A Look at the Turbulent Journey of This Year’s Second Sky

The third edition of Porter Robinson’s Second Sky Music Festival has been met with production challenges and criticism.

When Porter Robinson released his sophomore album, Nurture, he blossomed from the young producer known for building fantasy worlds through electronic music into a pronounced and personal frontman. For the past year-and-a-half, he has toured the globe and taken fans on a pop journey, using his voice as the catalyst to bridge listeners to the themes of his second album: fear, criticism, and optimism. Over the summer, Porter Robinson continued to showcase his vocal cords by collaborating with Riot Games and producing “Everything Goes On” for League of Legends’ Star Guardian event. Despite the “Get Your Wish” crooner’s recent flourishment as a vocalist, the third edition of the Second Sky Music Festival has been met with challenges and criticism.

Back in April, the Grammy-nominated artist announced that Second Sky would return for two days during the Halloween weekend, but when ticket prices and the lineup were released in May, fans quickly aired their frustrations about the high admission prices for an event that featured the same lineup for both days. Moreover, in July, the festival—in a surprising announcement—publicized that the two-day event would consolidate into a single-day production—a first in the festival’s history. Porter Robinson and Goldenvoice, the production company backing the festival, gave no official explanation for the shift, but people online speculated that high ticket prices, low ticket sales, and other competing Halloween festivals were the reasons for the change.

The next bump in the road came when Fred again.., one of the biggest breakout dance artists this year, dropped out of the lineup in late September after conflicts arose when the UK producer pushed the release of his upcoming album, Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022), which releases this Friday. The British singer later expressed his disappointment about backing out of the event. However, he also flirted on social media about who his replacement would be.

Despite the production hurdles, Robinson was not phased online. He expressed excitement and emphasized that this year’s rendition of his curated festival will be special. On October 7, just three weeks before the start of Second Sky, the Worlds producer announced that fans would witness the debut of a live band version of his Nurture set. In a recent interview with Fader, Robinson said the decision to feature a band instead of usually tweaking his crafted set was inspired by the live music he experienced this year.

Porter Robinson (Together Live), debuting at Second Sky.

a reimagined live show with a full band.

it’s a whole new Nurture live.

EWNIAH ! pic.twitter.com/JKvBY9GXrq
— porter robinson (@porterrobinson) October 7, 2022

But the announcement was immediately met with backlash from some people in the dance community. Fans discovered that the pianist, Jenny Hughes, known as keudae on YouTube, followed organizations and political figures on social media that have been known for spreading anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans rhetoric. Many on Twitter shared how uncomfortable they now felt attending the festival, expressing how Second Sky is supposed to be a safe space.

Since the genesis of house music, raves and clubs have historically been safe spaces for those who identify as LGBTQIA, especially at the start of the AIDS epidemic, when dance floors transformed into shelters of acceptance for queer folks. While EDM events today are infused by people spreading PLUR ideology, today’s dance music can trace its lineage to house music, which was created by queer, black folks.

Hughes later apologized on social media, stating that her old likes and follows do not represent who she is now. And that she’s using this experience as an “opportunity to grow and evolve.” Neither Robinson nor Goldenvoice issued a statement surrounding the controversy.

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A post shared by keudae (@aihaeyo)

This week, fans who had expectations of experiencing the event virtually this weekend were delivered disappointing news when Second Sky announced that there would be no livestream this year. Both 2021 and 2019 featured a live broadcast of the festival, including a virtual auditorium experience that was assembled last year to enhance the digital experience of the Second Sky. People shared their disappointment online, arguing that it was exclusionary towards much of the fanbase who wouldn’t be able to attend and that the festival’s regular livestream set a precedent for future events.

But Robinson and his team have been able to turn some of these obstacles into opportunities. Skrillex—Robinson’s long-time friend and mentor—was tapped in as Fred again..’s replacement, which sent shockwaves throughout social media. The 34-year-old dubstep icon recently played a surprise performance with Swedish rapper Bladee in Tokyo last week; however, this will be Skrillex’s first festival performance of the year and second time performing as a secret guest at Second Sky.

Additionally, Crunchyroll is partnering with the festival and presenting an anime music experience for attendees. Fans will have the chance to participate in fun interactive activities, and the anime streaming service is bringing three DJs from MOGRA, an iconic anime music night club in Akihabara, Japan. And despite losing a second festival day this year, Robinson announced an after-party on October 30, featuring him behind the DJ decks alongside Wavedash and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

With Second Sky now days away, it seems that Robinson and his team have been able to overcome these hurdles and will deliver fans an experience they’ll cherish for a lifetime.