Lights All Night Reignites at Dallas Market Hall

Back in April, the Something Wonderful Festival at Fair Park seemed to document the end of an era, like Gimme Shelter with the Dallas Police Department stepping in for the Hell’s Angels. But that simply isn’t the case. Starting tonight, the two-day EDM festival, Lights All Night, is back and bigger than ever.

You better get your tickets quick. After making use of Fair Park and the Dallas Convention Center in the past, LAN has once again relocated. “We’ve always had our eyes on Dallas Market Hall,” says Scott Osburn, a promoter of LAN. But this is the first year it has been available. “We can’t wait for everyone to see what we are doing with the space."

LAN will offer entirely new stage production this year as well as a ceiling treatment from Germany made of LED spheres that will morph into different configurations, like a psyche on hallucinogens. “The Hall has given us artistic freedom to do these unique things,” Osburn says. “It’s been very cool and something Dallas has never seen before.”

After reaching out to fans for feedback, the organizers also decided to push the dates a few days ahead, making LAN a way to usher in the New Year, rather than something to do the day after Christmas. The evolution of LAN seems to mimic the rise of EDM. This has always been a party, but it went from a hotel ballroom to one of the largest annual celebrations in Texas.

LAN has accomplished this by upping the stage production and experiential elements every year. “We’re always looking to stay a step ahead of the trends and bring both the top talent of the year as well as some up and comers that will become big in the coming years,” says Osburn.

This year’s lineup exemplifies this approach. Last year’s bill may have had more famous acts like Skrillex and Disclosure, but LAN is now more diverse. This year Hardwell and Kaskade, who Osburn respectively refers to as “the number one DJ in the world for two years” and “America’s top DJ,” headline the festival. There are other big names on the bill, but also DJs who represent a wide range of electronic genres. “This type of diversity is what the fans have asked for and it has resonated with them,” says Osburn.

Osburn also disagrees with the notion that EDM is dead, dying or unconscious: “There is a deep rooted love for the music that resonates with the fans in both mental and emotional ways. There is a connection that is felt through the music and for this reason we don’t see it fading away anytime soon. If anything the demand is getting bigger with mainstream exposure and all the new artists and sounds that are emerging almost daily.”

Artists like Zedd, Diplo, Griz and Crizzly all played LAN before they were big names. This year some of the rising stars are Galantis, Jauz, Snails and Thomas Jack. Osburn sees Dallas as a great EDM scene that works collectively with Houston and Austin to create a strong statewide market.

“We set out to create an electronic show,” says Osburn. “Something Dallas can be proud of with top international talent, stage production that rivaled any other show in the states, and an unmatched fan experience. Five years later, here we are. Come check out what we’ve built.”