It's Wednesday night and I still haven't recovered fully from TomorrowWorld. Maybe it was all the Bud Light and whiskey I drank. Or maybe it was the enormous Hangover Helper burger I had at the famous Vortex Bar & Grill on Saturday afternoon. Or maybe it's because I graduated college years ago and I'm just now realizing that there are consequences for drinking heavily and eating tons of shit. But I digress.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, TomorrowWorld is a three-day EDM festival that takes place on a farm about 35 miles outside of Atlanta. I had previously seen YouTube trailers for the TomorrowLand festival held in Belgium, and it looked like a magical utopia. So when Budweiser invited me to go to TomorrowWorld for its #upforwhatever campaign, I accepted with the quickness.
The prospect of getting fucked up in the boonies might scare some people away, but, for me, this was the perfect opportunity to experience something I had never experienced before in my life. Sure, I've been to rap concerts, I've been to frat parties, I've done the whole clubbing thing, but I've never been to a music event of this size or nature.
I touched down in Atlanta early Friday afternoon and the plan was to go to the festival later that night and then again on Saturday. But, due to unforeseen circumstances (read: delayed and cancelled flights), Friday night's plan quickly evaporated. So instead I connected with a few friends I knew in the area and did all the cliché activities you'd imagine rappers do on a Friday night in Atlanta. I'll just leave it at that.
I woke up Saturday morning in the the same clothes I wore the night before. The TV was on. Ritz cracker crumbs and $1 bills everywhere. Needless to say that entire morning was devoted to battling a feisty hangover, but alas I caught my second wind just in time to meet up with my colleagues to head over to the festival.
After driving for about 40 minutes, we arrived at TomrrowWorld ready to conquer the night. This was everyone's first or second EDM festival, so no one really knew what to expect. As we made our way down the seemingly endless dirt road leading to the entrance to the festival, I could feel the collective bass from the main stage and all the surrounding stages. Once we got past the gate, I could feel the energy bubbling. Everyone was smiling and dancing and having a good time. Shirtless men were gallivanting freely, scantily clad women—a few of which could have been arrested for public indecency—were prancing around, and couples with matching neon outfits were hardcore making, all while house, twerk, and trance music rang off in the foggy atmosphere.
I desperately needed to turn up. Luckily we were rolling with the good folks from Budweiser, so beer and Lime-a-Ritas (aka thot juice) were flowing as fast as we could guzzle 'em down. As the sun set over festival, we were just hitting our groove and the big DJs were making their final preparations. We eventually made it backstage, where we met up with Steve Aoki. We traded stories and joked around until festival staff whisked him away and around the corner.
We went back into the spectators area and took our places for Showtek's set. We were perched on an elevated platform about 40 yards away from the larger-than-life main stage, overlooking the frenzied crowd. Girls sat on shoulders, guys waved massive flags, and everyone was there to have the time of their lives.
Meanwhile, Dillon Francis was DJing at the Mad Decent stage off to the side. From our vantage point you could clearly see a lot of people ditching the main stage to see Dillion Francis' set. After Showtek finished, people scrambled back for Steve Aoki's set, during which he surfed across the crowd in an actual raft and even threw a cake at a lucky fan. The energy was crazy. He killed it.
Post-Aoki we left our VIP area and walked over to the Mad Decent stage to check out Diplo, who got my vote for best set of the night because he played Bobby Shmurda's "Hot N*gga." But beyond that, Diplo's song selection was much more diverse than everyone one else. There was something for everybody in there, as opposed to DJs who play a strictly trance or progressive house or whatever set.
Skrillex took the main stage as the night began to wind down. At this point in the night I had a good amount of Bud Light Platinum coursing through my veins so the details of his set are a little bit fuzzy, but I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that I had an amazing time. And TomorrowWorld as a whole was an experience I won’t soon forget. Good people, good atmosphere, good times. Cypher complete. Now, on to the next one.
