Lost Lands returned with impressive production, massive grounds & heavy hitters
Five stages, 50+ artists & an epic production round out the 2021 edition at Legend Valley.
Photo by Travis Stewart Photography
A prehistoric paradise encompassed the grounds of Thornville, Ohio's Legend Valley Camp and Festival Grounds this past weekend. Attracting tens of thousands of spectators, bass music reigned king for more than 12 hours each day, spanning from Thursday to Sunday.
From Excision's otherworldly two-hour set to sound camps highlighting our favorite upcomers, this year's Lost Lands Music Festival left a sweet sound in our ears. Despite a muddy beginning, the festival grounds team did a great job of accommodating fans, while the production was top-notch.
Stand-out sets included Wooli's daytime throw-down on the Prehistoric Evolution stage; Space Laces' Hurculean day two performance on Wompy Woods; LAYZ and BAINBRIDGE tearing up Raptor Valley and the much anticipated b2b2b2b (2b2b2b2b2b) pre-party set on Thursday.
Wooli had a mammoth imprint at the Prehistoric Evolution.
Shaking grounds of traditional dubstep, Wooli’s set thawed the way for a blending of subgenres that included heavy bass, melodic, psytrance and more.
Photo by Travis Stewart Photography
Performing early on day one, Wooli proved why he's one of the prehistoric kings of dubstep. His 4:45 p.m. set drew thousands of headbangers who packed out the main stage and aggressively snapped necks on the rail. Both melodic and grimy, headbanging and harmonic, Wooli's set took us on a journey that uncovered his suite of signature sounds. He recently announced a multitude of dates under the Destination Tour, spanning 2021-22. This tour announcement, his Lost Lands performance and the amount of fans who showed up to rage have established him as a dubstep figurehead.
His sonic abilities are far-reaching, even otherworldly at times, with releases on Ophelia Records, Monstercat and Welcome Records. It's clear that fans travel far to see him perform at festivals such as Lost Lands, and he is slated in for more success as his tour kicks off.
Raptor Valley packed out for sets like LAYZ and BAINBRIDGE.
This year, three sound camp stages displayed an impressive suite of artistic talent. From fire spouting out of the Asteroid to soul-snatching growls at Raptor Valley and familiar faces at the Subsidia Stage, Excision's team went above and beyond with the smaller stages.
The sound camps have emerged as some of fans' favorite places to rage, and the fact that they host sets until 4 a.m. gives listeners the chance to catch more niche artists perform.
Friday night, LAYZ took the stage for an ominous 3 a.m. set any Raptor Valley. Her introduction engulfed us into urgent messages instructing headbangers that a storm was coming. The audience was told to hold on tight to the rail throughout the unrest to come at Raptor Valley.
A few hundred people poured into the stage to hear her Lost Lands debut. From side to side in the crowd, we met other people who were raving about her Dubstep FBI mix - coming near and far from across the country to see her play.
Night two hosted BAINBRIDGE at Raptor Valley for a 12 a.m. set, right after Slander closed out the Prehistoric Evolution stage. This time, over a thousand people hurried over to catch his grimy chops and melodies as the sound camps began.
Impressively, the crowd kept growing as he dropped classics like Immortals, Genesis and even a few BAINBRIDGE IDs. A highlight moment was him bringing out High Zombie to play his recent track, Backlash with Vastive. The aggression and bounciness of this set proves why BAINBRIDGE is one of Disciple's rising stars who deserves more attention.
Other notable performances include FREAKY, ATLiens, Space Laces and Excision's throwback set.
For those of us deep enough in the scene to recognize the nuances from bass music to dubstep to ridden and trap, this weekend was a utopian dream. The fact that Excision was able to host some of dubstep's thought leaders, while elevating the rising stars, proves how much time and energy he put into curating the perfect event.
We will never forget the legendary set hosted by Space Laces at Wompy Woods on night two. From rinsing classics like Ruckus to sneaking in a preview of his collab with Skrillex, the fireworks, sunset and overall vibes made this one of the best sets we've ever seen. ATLiens did an impressive job of hyping the crowd up for Space Laces as well, setting a hyped up tone for the rest of the night.
FREAKY threw down on day one at the Subsidia Stage, curating a sunset performance that energized the crowd. He brought out homies like Blvk Sheep and High Zombie (to play their unreleased collab, Attention, which was rinsed out four times that night).
Wrapping up the day three shenanigans, Excision's throwback set was just what the doctor ordered to unite the crowd and remind us all why we came. Stacked with pyro and fireworks, he dropped classics like Africa, Hoods Up and Codename X to close out an incredible weekend.
Overall, we give mad props to Excision and his team for curating one of the most memorable festival experiences we have ever attended. From the grounds crew's tractors helping us out of the muddy parking lots to the pyro on nearly every stage, our crew is looking forward to another Lost Lands next year.
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