Global Dance brought the heat (and the bass) to ring in the New Year for the 2025 edition of Decadence Colorado.
Last week, the Centennial State’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration took place when Decadence Colorado returned to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on December 30-31. This event is also promoter Global Dance‘s biggest festival besides Global Dance Festival. With that festival not taking in 2025, and Denver having few electronic music festivals in general, Decadence had a lot to live up to this year.
It’s also no secret that the Mile High City has one of the best electronic music scenes in the country, especially when it comes to bass music. If you’ve ever attended a bass show in the area, you know that Denver ones just have a different level of energy. Bassheads were at the forefront of Global Dance’s mind for this year’s Decadence Colorado lineup, and it’s no surprise why. With sets from bass fan favorites like Wooli, LEVEL UP, Netsky, Illenium b2b Excision, and the first-ever Zeds Dead b2b Subtronics b2b Tape B, this year’s lineup was one way that Global Dance made it up to the fans.
It makes total sense that a bass-heavy lineup and historic b2b2b would debut at the Bass Capital, and I was super eager to experience it for myself. While I’ve been to dozens of shows and events since moving to the Denver area about a year and a half ago, this would be the first festival I experienced in Colorado.
I went to Decadence Arizona three years ago, and I spent the last two New Year’s at Proper NYE/NYD in San Diego, so I wanted to mix it up this year and try something new. While I was getting FOMO from the stacked Proper lineup, my experience at Decadence Colorado made me forget those feelings fast.
I really enjoyed the Colorado Convention Center as a venue.
What makes Decadence Colorado somewhat different from most other festivals is that it’s completely indoors, situated inside the Convention Center. This creates a unique festival atmosphere, one that I really haven’t experienced before. With that being said, most of the pros and cons of the event stem from the festival taking place inside a convention center.
For starters, the location of the event is in the heart of downtown Denver. It was fairly easy to get dropped off right at the entrance of the Convention Center, and the place is massive. Once inside, it’s a short walk to the security and ticketing lines, but both were quick and smooth. I barely waited in any lines to get in both days, and I arrived shortly after the music started.
When I finally got inside the festival area, I walked around to scope everything out and to get a lay of the land. Both stages and the rooms that housed them were enormous.
There were two mainstages: the Mainframe Stage and the Motherboard Stage. The Motherboard Stage was the stage where most of the bass sets were programmed, and the Mainframe Stage was for all other genres. The Cyberhub was an area with a three-channel silent disco, food trucks, seating and lounge area, and cool art installations. I loved the “Digital City” theme of the festival, which instilled a luminous ambiance.
One thing that I noticed quickly after exploring was that there were a limited number of water stations and bathrooms compared to other festivals. There were some long waits for the bathroom and to refill water. This was due to the limitations of the event being inside a convention center, which meant that portable bathrooms weren’t an option compared to outdoor festivals. There were a decent number of bars throughout the venue, and I experienced little wait time in those lines.
The historic b2b2b capped off an unforgettable day one.
When it was finally time to start seeing the performers, I had the privilege to catch an early Knock2 set at the Mainframe Stage. Even with his time slot being shortly after the doors opened, the crowd and energy were dialed to 100.
The crowd was jumping throughout the whole set, and it’s amazing to see the evolution of Knock2 as both a DJ and producer throughout the years. He really knows how to read a crowd, and his song selection was perfect. It was also fitting that, as we were in Denver, it was the hardest and most bass-forward set I’ve ever witnessed from him.
Throughout night one, I was flip-flopping between stages to catch all the artists I wanted to see. Luckily for me, because of the festival’s layout, it was easy to go between stages and barely lose any time. Even with the stages being so close to each other, I experienced zero sound bleed between them, which was amazing considering how good each system was.
Later in the night, I went to the Motherboard Stage to catch Tape B showing everyone how it’s done. I then went back to the Mainframe Stage to catch Disco Lines for a nice house music fix — he’s always a fun time. He must’ve also been itching for some bass in Denver, as he played dubstep for the last ten minutes of his set to the delight of the crowd. After Disco Lines, I went back to the Motherboard stage to catch a drum and bass-heavy Zeds Dead set that fed the soul.
The night concluded with perhaps the most anticipated set of the whole festival: Zeds Dead b2b Subtronics b2b Tape B. These three juggernauts teamed up to throw down an unforgettable set in the Bass Capital. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but they delivered one of the best bass sets I’ve ever witnessed. It was so hard, so clean, and so perfect. The production was also incredible, with some of the best lasers I’ve seen since attending Excision’s Thunderdome. Even though my neck was hurting like hell following the set, I couldn’t wait for what day two had in store.
Day two’s diverse lineup made for a magical day and ball drop.
For day two, my group and I got a hotel room across the street from the Convention Center. I’d highly recommend this as it makes getting to and from the festival a breeze.
Just like the first day, day two started hot with an early set from FISHER at the Mainframe Stage. It was pretty standard for a festival showing from him, but it was still a great time, per usual.
Once again, the production and lasers were phenomenal throughout the night. Following a quick water and food run with my group, we went to the Motherboard stage to get our bass mix for the only time that night.
While it wasn’t my first time seeing Wooli, it was my first time seeing him in Denver, and boy do Denverites love themselves some Wooli. That set brought out some of the highest crowd energy of the entire festival. I concluded my time at the stage with my personal most-anticipated performance of the evening: Netsky. I’ve been wanting to see him live for some time now, and he put on a majestic masterclass that made my night. My only gripe was that the crowd should’ve been moving more, but I’ll cut them some slack because some people still don’t know how to move to drum and bass.
For the ball drop set, my group and I decided to hit up Zedd instead of Illenium b2b Excision, and we couldn’t have made a better decision. It’s been over two years since I’ve seen Zedd play, and I’m not sure how I forgot how good of a DJ he is.
Aside from his classics, he was playing banger after banger, and it reminded me why he’s one of the GOATs. He played “Beautiful Now” during the countdown and ball drop, and it felt magical to end 2025 and start 2026 to that song. His set was my favorite ball drop set I’ve ever experienced at a New Year’s festival. He also closed out with some unreleased music with Knock2, which was a welcome treat.
Decadence Colorado concluded with a wonderful Kaskade set that had the perfect vibes to end the night. Just like Zedd, he’s a master of his craft, and I’ve never seen a set from him that I didn’t enjoy. He even got in the Bass Capital spirit by ending his set with a bass remix of his timeless classic with deadmau5, “I Remember.”
Decadence Colorado was one of my all-time favorite New Year’s festival experiences.
As I mentioned earlier, the festival being held inside a convention center creates a unique experience. I’m not sure how it compares to Countdown NYE being in the Los Angeles Convention Center this year, but I enjoyed the Colorado Convention Center. The production and lasers were top tier, and everything inside the venue was easily accessible. The lack of sound bleed between stages was also great. That being said, one thing I think the festival could improve on in future years is more bathrooms and water stations.
The two days at Decadence Colorado were unforgettable. I caught every set that I wanted to see, and everyone delivered. Even though the lineup may seem smaller than those of other festivals, rest assured that every time slot was filled with heavy hitters. The music was so good. For me, it was the perfect way to ring in the new year.
You can also tell that everyone brings their A game for bass in the Bass Capital, even the non-bass artists. Denver is a special place for electronic music, and this year’s Decadence Colorado encapsulated that for me in many ways.
