The opening salvo of the two-day fest at Grand Rapids’ Belknap Park reveled Friday in exemplary weather, mesmerizing electronic music and elated throngs. The highlights and photo galleries at Local Spins.
Closing Friday with a Flurry: The crowd for The Chainsmokers. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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It was an opening day of reverie and revelry at Breakaway.
Blue skies and sunshine greeted thousands of passionate attendees who danced and sang to performances by The Chainsmokers and other electronic music/pop stars on Day 1 of Breakaway Music Festival 2022 at Grand Rapids’ Belknap Park.
As Local Spins writer Todd Ernst put it: “No question the crowd had some pent-up energy to spend. Grand Rapids brought it hard tonight, plain and simple.”
That pent-up excitement drew throngs of fans from across the globe, transforming the Grand Rapids park into a mammoth outdoor party.
“Breakaway has such a cool vibe,” said festivalgoer Hillary Kassak, who came all the way from Australia to attend the two-day event. “I feel like there are so many different people here and everybody’s coming together as one.”
The festival continues today with headliner DJ Snake and sets by Oliver Tree, Jai Wolf and more. Check out the Day 1 highlights from Local Spins writers here, and scroll down for photo galleries and the full Saturday schedule. (Saturday general admission passes are $94, available here.)
TODD ERNST
Sidepiece – Sidepiece laid down the perfect house groove as the sun was setting over Belknap Park with one bassline banger after another before closing with their smash hit with Diplo, “On My Mind.” Seriously, hats off to these guys. They kind of defined the night and darned near stole the show.
Festival Highlight: Sidepiece (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The Chainsmokers — The Chainsmokers rolled through a flawless mix of crossover pop, dubstep, trap, and what I call drop-anthems. Twenty minutes in, a flamethrower-hard-techno track established the NYC duo weren’t messing around. Their second-to-last track was a brand new sitar sampled house cut that was some of the best material I have heard from them thus far. Truth be told, they were at their best when sliding into a 4/4 house groove, and one can’t help but wonder if their next full recording is going to be a house music record.
Visual Production – The visual production team was the unexpected gem. Each year, Breakaway brings more of a visual effort that one might only experience at an event like Coachella or Lollapalooza. The lighting design and deployments of visuals during The Chainsmokers set was no question a headlining effort in of itself and should not be overlooked. (I’m excited to experience what tonight’s lineup featuring DJ Snake will bring forth.)
ROBERT NOVAK
Yung Gravy – Yung Gravy derailed the “Gravy Train” off the tracks with a modern trap performance that sampled classic tunes ranging from Rick Astley to The Chordettes.
HOLLY HOLTZCLAW
The Chainsmokers (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The Chainsmokers – The New York electronic duo The Chainsmokers drew the largest, most enthusiastic crowd of the evening by far. Among their own radio hits such as “Something Just Like This,” the duo put their own spin on some classic popular songs, with remixes of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” to ensure that there was something for everyone in their set. “Primarily, we’re here to see The Chainsmokers,” said Brian Haw from Livonia. Added his wife, Nicole: “We’ve never been to this park before or a festival in Grand Rapids. We’ve been to Mo Pop and Movement, all the Michigan festivals. We always try to support Michigan Festivals.”
BENJAMIN BLACKBURN
Sidepiece – The Miami-based duo Sidepiece unleashed a high-energy set of remixed pop songs upon the thousands of dancing, college-aged fans. The set was beautiful, as the duo was able to play while the sun was setting, providing a magical backdrop to the futuristic musical experience.
PHOTO GALLERY: Breakaway 2022 – Day 1 at Belknap Park
The Chainsmokers, Two Friends, Yung Gravy, Sidepiece, Joel Corry
Photos by Anthony Norkus
Photos by Holly Holtzclaw
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