This year marked an unforgettable edition of Apocalypse Zombieland, further propelling the festival’s popularity and status in the bass music scene.
Apocalypse Zombieland may have only debuted last year, but it has quickly proven itself as the bass music experience that Insomniac and Bassrush were missing from their event roster. With four genre-curated stages, insane production, and so much talent on one bill, it’s hard to picture the festival going anywhere but up.
The Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach, California welcomed the Apocalypse Zombieland’s return this year directly after hosting Dreamstate SoCal the previous weekend. The venue stuns with its massive namesake ship in the background and surrounding downtown sights. The event also offered a free shuttle experience to help patrons get to and from the nearest rideshare pickup spots and hotels, which was super helpful for both locals and travelers.
Apocalypse Zombieland once again hosted four major stages: Zombieland, Apocalypse, The Lab, and Containment Zone. Each one of them was meticulously curated. The Containment Zone was the unofficial drum and bass stage — and where we spent most of our weekend. It was hard to venture away from there as a DnB fan because the 174 BPM never stopped, and the bill was teeming with international talent.
The Lab was full of riddim on Friday before switching to a 140-heavy lineup on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Zombieland and Apocalypse stages boasted everything from heavy tear-out to experimental sounds, with names of all sizes.
For those who could brave the late nights, the addition of after-party shows on the Queen Mary ship was a great way to see any artists whose sets you may have missed during the main festival, or to see your favorite a second time. While offering a super cool opportunity to party on the historic ship, these shows did cost a significant ticket price on top of attendees’ passes to the festival, but they rocked until sunrise both nights.
From the zombie characters roaming the festival to the entire atmosphere they’d created within the park, Apocalypse Zombieland had its aesthetic down.
Everyone loves a good undead theme. It’s been done plenty of times before, but the dystopian vibe couldn’t have been more fitting for bass music. Graffitied train car artwork at each stage, detailed art structures, and pyrotechnics everywhere you turned were just some of the touches that made it all come together last weekend. Even some of the many vendor options adhered to the zombie theme, offering specials like brain-shaped fishbowl drinks.
The VIP areas even had extras like the post-apocalyptic trading booth, airbrush tattoos and body painting, extra photo opportunities, and more. The Beatbox Boombox Art Car was also out to play, providing an admirable platform for up-and-coming talent, and the car itself was decked out to fit the theme as well.
A temporary bridge overpass connected The Containment Zone to the main strip, “Rotting Road,” that held The Lab, Apocalypse, and Zombieland. The bridge was the fastest way to reach the stages — and while you could opt to walk around it, the narrow steps proved to be annoying for some attendees and an outright challenge for others.
As someone with very few Insomniac-hosted events in my area, the biggest draw of Apocalypse Zombieland was not only an entirely new festival experience but its focus on bass music.
It’s safe to say that Insomniac and Bassrush are West Coast staples, and not the first promoters that most Midwestern or Southern bass fans think of when it comes to their events. For me, a beast like EDC Las Vegas is daunting in size — and while I’m sure I would fall in love with the bassPOD and explore other genres, it doesn’t have as many of my favorites as Apocalypse Zombieland.
An entire stage dedicated to drum and bass is not something you can find very often at festivals in my area, let alone the sheer volume of international talent they managed to bring to this stage and others. Some standouts from The Containment Zone included Serum b2b Simula, who took the sunset slot for a rare set of high-energy jump-up on Friday, and Hybrid Minds, who played an unforgettable set with MC Tempza hyping up the crowd alongside them. Another treat was a back-to-back from Caspa and Rusko, who took the Zombieland stage that night for a set full of dubstep classics.
The following day, I was beyond excited for my first chance to catch DnB legends Tantrum Desire, K Motionz, Dimension, and Vibe Chemistry, all of whom did not disappoint. I can’t express enough how amazing it was to catch these UK artists Stateside at Apocalypse Zombieland.
In addition to all of the drum and bass on the final night, I spent plenty of time at The Lab for some of my absolute favorites whom I’ve seen many times but will never miss. These were The Widdler, Distinct Motive, and the first-ever Chef Boyarbeatz b2b MYTHM set that nearly burned down the stage before the night ended.
Sometimes, a two-night festival is all you need, but I’d be surprised if Apocalypse Zombieland doesn’t grow into a three-day event soon enough.
While a two-day event was perfect for us this past weekend, there was a ton of music crammed into those two days that already could have benefited from an additional night. The 1pm start time to the festival each day was arguably too early, especially for fans traveling and checking into hotels on the first day of the event. Many smaller artists have their time to shine at these coveted opening slots, and it can be challenging to get to the venue that early, not to mention with the official after-parties going until sunrise each night.
Regardless of the start time, the demand of bass-centric lineups could likely turn Apocalypse Zombieland into a full weekend event if its organizers choose. The number of firsts I saw in just those two days was unreal, with almost every set at the Containment Zone being an artist I had never seen before. While I wish Insomniac and Bassrush would throw more events further east, I’d travel for Apocalypse Zombieland again if they continue to bring rare talent to their lineups and curate an overall incredible festival experience.
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