Audiotistic Festival 2019 at Shoreline Amphitheater in Review

The weekend of July 13th-14th in Mountain View, California witnessed a spectacular electronic dance music extravaganza–Audiotistic Festival. This Silicon Valley city hosts this annual EDM festival, also known as Audiotistic Bay Area at Shoreline Amphitheatre. It is also organized by Insomniac, the world-famous EDM event promotion company owned by Pasquale Rotella. It is the same company that introduced Electronic Daisy Carnival, Beyond Wonderland, and Dreamstate. Audiotistic also has a Southern California festival titled, “Audiotistic Southern California“.

Audiotistic Festival 2019 is the fourth edition. Fans were thrilled to see some of the biggest names in EDM perform under the warm California sun. These include, Tiësto, Alison Wonderland, Zeds Dead, and Illenium. One can hope that Audiotistic Festival 2020 can provide the same awesomeness from this year’s edition.

Entering The Venue

To clarify, Audiotistic Festival is hosted on Shoreline Amphitheater‘s grounds and not inside the amphitheater itself. As soon as I received my wristband I waited in line to enter the Shoreline Amphitheater on July 13. All the while, I got very enthusiastic about the fact that I would get to experience a great night of EDM.

The attendees in the line ranged from experienced festival goers to people attending their first EDM festival. While waiting in line, I also noticed a large sign. It featured upcoming performers at Shoreline Amphitheater. Some of those listed were Beck, Cage The Elephant, and The Smashing Pumpkins. As the gates opened, and after going through the security check, euphoria began to kick in.

Stepping Foot Inside Shoreline

After entering the grounds, I saw that Shoreline Amphitheater’s grounds had two stages called “Frequencies“. Frequency 1.1 is the main stage that generally plays house, drum n bass, and also hip-hop. Frequency 2.2 is the secondary stage that mostly plays dubstep, hardstyle, and trap.

There were plenty of food trucks for the hungry festival goers. Including fusion cuisine and ice cream. Furthermore, people can also choose where to buy drinks as well. Food and beverages were available at tents, carts, or in a bar called Lucky’s Place. The “Frequencies” at Shoreline Amphitheater provided an opportunity for many people to get their exercise by walking back and forth to see each artist performing on each stage at the same time.

Audiotistic Festival Day One Lineup

Frequency 1.1

Regarding the first day’s lineup at Audiotistic Festival, it did not fail to meet expectations at all. Saturday’s event kicked off with DJ Dials being the first artist at Frequency 1.1. Shortly after, Frequency 1.1 saw the appearances of Xie, Graves, Habstrakt, and SAYMYNAME heating up the atmosphere. As the sun sets, Snakehips, Kayzo, hip-hop artist Juice WRLD, and Tiësto were the headliners that captivated the crowd.

In particular to Tiësto , his set had a plethora of fireworks, flares, smoke, and other awesome pyrotechnics. When he performed “Secrets”, his collaborative single with KSHMR, the audience roared with joy. As such, they danced in unison. Hit tracks he performed include “Wasted”, “The Right Time”, and “Ritual”, his newest single with Jonas Blue and Rita Ora.

His final song of the night, “Adagio For Strings”, was a throwback to his trance days. Back then, he was on his way to becoming one of the world’s best DJs. I first saw him in 2013 when he performed at SJSU. By comparison, his performance at Audiotistic Festival showed that he is still a world-class artist.

Audiotistic Festival Day One Lineup

Frequency 2.2

Just like Frequency 1.1, Frequency 2.2 also has a talented lineup as well. Frequency 2.2 kicked off with Phers. Then Lick following up afterwards. Australian producer and singer GG Magree amazed the crowd with her talents on the turntables and on the microphone. As the day progressed, the other acts were Eprom, Gammer, Svdden Death, Rusko, and Ganja White Night.

The main headliners were Zeds Dead. This duo never ceased to excite the crowd. Some of the hits Zeds Dead performed were “Kill Em”, “Lights Go Down”, and their latest single, “Rescue”. Everyone at Frequency 2.2 head-banged alongside their friends, significant others, and strangers. All of them sharing the same love for hard-hitting music together.

Audiotistic Festival Day Two Lineup

Frequency 1.1

Likewise, Sunday, July 14th was also a fun-filled day. Amidst the crowd, returning attendees and newcomers just joining festival. The first performer of Day two at Frequency 1.1 was Sober Rob, followed by Portuguese DJ Holly.

Holly had recently performed at EDC Las Vegas, Coachella, and Dead Rocks. Furthemore, in 2017, he won A-Trak’s inaugural Goldie Award. After Holly’s set concluded, Hekler, Boombox Cartel, Valentino Khan, and T.I. himself. T.I. busted out great rhymes.This was especially so as he brought his daughter on stage to perform with him.

The main headliners of Day two at Frequency 1.1 were Alison Wonderland and Illenium. Alison Wonderland’s set was accompanied by an array of fireballs, sparklers, and mesmerizing strobe lights. Notably, at the beginning of her set, she was standing on top of the decks. In doing so, she pumped up the crowd while playing her popular tracks such as “Church” and “Peace”.

As soon as Illenium began his set, everyone at Frequency 1.1 were elated by his stage presence. As a result, the audience cheered like sports fans do when their favorite team wins a championship game. Every track from “Crashing” to “Good Things Fall Apart” had the crowd in jubilee. In fact, the crowd cheered the loudest when Illenium announced that he will perform in San Francisco at the Chase Center on December 14. The Illenium SF show will be a blast!

Audiotistic Festival Day Two Lineup

Frequency 2.2

Just like Day one, the Frequency 2.2 stage on July 14 was filled with talented producers. Effectively, they got the crowd dancing. The first performer was Franklyn Watts and afterwards, it was a collaborative set by Dateless and Lucati. Chris Lorenzo, Will Clarke, and Solardo kept the crowd moving. In some cases, moshing in pits. Afterwards, British electronic duo CamelPhat pumped up the volume with bass lines, synths, and loops into his tracks altogether. As everyone danced to CamelPhat’s music, they could hear Alison Wonderland’s set at Frequency 1.1 from afar.

The main headliner of Frequency 2.2 was Claude Vonstroke, who is also known as the host of the radio show, “The Birdhouse“. Claude Vonstroke also founded his own independent electronic record label, Dirtybird Records. The flames and sparklers during his set gave a touch to the atmosphere. The result helped festival goers end their time at Audiotistic Festival on a very joyful note.

Some of the remixes he played include Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” and The Chemical Brothers’ “Go”. Since Claude Vonstroke’s set was at the same time as Illenium’s set at Frequency 1.1, there were many people that walked back and forth between the sets.

Overall Reaction

Overall, the 2019 Audiotistic Festival exceeded expectations. Also, it showed that Silicon Valley can host a large-scale EDM festival. Since Silicon Valley is very diverse, I got to see many national flags flying alongside EDM-related flags. Audiotistic Festival also gave me an opportunity to reconnect with old friends from whom I have not seen in many years.

Additionally, the staff at Shoreline Amphitheater ensured the safety of the festival patrons. Especially for those that got treated inside the medical tents. The most important thing from Audiotistic Festival is that everyone got to experience top-quality music produced by artists who care a lot about the work they put into their craft.