The last few days in March marked the beginning of what has become known as “festival season.” From now until November, the US will host over 20 of the world’s biggest music festivals.
California takes pride in its massive fest, Coachella, New Orleans has Buku and Voodoo Fest and Las Vegas’ pride and joy is Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
Luckily, Georgia has joined the party as well and is holding its own on the national stage with two huge festivals this year: Counterpoint and TomorrowWorld.
EDM is one of the fastest growing genres in the music industry, and festivals like this one bring great culture and huge profits to their host states.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that “TomorrowWorld’s economic impact was calculated at $85.1 million, with $70 million of it in Atlanta and neighboring areas…That dollar figure is the same amount the NCAA Final Four Championship games brought to the city in 2013.”
Each festival has its own unique aspects that maintain differentiation between the two, so attendees experiences’ do not get stale.
Counterpoint will be taking place in Kingston Downs, about an hour north of Atlanta, from Apr. 25-27. This was the same location that TomorrowWorld was held at last year. The lineup is stacked: Outkast, Pretty Lights, Foster the People and STS9 are the headliners followed by other superstars including Above & Beyond, Flosstradamus, GRiZ, Chance the Rapper and Sleigh Bells.
The venue is located on a 5,000 acre plot of land where the Atlanta Steeplechase takes place, making for a stunning environment to enjoy music.
Counterpoint also attempts to improve the festival experience with a sense of seclusion from the world on its campgrounds, though adding camping passes costs up to double what a standard general admission ticket costs.
They will also be offering a variety of activities and accommodations for the party-goers: daily morning meditation, yoga lessons, creative hoop dancing, DJ lessons, a gaming center (think more along the lines of tailgating games, not video games), lockers and charging stations.
Finally, similar to the Buku Music + Art Project in New Orleans, there will be live updating art installations on event grounds.
TomorrowWorld is the American version of the world famous “Tomorrowland” fest, which takes place in Belgium. This year it will be held in Chattahoochee Hills from Sept. 26 through the 28.
The lineup has yet to be announced, but it promises to be one of the biggest events in North America this year. Tommorowland is known for grandiose and majestic stages, even bigger artists and an environment that rivals any other show out there. Elite Daily headlined an article that read: “10 Reasons TomorrowWorld 2014 Will Outshine Every Other Festival in America This Year.”
Just shy of 300 artists came to play last year, and pre-sale tickets sold out in two hours. Over three days, 120,000 people attended, and estimated $4.3 million was made in tax revenue for the state and local governments, and an estimated 22.5% of attendees stayed in the metro Atlanta area and spent roughly another $28 million in the local economy.
TomorrowWorld separates itself from other festivals with “DreamVille,” a miniature city within the fests borders that has a market place, more parties, day-long activities, food vendors and more. They even offer massage-therapy for those who are feeling a bit stressed after a day of raging. Native Georgians and people from around the world are eagerly awaiting an even bigger line up this year.
EDM festivals seem to be here to stay, and so far it has proven to be a good thing. Georgia has managed to not only keep up with the global music community but stand out above the majority.