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TomorrowWorld is like the musical equivalent of Dragon Con.
You might walk by a woman wearing a “Walking Dead’ T-shirt, or you might bump into a dude cloaked in a penguin costume.
Maybe you’ll get a puff of glitter blown at you by a stilt walker covered in flowers or perhaps have to dodge a tree branch held aloft and bearing a German flag.
The key, though, is to never ask why.
A just-go-with it approach is the best way to enjoy TomorrowWorld, the three-day EDM festival imported from Belgium that is commandeering the 350-acre Bouckaert Farm in Chattahoochee Hills through the wee hours of Monday morning.
Last year's event brought about 120,000 dance music fans to the event and at least that amount is expected this weekend.
For TomorrowWorld’s second year in the U.S., organizers utilized the 400-foot-wide main stage from the 2013 Belgium festival and in this case, there is no shame in recycling a product.
Mid-afternoon Saturday, Yves V, a Belgian DJ who is a weekend-long presence at TomorrowWorld, anchored himself to the DJ platform at the base of the main stage, a Disney-esque monstrosity with three video screens embedded into the structure with a volcano gushing pyro and dry ice looming behind it.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
As Yves V, known for his record “CloudBreaker,” mixed tracks from Bastille (“Pompeii”) and DMX (“Up in Here”) and elements of Bronksi Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” thousands of revelers bounced in unison to the wind-up bass drops.
There are eight stages spread across the property and, while accessing them isn’t an issue (if you’re prepared to hoof it), the clouds of dust being kicked up from the dry ground prompted most people to tie a bandanna over their noses or tuck into their shirt collars while walking the grounds (a question for debate: Which is more irritating at a festival, rain or dust?).
An effective escape was the “All Gone Pete Tong” stage, which is housed in a tent.
Englishman Lee Burridge, widely regarded as the guy who brought EDM to Hong Kong, unleashed a steady throb of techno inside the covered space, which, with its giant pink flowers attached to the scaffolding and lighted steps on the DJ stage made it all feel a bit “Alice in Wonderland”-ish.
TomorrowWorld’s European vibe is evident throughout in its presentation, from concession signs crafted with curlicue flourishes to those elaborate stages, such as the “Mad Decent” outpost.
That one boasts eight large picture frames with video footage inserted inside each one, which proved a handy way to show fans bobbing to the mix of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” from ETC! ETC!
Back at the main stage, where Steve Aoki and Skrillex were performing Saturday night and Martin Garrix, David Guetta and Kaskade are scheduled for late Sunday, Dutch DJ Dyro offered his deep synth mixes and bass drops for thousands of flag-waving partygoers.
Several hundred feet away, one of the many “comfort lounges” set up around the site provided attendees who purchased a Comfort VIP pass a raised-platform view of the stage – and also a swimming pool.
Again we suggest…don’t ask, just enjoy.
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