Where do you go after Skrillex? That would seem to be the big, soul-searching question for EDM these days, amidst all the talk that the genre is already on the decline. It's also a question that a festival like Mad Decent Block Party is soon to be asking itself, as it brings none other than Skrillex to Dallas this weekend. Lights All Night, however, already has an answer: Hardwell and Kaskade.
Lights All Night, Dallas' biggest EDM festival by a fair amount, announced its two headlining acts this morning and Hardwell and Kaskade lead the way. Now in its sixth year, LAN's end-of-year party — long since moved from Fair Park to the Dallas Convention Center and expanded from one day to two — has managed to land blue-chip artists like Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and Disclosure in previous years, so testing the limits of the EDM "bubble" is something of a priority. Gotta grow to maintain, and all that business.
Hardwell, who headlines the first night of the festival on December 31, makes for a smart move: A Dutch native, he's been voted the world's No. 1 DJ the past two years by England's DJ Mag, which is more credibility than even Skrillex can stake claim to. Same goes for Kaskade, a Chicago house veteran who represents a bit of a move away from the latest and greatest EDM buzz act formula. (And as some other festivals have proven recently, that alone isn't a ticket to success.)
Those are the only two artists to be announced so far, with more to come in the coming months. Two-day tickets (though not single-day) are already on sale for the festival, which takes place December 31 and January 1. General admission starts at $109.99 and goes up to $289.99 for VIP packages. Find out more at lightsallnight.com.
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