Highlights of this year’s lineup include the likes of Subtronics, who is returning for the first time since 2019. Zeds Dead is making their WAKAAN Festival debut this year for a solo set as well as the first-ever Zeds Dead b2b Liquid Stranger set. Freddy Todd and Of The Trees will be performing as their collaborative BLAAP project. An official 1985 Music takeover will feature label head Alix Perez, along with Torcha, Hyroglifics, and Monty. Barclay Crenshaw is returning after electrifying performances the last two years that helped cement his resurgence as a bass music icon. The duo of jordnmoody and Ujuu will be on stage together as FLORA. As founder of WAKAAN, Liquid Stranger himself is also performing three exclusive sets, including a throwback set with a list of not-yet-announced friends.

There is more to WAKAAN than just the music. The festival features a diverse array of workshops, ranging from such topics as health and wellness to music production. The grounds of Mulberry Mountain are scattered with art installations, merch vendors, games, and more. In particular, this year features the return of Soul Spin Art Gallery, where fans can create their very own custom vinyl records that will be kept on the mountain for years to come.

In the past years that I’ve attended WAKAAN, the crowd energy has been unreal. There is a real, concerted effort on the part of these festival-goers to make friends and inspire each other. I’ve told my life story to a stranger on the way to a Port-a-Potty. I’ve always left with more trinkets than I arrived with. I’ve been handed hors d’oeuvres from people passing by mid-headliner. I’ve played Super Smash Brothers and watched Adventure Time on a screen in the middle of the forest. The sense of community that this festival has is something to behold, and I hope everyone gets to at least once.

If you’d like to purchase a ticket to the festival, you can do so on WAKAAN’s website. Be sure to follow them on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for more information. In the meantime, you can peep the full festival lineup below!

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Speaking of breaks, if you had been going hard for several hours straight (an easy task with how ludicrously spicy the lineup was) you could setup a home base in the middle or rear of the crowd complete with inflatable couches and chairs (an option many people took full advantage of), creating the culture’s first hybrid couchfam/crowdfam immaculate monstrosity. 

For a first-year fest, the scheduling logistics and the thoughtful arrangement of daily lineup schedules were knocked clear out of this galaxy, allowing for both a natural progression of energy throughout each day as well as the minimization of potential set conflicts, which contributed to an impeccable flow, intention, and keen attention to detail that was cultivated throughout Mulberry Mountain.

Several artists consented to multiple appearances throughout the weekend, opting to reveal multiple perspectives of themselves and their musical craft, such as Kursa’s late-night Lofi set or Yheti’s multiple sunrise appearances both solo and alongside fellow constituents of The Trifinity, which presented an exceptional sensation of authenticity and musical diversity to the weekend that seldom exists elsewhere. 

But what good is an extensive lineup and tactfully organized daily schedule without the proper backing and amplification of a state of the art system? Fear not, for Wakaan Music Festival featured the full strength and capacity of PK Sound at both the Aura and Chakra stages, with the dexterity and range of Hennessey Sound Design for the Halo stage and the limitless freedom for renegade courtesy of the Jaenga Bus to ensure both audible clarity and sheer voluminous force for each and every performance. The low ends were pounding and noticeably shook the ground, while the mid’s and high’s came through with the perfect amount of punch and discernibility that carried crisply throughout the festival grounds. 

Liquid Stranger started the weekend off proper with an OG dubstep set to close out Wednesday night, which ended up extending nearly a full hour beyond his designated cutoff time and allowed the early arrivers on Thursday morning a serenade of throwback wobbles, a magnificent treat for longterm fans of his productions. From that night on, love and togetherness seemed to be emanating from the ground, as Mulberry Mountain was encapsulated in a magical bubble for four October days and nights. With not a single moshpit in sight, at Wakaan you were quite likely to be greeted with a high five from a random passerby, or gifted a small token of appreciation like a sticker or pin (an occurrence that happened more times than I can count on both hands).

Even during Liquid’s final set on Sunday a titanic group hug in the crowd was performed, a true testament to the feeling that the weekend wasn’t an individual having a group experience, but rather a group having an experience through the perspective of an individual. 

While the conclusion of most festivals leaves patrons enthusiastic for a home-cooked meal and the ability to bathe on demand, the final hours of Wakaan Music Festival’  s debut year were pervaded with nostalgia and an already brimming anticipation for the next gathering of the Wakaan Family. 

Words by Alex Bell & Sam Lewis

Photos Courtesy of Derek Munthe and whatif.photgraphy

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