V2 Presents’ annual spring festival, Get Lucky, was the best way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Weekend in Utah this year.
For those who enjoy having the opportunity to experience a wide array of genres, V2 Presents’ Get Lucky is a festival not to miss. Located at the Great Saltair just outside of Salt Lake City, this year’s lineup featured acts ranging from shuffle-inducing house to heavy bass. Though many were thrilled to see the original lineup include a long-awaited set from Fisher, unfortunately, plans had changed and he could no longer perform. However, attendees were pleasantly surprised by adding Kaskade as a last-minute switch.
Ask any local and they will tell you that while the Great Saltair is not a fan-favorite venue, they will always return for the enticing music and joyous experiences made there. The venue sits right off a highway exit on the Utah salt flats and though beautiful during the day, is unfortunately isolated from any lodgings or restaurants. The journey to the Great Saltair is a 30-minute drive from the closest city, Salt Lake City, making Uber or Lyft expensive for attendees.
This year’s Get Lucky featured a two-stage layout, the indoor Celtic Palace and the outdoor Tent of Gold. The overall floor plan of the indoor stage featured an open space in the middle and an upstairs bar area surrounding it. I found many spots to sit and watch the performances with a great view upstairs. There were many bars to order from, making lines shorter and quicker. The only downside was being unable to see the second outdoor stage from the bar area. Being Utah, no drinks were allowed to be taken out of the section upstairs.
When I walked around the 21+ area, I reached a small section to the far left of the stage zoned off for VIP. Although there was a great option of having a private bar with the VIP experience, it did not offer a great view of the Celtic Palace stage and had few other amenities worth the price, including a lack of VIP area in the Tent of Gold. As for food options, the one stand had a small selection of classics, such as hot dogs, chicken tenders, and fries to munch on.
Walking into the festival on day one, I was greeted immediately with the heart-thumping housey sounds of OBAŸASHI starting the night off strong.
The atmosphere was electric as people danced their way into the center of the room to his music. All around me, people were excited to be there and enjoy themselves. I walked outside to visit the Tent of Gold and was amazed by how close the stages were without sound bleed. There were lockers and a few local vendors.
When I got inside the sizeable tented stage, YehMe2 was getting the crowd dancing and jumping with trap music and popular throwback remixes. Though the temperatures were in the low 40s, the heat of the dancing crowd and pumped-in hot air kept the tent warm for attendees.
A massive round of applause goes to Rusko for giving the people an exhilarating drum and bass set, even through technical chaos.
Halfway through his performance, the entire Tent of Gold shut down, and all lights and music turned off. Most of the crowd left the quiet tent for the inside stage as the production team ran around to fix the problem. I held out hope that Rusko’s incredible set would continue and also knew the influx of people to the inside stage would be unbearable. After 20 minutes of waiting, his music boomed through the speakers again. I was speechless that people were having the most fantastic time dancing to the music even in the dark.
Closing out the first night, Kaskade delivered some insane house and techno beats in the Celtic Palace.
Those expecting a familiar Kaskade performance instead received a set that aligned more with his recent release of Fire & Ice V3. However, watching a crowd-amassing performer such as him play in a smaller confined venue proved challenging. Looking below from the bar, I could see attendees struggling to traverse through the crowd, becoming stuck like sardines.
I enjoyed the set but had a hard time with how loud the sound was during it. When I spoke to others around me coming and going from the set, they said they could only handle 10-15 minutes max of the dangerous 125-decibel sound pumping through the speakers. Despite the sound levels, the unique set Kaskade gave is one I’ll treasure.
Despite some difficulties with the first day, the second day was smooth sailing.
Entry and security weren’t an issue in the slightest taking five to ten minutes total, and production seemed to have corrected all lighting/sound matters for each stage. The second day was also teeming with incredible performances, including an Ophelia Records takeover at the Celtic Palace and heavy-hitting dubstep in the Tent of Gold. I enjoyed starting the night off with melodic vocals and feel-good energy coming from Gem & Tauri, William Black, and Jason Ross during their sets.
After the more light-hearted acts, I was ready to get headbanging in the Tent of Gold. After Kompany threw down a hard-hitting riddim set, ATLiens played some no-frills dark and filthy dubstep. Closing out the second night, attendees were fortunate to experience firsthand the debut of Ghastly’s side project ‘Ghengar.’ His new project was an aggressive, heavy dubstep experience complete with a new monstrous mask.
Thematically, there are some things I’d like to see in the future that would help take it to the next level.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of themed decorations throughout the venue. With only four hanging ornaments from the inside of the tent and nothing inside the Celtic Palace, I felt that the St. Patrick’s Day theme advertised wasn’t captured at this event. Also, I was frustrated to see only one minimal background setup in the form of a tree placed outside the stages for attendees to take pictures.
That being said, some form of the theme shone through by the picturesque dancers, poi spinners, and hoopers on the stages. Multiple flow artists were on both stages during each set dressed in green, nature-themed outfits. They did a wonderful job accompanying the visuals and music to set the vibe.
Overall, every set this weekend was tied together with an astonishing array of lasers and visuals, giving bigger festivals a run for their money.
As they have in the past, V2 Presents delivered on an overall great lineup. The charm of Get Lucky was evident with so many attendees who had a fun time, dressed up in St. Patrick’s Day outfits. With outstanding light production and crisp sound quality, V2 Presents put on a great performance for the weekend. If they can correct some of the issues mentioned, it will increase the quality experience for Get Lucky and all future productions.
