Paradiso Festival was an annual
electronic dance music (EDM) festival held at
The Gorge Amphitheatre
The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near Columbia River in Central Washington, west of George. The venue is manage ...
located on the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
in
George, Washington
George is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 809 at the 2020 census. The "humorous homage" to President George Washington has landed George, Washington on lists of unusual place names.
The city is known for b ...
, United States. Founded by USC Events and
Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...
in 2012, Paradiso was billed as the "largest Electronic Dance Music event ever staged in the Pacific Northwest", with the 2012 attendance exceeding 29,000 people. The 2013 event saw performances by
Kaskade
Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-first on its 200 ...
,
Porter Robinson
Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label Owsla, OWSLA at the age o ...
,
Tiesto, and more.
On January 28, 2020
Insomniac
Insomniac or The Insomniac may refer to:
* A person who has insomnia
Music
* ''Insomniac'' (Green Day album), 1995
* ''Insomniac'' (Enrique Iglesias album), 2007
* "Insomniac" (song), a 1994 song by Echobelly
* "Insomniac", a song by Billy P ...
filed a lawsuit against USC Events alleging that USC refused to account for $2 million meant for artists and vendors at the 2019 festival. Insomniac has expressed interest in having a summer event at the Gorge which will likely replace Paradiso.
Camping
Attendants of the Paradiso Festival also had an option to camp at The Gorge Amphitheatre. While the festival itself was two days long, camping traditionally began a day before the festival started. At the 2017 festival, camping was open to everyone at 1 p.m. PST. There were four types of camping an attendant could buy: Standard Camping, Premier Camping, Gold Camping, and Terrace Camping. The Standard Camping pass was the cheapest option, while the Terrace Camping pass was the most expensive. Each camp ground had its own perks, with the perks getting better as one purchased a more expensive camping pass. Campers were normally permitted one vehicle and six people per camp site. There were vendors for food and misc. items such as clothing and artist merchandise, as well as showers towards the middle of the camp grounds. There were Porta Potty/Handwashing stations, and trash cans located throughout the campgrounds.
Culture
Attendants could expect to see costumes and outfits that are catered to the EDM industry, such as vibrantly colored clothing. Many attendants were also representative of the
PLUR Peace Love Unity Respect, commonly shortened to PLUR, is a set of principles that is associated with rave culture, originating in the United States. It has been commonly used since the early 1990s when it became commonplace in nightclub and rave fl ...
movement. Art was also a centerpiece at the festival, with festivalgoers finding many different artistic displays throughout the festival grounds. Many of the performances represented EDM, but within the genre itself there was a wide spectrum of sounds that were then categorized into various subgenres. Some examples commonly found were
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
and
trap music
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...
.
The Festival
Attendants could expect to be searched and patted down upon entry to the festival for illegal substances and alcohol. In the actual festival area, attendants could find vendors for food and drinks. Other vendors sold accessories, clothing, and assorted miscellaneous items. There were carnival rides and carnival games for those who were interested. Hydration stations and Porta Potties were set up almost everywhere within the area. There were also people who walked around looking out for those who need help, called the "Conscious Crew". There were medical tents for those in need. There were three total stages, with three artists playing simultaneously, with attendants often going back and forth between artists until their sets were over. At night, the main stage was typically where major artists would play. Several headliners from the 2017 festival included
Yellow Claw and
Marshmello
Christopher Comstock (born May 19, 1992), known professionally as Marshmello, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. His songs "Silence", "Wolves", "Friends", " Happier", and " Alone" have been certified multi-platinum in several ...
. Attendants could expect to see light shows and lasers at the various stages throughout the night.
Line-Ups
See also
*
List of electronic music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (EDM ...
References
External links
*
{{Electronic music festival
Music festivals established in 2012
Music festivals in Washington (state)
Electronic music festivals in the United States