Making its return to Washington, D.C. for a third year, Project Glow has evolved into one of the best electronic festivals in the DMV. We always try to go into any festival weekend with low expectations, that way when it ends up being amazing you have that much more fun. After last year, we couldn’t really follow that motto, and we had high expectations for another kickass year in the nation’s capitol. We arrived at the festival on a gloomy day, but that is definitely not something to complain about when you’re going to be dancing for the next 10 hours straight. A few dabs before our arrival had me in the perfect mindset to enjoy some electronic music as I slipped into my element for the evening.
One thing that makes music festivals so much fun is wearing funky clothing that you wouldn’t see on a normal day out in D.C., other than the dozens of Cannabis-themed t-shirts which you pretty much see everywhere these days. Outfit-wise, anything goes at a music festival these days, ranging from topless men and women to full-on makeup and costumes. The freedom of expression at music festivals is something that keeps me coming back, donning a new bucket hat every time I step into a new venue. Seeing the thought and work that went into people’s outfits makes people-watching next level at events like this. It also opens up opportunities for new friendships and a way to relate to strangers with whom you might otherwise never cross paths.
Day one consisted of incredible house music and various EDM genres from some of our favorite artists like Nora En Pure, Tinlicker, Lane 8, Illenium, and Rezz. Nora En Pure is a female DJ born in South Africa but is Swiss-based and leading the world with her deep house sets. She blew us out of the water before Dutch duo Tinlicker hit the stage and continued pumping the vibes through the roof. We settled down for a few minutes and burned a joint to reflect on the amazing shows he had just seen, before jumping straight into a set from Lane 8 where he played “Road,” one of my favorite songs from this incredible artist.
Closing out that first night strong had us beyond thrilled for day two, which was a hot one, to say the least. We headed straight to Nostalgix, and true to her name she was dropping throwbacks that we all grew up with blended into modern dance versions. We were bummed to find out right after this set that San Pacho had his flights delayed and could not make it to the festival, but Nostalgix played an extended set that no one wanted to end. Two Friends is another group that everyone in our crew was beyond excited to see. Their music was more on the dubby side live, whereas their Spotify playlists are more throwbacks and house music. When they dropped a remix of “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre, we all lost it. Nineties hip-hop and dubstep go well together, along with some trumpet and saxophone mixed in, making the perfect transition. The last act of the weekend was Purple Disco Machine, which teleported me to the ’70s disco era. The disco finger and other classic dance moves we all know could be seen for miles, capping off the end of an amazing weekend.
From the art to the music to the vibes, this festival gets better and better each year. It feels like every year we meet more people, smoke weed with some homies, and reflect on all of the amazing things the festival scene brings to our lives. A huge thank you goes out to Insomniac Events and Project Glow for pulling off another flawless year of good times, a world-class production, and a safe environment for everyone to let loose.
