Rave Report Card: Get Lucky 2024 • Volume

Written by: Salt Rave City | Photo(s) by: Austin Wake

Rave Report Card: Get Lucky 2024

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE LUCKY OF UTAH’S LATEST EDM FESTIVAL

Festival season popped off with St. Patty’s Day energy in Salt Lake City last weekend, with Get Lucky kicking off the year, March 8th and 9th. Hosted by V2 Presents, the lineup featured huge names including Dillon Francis, Chase & Status, San Holo, Dabin, Said the Sky, Bear Grillz, and Flux Pavillion

MUSIC: A

What we enjoyed most about the sound of Get Lucky was that the big acts had great range. Dillon Francis played just about every genre under the sun, including moombahton of course, and trolled us all with an “announcement” from the police. San Holo mellowed the crowd with his guitar, but at the same time threw down. In addition, the artists were fitting for the Salt Lake EDM scene.

There’s no debate that bass is big here, and that showed with a large presence of bass infused house, tons of drum and bass, dubstep, and melodic bass. This lineup wasn’t just impressive for its well-known names, but the depth of artists as well. Producers like Dr. Fresch, Habstrakt, Destructo, Marten Horger, Smoakland, Sippy, Canabliss, What So Not, Culture Shock, and Reaper provided a healthy mix of veterans and up and coming talent. Truthfully, this line up didn’t get as much credit as it should have.

@dillonfrancis

I had no choice but to stop the set

♬ original sound – Dillon Francis

PRODUCTION: A-

One of the first things we notice at any of the four major V2 festivals is the audio quality. Especially after several single shows or tour stops since Get Freaky, the sheer amount of speakers and bass levels are always welcomed with open arms. Hope you remembered your ear plugs.

In addition to top tier sound, there is no shortage of visual and special effects. We noticed plenty of lighting, lasers, smoke machines, and digital screens on both stages. The main stage had slightly more lasers, CO2, and confetti, but overall both were epic. There are certainly limitations due to the cold weather/tent, but we would love to see if Get Lucky was able to feature any version of pyro in the future. Just try not to burn the tent down, guys. Also, we would be remiss not to mention the V2 Performers blooming on us as sunflowers this spring.

VIBES: A

Crowds can make or break festival experiences. Last weekend highlighted what makes Salt Lake’s rave scene so special. We saw plenty of kandi exchanges, incredible outfits, non-stop sprouting (shout out to the $5 merch pack), and could feel the good energy. The crowd showed up by supporting the sets and truly listening and engaging with the music, D&B in particular. Artists noticed too, which should make us all proud to be a part of it.

V2 also embraced those vibes. Anyone count how many inflatable mushrooms were blown up? Or how many heaters were provided when you needed a break? What about how well maintained the hydration station and restrooms were? Those are not easy areas to keep everyone happy with, and 100% contributed to happy-go-lucky vibes last weekend.

Fun side note: when we were walking in, the security staff stamping hands yelled, “Double stamp!” And proceeded to stamp all of our left and right hands. What a vibe to start the night with. Shout out to that dude.

The only reason this section doesn’t get an A+ was because of the theft. This is a serious concern, and for whatever reason only seems to be at The Saltair. There are a ton of posts about this, so it wasn’t a coincidence either. Whoever was stealing phones must have walked away with an absolute haul. They were organized and strategic about it too – monitoring high traffic areas and immediately turning phones off when they had them. Unfortunately, we knew someone this happened to. Her phone was stolen out of her fanny pack. Like what, her fanny pack? Not really sure what security or the venue can do about it, so this is our plea to tether your phone and don’t chance it.

VENUE: B-

For those who have been to the Great Saltair, you know that capacity is high, space on stage allows for good visuals, there are great vantage points all over, and acoustics are solid. At the same time, access to alcohol can be difficult (no drinks outside of bar areas), and getting in and out of that place can be hell. We did notice the tent had their own bar this year, big ups for that.

But if you drove this year, you were forced to take the service road (Frontage Road) east towards the city. This isn’t uncommon, as after 7 miles, the service road connects to a bridge on 7200W, which has an on-ramp to I-80, and it’s a straight shot home. But last weekend, that bridge was closed. Anyone going east toward the city then had to backtrack those 7 miles to the exit of the Saltair (where they started), only to turn around and exit back onto I-80 or UT-201. 14 miles of shenanigans. For this not to be adjusted within the traffic pattern for attendees is a big time blunder. Consider yourself lucky if you Uber’d!

New this year was an after party hosted at the Temple on Temple, a remodeled masonic temple downtown. It’s a unique space with stadium seating, a huge arch above the stage, and lights all around including the ceiling. Although the artists were kept a secret, we saw appearances from What So Not, Lucille Croft, Great Dane, Mija, Kowta, Fransis Derelle, Loki, Goldzilla, and others. We absolutely loved the idea of afters at the Temple, but without an easy route this year and unconfirmed artists, we’ll take a raincheck.

OVERALL B+

Get Lucky had another solid year. Artists showed up, the production was better than most tours or single shows you’ll find, and the crowd was filled with contagious energy that raves are made for. Thank you for saying excuse me btw. Yes, there were some traffic woes getting in and out of the venue, along with a few bad apples stealing iPhones. The improvements to the lineup, bar space upgrades, and investments into visual/special effects made Get Lucky well worth attending.

ONE MORE THOUGHT

Is it time the bass stage is always the main stage? There are a variety of factors determining which artists are on which stages. Capacity has to be a factor. Then you have artist preferences, stage capabilities, crowd flow, etc. Friday, the bass artists were in the tent, and the house artists were indoors. Saturday, the drum and bass artists took over the tent, and the bass and dubstep artists were indoors. What makes the most sense? Seemed like the dance floor at the main stage had more room to move about than the tent did. 

FOLLOW ALONG FOR MORE

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Photos By: Austin Wake – @ShotByRondo