15 Absolutely Can't Miss Acts at Moonrise Festival 2014

It's about a year and change overdue, but after waiting and waiting, the East Coast is about to get the festival it really deserves: Steez Promo's Moo

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It's about a year and change overdue, but after waiting and waiting, the East Coast is about to get the festival it really deserves: Steez Promo's Moonrise Festival. The two-day romp takes place in Baltimore on August 9-10, which is right around the corner. We know you've looked at the stacked lineup and got excited like we did, but you might be feeling overwhelmed as to what acts you want to hear. There's house, there's dubstep, there's trap, there's disco; there's nearly every bit of EDM you might want to hear under the moon. Now we took the liberty to give you 15 acts you simply can't miss.

GTA

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Moombahton, big room, trap, GTA has become one of the few acts that can actually pool off the wide spectrum of electronic music. Their mix series "Death To Genres" was a taste of it and if you've ever seen them spin you know that they can count on one booty-shaking party.

Gazzo

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Jersey's Gazzo is no doubt a DAD favorite and he frequents these parts a lot. Now if you haven't seen him DJ yet, this will be a great time as he'll inject a big mainstage progressive and electro touch with his funky grooves.

Waka Flocka

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Waka has been surfing the EDM wave since last year and to see him in this element should be an absolute spectacle. His collabs with Steve Aoki, Borgore, and Flosstradamus have proved to be monstrous and the guy just goes #hardinthepaint when it comes to his live shows. If you're going to Moonrise to get turnt, you can't miss this.

Mayhem vs. Antiserum

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These two have been collaborating on tunes forever that for many, it must have seemed like they were a full-on duo. We know that this is not the case, but rather two producers who have just found harmony in their production ways. Now to hear them DJ together is going to be insane as they've probably got the ill unreleased projects, VIPs, and edits from even just their own catalogs. Expect a heavy ATL and Bay Area represented set in terms of musical offerings and a whole battering of bass.

Rusko

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Rusko is no doubt a DAD favorite and we've been showing him a lot of love lately. It shouldn't be a surprise then that we're picking him as a can't miss act for Moonrise. Whether he's bringing a grip of his Babylon-era dubplates or a slew of newer, future-freaked ! EP-styled cuts, you can expect Rusko to really bring it. The man has been known to turn up and DJ without shoes before (I've seen it!) and that's just the icing on an already tasty cake. The experience is not to be missed.

Snails

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The Montreal-based bass fiend Snails has been a blogosphere and DJ darling in the past few months. He routinely brings his own snarling taste of bass and mixes it with dashes of electro and dubstep to cause a ruckus just about any which way he chooses. If his SNAILED IT! mix is anything like his live set, then you definitely can't miss this.

Carnage

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Say what you will about the Chipotle Gang leader, Carnage knows how to bring it. Whether he's bringing some of that hard house or the festival trap, the man riles up a crowd just as easily as he might scarf down a triple-layered cheesy burrito. He knows his way around the decks and he's actually originally from Maryland so he's also playing for a hometown crowd. These are things that can't be missed when filling out your schedule.

Moon Boots

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The French Express are the purveyors of the feel good, and we love to show them love here at DAD. Moon Boots is no small part of that. The French DJ always bring a spacey tint to deep house and disco cuts and don't you think that just works with a festival named Moonrise? Regardless, this guy brings a show to every set and will no doubt bring the funk.

Planet of the Drums

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Drum & Bass isn't everyone's cup of tea and we know this. It's a genre that has its diehards and its haters, but hopefully with the American scene continuing to grow (mature?), drum & bass can experience it's much deserved wider recognition. A good place to start would be catching Planet of the Drums at Moonrise. PoTD is the alliance of American drum & bass' finest in Dieselboy, DJ Dara, AK1200, and Messinian. It's a crew that no one can fuck with at all, and they will no doubt bring some of the most gutteral bangers for the entire weekend. This won't be for the faint of heart and it won't have any room for haters. It'll be for the diehards and anyone who's ready to get into drum & bass.

Lindsay Lowend

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DC's own Lindsay Lowend has been a bit of a darling. With his own chiptune inspired blend of future bass and breakbeats, Lowend has surpassed an unfortunately named project with his dope sound. His 2013 debut release Windfish was one of our favorites of the entire year and he's followed that up a few time with quality cuts, so it's high time we catch him perform and we have to think that'll be one of the most interesting all weekend.

Shiba San

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Moonrise has it's share of house acts no doubt, but few are like Shiba San. The dirtybird-certified Shiba San has been dominating 2014 with his track "Okay." The track appeared in more sets then we could count at EDCLV and topped the Beatport house charts for weeks. With a healthy blend of a bass-heavy g-house sound and techy rhythms, Shiba San's sound is consistent yet evolving and thus far, always current. It's a sound that you can't help but shake your booty to, and should be the kind of low-key bustle to keep you moving through the day. It's doubtful Shiba San will have a night time set, so make sure you get there to get your day going with this.

Heroes x Villains

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ATL's Heroes x Villains is a legend around these DAD parts. Daniel Disaster's been long-entrenched in the EDM scene in ATL and has had his hands in the rap scene for years as well and been at the forefront of mixing the two. His sets mix straight up rap bangers with EDM turnups like no other and he'll surely have the best rap music all weekend. Simply put, no one does it like HxV and you need to get to his set to experience how EDM and rap mixed together is done the right way.

Keys N Krates

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Some might say that just seeing a DJ in the flesh is the same as seeing them live. Now I tend to disagree because we all know that a DJ could just as easily be hitting play on their pre-mixed sets and I like to reserve the word live for actual live sets. Toronto's Keys N Krates certainly deserve that distinction as they bring a set that invovles live drumming and` keyboards on top of their turntable use. The trio just brings the EDM/trap and bass game to a different plane. Their hip-hop-based jams make for a heck of party and to miss these guys at Moonrise might be missing the point all together. Seeing bands like this in small clubs and venues is dope, but they were born for a festival.

DJ Snake

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Has anyone had a more metoric rise in the last year then DJ Snake? No, definitely not. The man behind "Bird Machine," "Turn Down For What," and "Get Low" has had a string of summer-dominating smashes. He's consistently bringing the funk at golden midtempo sweet spots and has a skill for harnessing the the ratchets. On top of that, it seems there's always new DJ Snake collabs in the works being rumored about and so we bet his set is sure to bring some of those to fruition. Hell, he even plays some DAD exclusives in his set too sometimes, so we'd be lying if that didn't have us hyped as well.

Tchami

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As the forebearer to the currently burgeoning "future house" sound, Parisian Tchami has experienced an explosive growth since his start in the Fool's Gold Clubhouse. With DJ slots supporting Skrillex, releases on Spinnin', and numerous producers copping his style of retro-future techy rhythms, Tchami could be on the way to becoming a real household name and you don't want to miss that rise. His set is sure to be packed with that future house flavor and a touch of the old-school.

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