Splash House August 2017 || Event Review

Splash House was the perfect way to close out the summer. House music, good vibes, and beautiful venues made for a fun-filled weekend!

This August was my first time attending Splash House, and I can say with confidence that I will be returning! The festival, spanning three Palm Springs hotels The Renaissance, The Riviera, and The Saguaro, ran very smoothly with little to no hiccups. It was hot over the weekend, with temperatures peaking at 116 degrees, but hanging in the pool solved that problem very quickly. There was no shortage of colorful beach balls, ice-cold beer, and smiles at Splash House this August.

Want to reminisce on the happy Splash House vibes? Listen to our Splash House August 2017 playlist!

Each of the three hotels had a very different setup, each with its own vibe and style of music.

The Renaissance was the home base and biggest stage, with all shuttles coming and going from there. It hosted a collection of house, tropical house, and deep house artists, including SNBRN, The Him, Croatia Squad, and Justin Jay, among many others. The Saguaro was an eye-poppingly colorful hotel, with the outside walls color blocked in vibrant tones and bright banners floating above the entire pool. Artists like Weiss, Eli & Fur, Catz ‘N Dogz, and Desert Hearts graced The Saguaro over the weekend, providing some dope house and techno beats.

Last but certainly not least, The Riviera was home to some of the bigger names, like Big Gigantic, Louis Futon, Mr. Carmack, and Manila Killa. Future bass was abundant at The Riviera, along with the house and deep house found throughout the entire festival. I loved the stage setup as it was covered in leafy vines with a huge LED screen behind the DJ booth, giving a cool tropical feel.

While the main festival was Saturday and Sunday, Splash House hosted After Hours parties on Friday and Saturday nights at the Air Museum.

We attended Friday night’s After Hours, although Saturday we were too tired from the festival to make it over after being in the sun all day long. On Friday the vibes were pretty chill with Sofi Tukker and Bob Moses playing. The Air Museum was an awesome venue, old planes surrounding the entire area and one huge plane right behind the stage. A taco truck, countless bars, and a large VIP area with lots of comfy couches made the After Hours a great addition to the festival.

On Saturday we split our time between The Saguaro and The Renaissance.

Our first stop was The Saguaro, so we could catch Dirtybird artist, Sage Armstrong spin a sick set and chat with him afterward. Walking into The Saguaro is like walking into a color bomb–everything is bright, fun, and beautiful. It’s like an oasis in the desert, complete with some of the best house music I’ve heard all summer. Misters surrounded the pool area, so even if you weren’t cooling off in the water there was still some hope for staying out of the hot Palm Springs sun. Hotel balconies with people partying enveloped the pool, most with huge homemade banners of funny sayings hanging, similar to those on totems at other festivals.

Next, we jumped on a shuttle over to The Renaissance to catch Gigamesh, Croatia Squad, and Justin Jay.

The shuttles were another part of Splash House I absolutely loved. All the drivers put on some great tunes and got everyone dancing and partying on the bus rides, they were always so much fun! They also provided free cold water bottles in the shuttle lines, providing some welcome relief from the heat.

The stage at The Renaissance was much bigger, definitely more of a festival stage feel. The pool was similarly larger and the dance floor allowed ample room to show off those funky dance moves. Gigamesh and Croatia Squad both played some fun sets, but my favorite definitely goes to Justin Jay. I was so excited to see him, and he didn’t disappoint one bit. His unceasing joyous smile and feel-good house music were too perfect for the Splash House vibe. He even brought out his full band to make it an unforgettable live set, featuring guitar, drums, and all!

Sunday was definitely more go with the flow for us, and we ended up sticking around The Renaissance all day until heading to Big Gigantic over at the Riviera.

We decided to get in the pool right when we arrived on Sunday, and what a great decision that was. The festival was much more enjoyable while staying cooled off in the pool, as the Splash House name might suggest. Le Youth, The Him, and SNBRN all played great sets while we were at The Renaissance, providing all the best tropical and deep house tunes. I surprisingly loved The Him way more than I thought I would. I’ve always loved their remix of The Chainsmokers’ “Roses”, but they unexpectedly threw down some dope trap and bass music in addition to their tropical tracks.

Sunday went by way too quickly, and all the sudden it was time to catch Big Gigantic close out the festival at The Riviera.

After a full two days of house, which I definitely loved, it was awesome to end things off with a banging festival set from Big G, filled with all the bass and funk I could possibly ask for. As usual, Dom was killing it on the decks and the sax with Jeremy going hard on the drums. They finished things off with an unreal edit of their track with Logic, “All Of Me,” closing out Splash House on the best possible note. I can never get enough of their blend of jazz, hip hop, and bass!

I can’t stop thinking about all the fun times I had and great music I heard at Splash House. Apart from the heat (which was easily fixed by jumping in the pool), I had no complaints at all–the festival was run very smoothly. I’ll definitely be returning next year, and this time I’ll for sure be getting a hotel package with a balcony room!