Seismic Dance Event 8.0 Humbled This Techno Elitist

Seismic Dance Event showed a Los Angeles-based techno elitist that house and techno culture is very much alive and well in Austin, Texas.

When someone hears the word “Texas,” “rave” is probably not the next word that comes to mind. Slowly but surely, Seismic Dance Event is changing that. The festival held its eighth edition last week, and the many Seismic veterans I had the pleasure of partying with can attest that it was yet another weekend for the books.

Festivals are a dime a dozen nowadays. To be special, one must find a way to stand out. If they truly care about the scene and the culture, they have to create something that can’t be easily bottled and sold to the masses.

That’s what truly puts Seismic in a league of its own. Its authentic, cult-like, and — dare I say — “down home” appeal was enough to humble this Los Angeles techno elitist.

Photo Credit: Aaron Rodriguez

Drinking the Kool-Aid at Seismic Dance Event

The first thing I observed about Seismic was the light the patrons give off. Everyone was so happy to be there. Not only that, but they were happy to see me, their neighbor, and even the security guards. They were just grateful to be experiencing music, together as one.

Gifting was also prevalent, which is always a great sign. The exchange would usually start off with, “So is this your first Seismic?” implying that for the asker, it was not.

Seismic veterans would then compare this year’s event to previous years, but very much in a loving tone — like, in a “they grow up so fast” type of way. They would almost always look back fondly on the previous lineups as well.

Seismic Dance Event is based in Austin, a town not necessarily considered a global house and techno destination. The veteran attendees informed me that, since its beginning, the festival has pulled legendary electronic names like Underworld, Orbital, deadmau5, and Gesaffelstein, to name a few. If I were them, I would be bragging too.

A house and techno festival started in a warehouse. Crazy, right?

Another attribute the veteran attendees usually pointed out was how the festival’s layout has changed. Seismic Dance Event 8.0 was held at The Concourse Project, but this was only the fourth year it’s been held there. The venue opened in 2021 and has hosted Seismic ever since.

A member of my group had been attending the boutique house and techno festival since it started. He informed me that it was originally held in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Austin. Discovering that Seismic’s birthplace is a gritty, dusty, damp, “probably a little illegal” warehouse was like finding out Colonel Sanders is from Kentucky. It was very much a “well, duh” moment.

But I must mention the significance of The Concourse Project. There’s a reason it’s literally an award-winning venue. It’s an expansive space that aesthetically lies somewhere between the Yuma tent at Coachella and a European club.

My only complaint — a hard one to even bring up with how perfect everything else was — is the Frequency stage. The sound at this stage was atrocious. You could be standing directly in front of the speakers, and they would still need to crank the volume to hear anything at all. It was the only complaint that I and most other festival-goers I spoke to had the whole weekend.

At this point, Seismic’s production team must be aware. Given the notoriety of the event’s improvements year after year, it probably won’t happen again in the future.

Photo Credit: Clark Terrell

Seismic Dance Event is the CRSSD Fest of the South

The people can be beautiful, the venue can be perfect, but if the music at a festival isn’t up to par, then it’s not really a festival worth attending. Luckily, this wasn’t the case at Seismic — not even close.

Artists and DJs who perform at Seismic Dance Event seem to have a respect for the event. By that, I mean they play to their potential. We all know artists switch up the caliber of their sets based on where they’re playing. Different events pull different crowds; it’s just the way it goes. Artists know Seismic attendees are there for the music.

For example, Eli Brown is a more commercial artist, but he played gritty at Seismic. Rough, naughty, even. Compared to a set at, say, an EDC Las Vegas — or any other Insomniac event for that matter — the sound Eli delivered was much closer to warehouse techno. To me, it sounded like he was having fun. He knew the crowd could take it a little more raw.

For Southern California readers, the best way Seismic can be described is “the CRSSD of the South.” DJs and artists who perform at San Diego’s CRSSD Festival have an esteemed respect for the festival. Some have even played their most memorable performances there. Seismic has a similar ethos. Artists not only respect the festival, but also the attendees who paid to hear authentic house and techno.

Honorable Mention: Underworld, because Underworld. Not much further needs to be said. They crushed. I cried. It was historic. If you know, you know.

Shazam Dance Event 8.0

As incredible as the music ended up being, looking at the lineup before attending was quite shocking, in all honesty. Many of the names on the can be found at almost any other festival. Throw a dart at any lineup in the US and you’ll probably hit “Charlotte De Witte.”

The irony? I ended up attending Charlotte at Seismic 8.0 and Shazammed three songs. Guess what? All Charlotte De Witte.

In the spirit of transparency, I walked into Seismic Dance event a seasoned, Southern California-based techno elitist with preconceived notions about, well, a lot of it. But I left the festival a humbled raver. Seismic Dance Event reminded me why, after over 16 years, I’m still at the rave. Because despite what I thought, I actually haven’t seen it all. In fact, I’m just getting started.