest was fraught with its own issues due to personal baggage that I didn’t realize I was carrying until I got there. Despite this, I still had a blast at Forest, but one crucial thing was missing that I didn’t realize I was craving - that feeling of intimacy with the people I care about. Even though I had fun, I didn’t really feel like I got to adequately see and spend time with my friends, since it was so huge and there was so much going on at all times. There is much to be said about a smaller-scale event that can make that intimacy possible. The people you spend an event like this with are as important, if not more important than the event itself. The bottom line is that Big Fam’s second installment created another space where old friendships can be celebrated, as well as the beginning of new ones. There were some people in my camp that I was meeting for the first time, and many of those were enjoying their first camping music festival ever. I would say that based on the lineup, setting and infrastructure in place, as well as the various activities available, there are few other places where you could have such a great first experience into the world of festivals. The second Big Fam quite literally had it all - a diverse lineup of both local and regional electronic and jam artists, a vibrant offering of various arts, and a space where you are welcomed and encouraged to be yourself. What more could you ask for? After thinking long and hard about it, I would say that out of all major festival events that I attended in 2022, Big Fam was without a doubt the best overall experience, even with the bad weather considered. I wasn’t sure it was possible, but to circle back and answer the question I opened this review with, the staff behind Big Fam really did catch lightning in a bottle twice, in the form of a small festival setting with a big festival feel. And that, my friends, is truly their Biggest accomplishment yet. A very happy Big Fam to all involved, and I’ll see you next time on Liberty Mountain. . Will Kriss // [DJWILLKILL] [Group Photo] Acknowledgements - Special thanks to - Andrew Martin, Dave and Kat Fisher, and the collective Big Fam Staff The Staff of Bloom Massage Healing for the massages The Staff of Manifest Green cleanup crew for the prize pack Patrick McKenzie Ashton Robertson