First-ever EDM concert to hit the Valley
Oct 11, 2014, 4:57 PM | Updated: 8:03 pm
PHOENIX — Electronic Dance Music fans, rejoice: Global Dance Festival is coming, and it’ll be the first of its kind in the Valley.
In a state where country music, heavy rock and pop seem to be the preferred genre, EDM will be making soundwaves and history on Friday, Nov. 21 at Tempe Beach Park when concert headliner Steve Aoki and company bring their beats to Arizona.
Global Dance Festival has been around for a decade and a half. After the success of this year’s Mad Decent Block Party , GDF seemed like a natural next step in the growing popularity of a genre that once was far from mainstream.
The Phoenix New Times reported that Australian electronic music vocalist Emma Hewitt will be joining Aoki, as well as Crizzly, who is described by the New Times as a “bass loving producer who invented the adrenaline-inducing subgenre ‘crunkstep'”.
“GDF Arizona has been a long time coming,” Ryan Auhl of Relentless Beats told the New Times “After our success with Zedd, Crush, and most recently [Mad Decent Block Party], we knew it’s finally time to bring some real festivals to the valley. We’ve had a great relationship with [GDF organizer] Ha Hau over the years, and he’s been really supportive of our business here. For us, it was an easy choice.”
(For those who are confused about the concept of “crunkstep”, watch this.)