The two-day festival descending on Grand Rapids’ Belknap Park this weekend brims with top names in electronic, hip hop and pop, including Michigan faves. The preview and schedule.
Michigan Connection: Detroit’s Quinn XCII headlines Saturday night. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
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Take it from Grand Rapids DJ Choff: After a one-year COVID hiatus, the 2021 edition of Breakaway Music Festival shapes up as the best in the event’s history.
With mammoth names in electronic music such as Illenium – who recently played Chicago’s Lollapalooza and Las Vegas’ sprawling Allegiant Stadium – and Michigan’s own pop/hip hop/EDM star Quinn XCII headlining the two-day festival at Grand Rapids’ Belknap Park, anticipation is running high for fans and performers.
Choff, whose real name is Christian Hoffer, will open the main stage on Friday and Saturday, as well as hosting intermissions between performances, with several thousand attendees expected on hand.
‘Keeping the Spirit of GR Alive’: Choff will be back on stage Breakaway. (Courtesy Photo)
“I’m so excited. This will be my fourth year with Breakaway and they continuously make improvements on the festival each year,” said Hoffer, a 10-year veteran of the DJ scene. “This year is set to be their biggest yet and I couldn’t be more excited to be hosting the main stage once again with some of the top acts in the game.”
Some of those other top acts include Chelsea Cutler, Madeon, Loud Luxury, Gryffin, Big Wild and the house/techno duo Gettoblaster, featuring Detroit producer Paul Anthony and Chicago’s Zach Bletz, who will perform at 4:55 p.m. Friday, with Illenium headlining at 9:45 p.m.
“We’ve been touring heavy all summer. It’s nice to be back in the Midwest where we grew up,” Anthony and Bletz said in a written response to questions from Local Spins. “Very excited to be part of Breakaway.”
The duo also will play the official Breakaway after-party at Elevation inside Grand Rapids’ The Intersection, starting at 11 p.m. Friday, with Attak and Metawav also on the bill. (Loud Luxury plays the Saturday after-party with Mando and Key Mitch.)
Back in the Midwest: Gettoblaster (Courtesy Photo)
Gettoblaster “fans can expect to hear all our big records from this year with a nice touch of unreleased (music) from us. We love sprinkling in our unreleased music. We grew up in the underground warehouse scenes in Chicago. We always incorporate warehouse style tracks in our set.”
Two-day tickets for Breakaway – staged for the first time in Grand Rapids back in 2017 – are $129.99; Friday passes are $84.99; Saturday passes are $74.99, available online at breakawayfestival.com. Music starts at 4 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Another Michigan connection happens to be Saturday night’s headliner. Detroit’s Quinn XCII, whose real name is Mikael Temrowski, has steadily ascended the ranks with his mix of pop, hip hop, reggae and electronic music, including his most recent single, “Stay Next To Me,” with Breakaway performer Chelsea Cutler.
As for Choff, fans can expect “the fun-loving, inclusive energy that GR is known for,” when he heats up the stage both days.
“I will be showcasing local music in both of my sets as well as keeping the GR spirit alive through my stage presence as a host,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited to help take the energy at our home festival to the next level.”
BREAKAWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2021: The Schedule
Copyright 2021, Spins on Music LLC
