Raver Magazine - March Edition 2016 Raver Magazine - March Edition 2016 | Page 28

All-Star Rookie: Okeechobee Festival
Delights 30,000 in its first year

Bassnectar, Skrillex, a legendary PoWoW!, and 24-hr festivities made Okeechobee’s debut absolutely legendary
By Zach Leete / Photography by Celeste Swatling & Ana Massard
When Soundslinger announced Okeechobee
Music & Arts Festival, the news was met with equal
parts enthusiasm and skepticism. The concept: bring
a diverse musical line-up reminiscent of the great
Bonnaroo to rural Florida excited many, but others
doubted another “big” music festival could make it.
Those concerns have been addressed and erased.
Okeechobee was an astounding success, selling out
30,000 tickets right as the festival opened its gates to
festivalgoers. Okeechobee was an everyman’s music
festival, there was truly something for everyone.

RL Grime, Bonobo, Big Gigantic, and Kill the Noise.
Hipsters were treated to special performances by
Portugal. The Man, Mumford and Sons, and the Avett
Bros. Meanwhile, the old school received some of the
best gifts of all: Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Hall and
Oates, Ween, and Tom Morello!

Okeechobee’s music consisted of high-caliber talent
and special, rare performances that you simply won’t
find anywhere else; but that’s just the beginning.
Morning beach parties and group yoga classes, selfhealing exhibitions, interactive art installations and
constant surprises meant that no two people had
Hip-Hops heads crumped and dougied with Kendrick the same experience at Okeechobee. Soundslinger
Lamar, Future, Mac Miller, and Lil Dicky. EDM fanatics deserves a standing ovation for truly creating a world
shuffled and headbanged to Bassnectar, Skrillex, within a world at Okeechobee.

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