Article by: Kyle Dusterhoft
What an incredible experience! North Coast was everything one could ask for in a three-day festival. From the lineup and the separate stages to the range of activities that one could try over the weekend, the overall experience was immaculate. With artists like Armin Van Buuren, a return of Tchami and Malaa’s No Redemption, Seven Lions and the Ophelia Records takeover, and Fisher with the Catch & Release takeover, there truly was an option for any EDM fan attending the event.
Embarking on Day 1 of North Coast, my friend Ryan and I found ourselves gravitating towards the main stage for Tres Mortimer. Tres lit up the main stage with some iconic house tracks. Then we met up with more friends and decided to stay at the main stage, energizing ourselves with Gettoblaster and its Chicago house and hip-hop-infused music.
Photo Credit: Alive Coverage
Once Gettoblaster finished, it was time for me to do my media coverage — I got to interview them as well as a separate interview with Jiqui and Sisto, who are both releasing new music soon. After the interviews, we met up with friends again and explored the festival grounds, first checking out the Vega stage during Space Wizard’s set to see all the headbangers going hard and then catching the first bit of Eli & Fur’s set on the Canopy stage.
From there we went to see Two Friends, and all the while we were looking forward to the upcoming two-hour Fisher set. The Australian producer decided to hit us with two hours of deep house and it was by far one of the best sets of the weekend. To finish Day 1, we booked it over to the main Stadium stage to catch the one and only Armin Van Buuren in fine form. From the sound design to the visuals, it was one of the five best sets I’ve ever seen and an overall enthralling set to witness.
I arrived a little later for Day 2 and headed straight to the Vega stage for the Ophelia Records takeover to get my dose of melodic bass. I navigated my way through a misty-eyed crowd toward the front just as Jason Ross was making his way on stage, and I stayed there through the end of the Mitis set. I dropped back with my mates for Wooli, and his set was the most pleasabntly surprising set of the weekend. It was my first time seeing Wooli and I thought it was one of the top three sets of the weekend, due in large part to the fluidity and transitions flowing from drop to drop.
Photo Credit: Alive Coverage
We cut out early from Wooli to make our way to the Stadium stage for the revival of Tchami and Malaa’s No Redemption set. On theme with Tchami’s penchant to dress like a preacher, I saw my favorite totem of the weekend during this set — two small whiteboards taped to a pole with writing that said: “My mom thinks I’m at church, God bless the headbangers.” We stayed at main stage to close out Day 2 with Illenium, who brought a heavier set than I expected.
Day 3 started with a jolt to our systems at the Vega stage, hearing an elite b2b2b with Ubur, Aweminus, and Yakz. From there, it was back to work for a few more interviews with Kaivon and Yakz, who also have music dropping soon. We caught up with our group at the Stadium stage for the end of Jai Wolf’s set and stayed put to catch the beginning of Slander’s set.
Photo Credit: Alive Coverage
But the big draw we were all looking forward to for Day 3 was Kaytranada closing out the Canopy stage for the weekend. Kaytranada dropped an amazing set, playing some of his more popular songs and tying them together with some deep cuts and even a pinch of Chicago’s Chance The Rapper. As the festival drew to a close, we headed back to the main stage to find the ideal artist to end the festivities — Porter Robinson. Porter was in peak form playing most of his Nurture album plus some of his most popular tracks, putting the cherry on top of an unbelievable weekend.
Even as a fully-fledged house head, my favorite set of the festival weekend was Armin Van Buuren, followed closely by the No Redemption set from Tchami and Malaa. The other standout performances for me were Wooli, Jason Ross, Mitis, Fisher, Illenium, and Porter Robinson. In reflection, it was an incredible weekend spent with some amazing friends listening to a handful of the best artists on the planet. I could not have asked for a better festival than North Coast 2022 and I’m already looking forward to the presale for 2023.
