RECAP: Starbase sets the bar high with a flawless first festival flight
- The Filthy Beat Inspectors
- Apr 29
- 4 min read
SLANDER, Insomniac deliver a debut SoCal fest packed with no set conflicts, sunrise sets & Gud Vibrations.
We’ve been to a lot of festivals... but Starbase might’ve just hacked into our top five.
Hosted by SLANDER in partnership with Insomniac, the first edition of Starbase landed at Lake Perris, taking place April 25-26 with a near-flawless rollout: Three nights of camping, 39 artists, three beautifully curated stages and (wait for it)… no set time conflicts.
Music ran from 11 a.m. until sunrise, the food was next level (shoutout that steak hibachi), and we’re still processing how magical the whole thing was.
First thing's first: We didn’t make it to the pre-party on the 24th. To no one’s surprise, LA traffic turned our drive from San Diego into a test of patience.
And while we were devastated to miss PhaseOne and Prosecute kicking up sand pits at the Monolith Coast stage, our agents on the ground secured enough evidence to convict us with FOMO.
Once we made it through the gates, Perry Wayne was in full beast mode on the Event Horizon mainstage. Let it be known: This man is on a mission to bring back the rage, and we’re here for it.
Bommer followed up with a dose of classic riddim energy, high knees included, and then Effin came through with the controlled chaos. His visuals spoke for themselves, creating a chilling atmosphere, and he even dropped his ID with Wooli.
The crowd was grinning ear-to-ear, dancing like nobody had bills to pay.
Next up: everyone's favorite chop master, Codd Dubz. He brought our beloved, signature blend of doubles and crazy transitions. Vibes were high both on and off stage — it was one of those sets where you look around and everyone’s either stomping, smiling or both.
Codd Dubz went so hard that our aging bodies were forced to take a quick rest break. The knees said no, but the soul said yes.
We re-entered the battlefield just in time to catch the last 30 minutes of Kill the Noise, who had the entire crowd locked in. His visuals beamed as he played absolute throwback classics (Kill Kill Kill EP, anyone)?
The rest of the night? Ridiculous. Space Laces, VOYD, and finally, SLANDER, closed out the night with one of their best sets to date.
And let's not forget that Ty Dolla $ign made a surprise appearance during SLANDER's set to debut their 3-way collab with Skybreak. This definitely wasn't on our bingo card but it was everything we didn't know we needed.
The visuals, the vocals, the tears (yes, there were tears) — this was a mainstage masterclass. They read the crowd like G's and played past the 2 a.m. cut-off, had pyro on almost every drop and choreographed a branded drone show to shut it all down.
Still riding the high, we wandered over to the Hexa Tech stage to catch a late-night techno set. Pleasurekraft was absolutely ripping it on the beach.
Somehow we made it to 3 a.m., and that just goes to show how good Starbase was. When a festival keeps you awake past your bedtime, it’s doing something right.
And that was just day one.
We woke up slightly broken, but day two said, “no rest for the wicked.”
Vastive reactivated the pits, and before long, we were heading to the mainstage to catch IVORY, our favorite French menace.
This man is incapable of missing. His set felt like a cinematic moment — opening with heaters, dropping his collab, Jackpot with Kompany (who made a surprise appearance), and yes, there was a literal rainbow stretching over the crowd as it happened.
IVORY hit the jackpot and the Powerball that night. Mans can't stop winning.
Later on, we hit one of our most emotional sets of the weekend: Trivecta.
The man shredded his guitar like he was born with it in his hands, and the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites edit? Full-body chills. We are not admitting we cried — okay, maybe a little.
He wrapped the set with an unreleased collab from Sam Adams (Trivecta x Wooli) and Big Gigantic, and we’re officially on ID watch. We will need to obtain that ID ASAP.
The crybanger energy didn’t stop there. William Black brought the feels with his signature emotional bass, layered with hilarious visuals — a beautiful balance of gut-punch drops and meme-worthy moments.
Then came Dimension. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, go educate yourself immediately. The UK DnB wizard delivered a flawless set that had us two-stepping like we were back at Hospitality on the Beach.
Closing out the weekend was a long-awaited b2b from SLANDER and NGHTMRE — and yes, they delivered. It was heavy. It was melodic. It was everything we wanted and then some. Gud Vibrations? More like life-altering vibrations.
Needless to say: Starbase was a massive W.
From the sand pits to the sunrise techno to the emotional guitar ballads — this fest gave us everything.
We’ll be back for the second edition without question, and next time, we’re pulling up early to get the full festival experience. If this was year one, we can only imagine what’s coming next.
Until then… we’ll be catching up on sleep and replaying our favorite sets in our heads.
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