This past Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend the Mad Decent Block Party which was held in Cicero at the Hawthorne Race Track. I love attending music festivals because it basically means listening to different artists all day long so I was pretty stoked about going to this show. And it did not disappoint me one bit. It hit higher than my expectations and all of the performers had the crowd hyped throughout the whole day. I came into the festival with the mindset that all of what I was about to hear was going to sound the same since the lineup predominately consisted of DJs. The variety of electronic music that I heard took me by surprise. Each performer had their own unique style that gave the audience different sounds to vibe with. With that being said…there were a lot of moments that not only left me but the crowd going crazy.
So check out my top moments from 2015’s Mad Decent Block Party down below.
Towkio & Surprise Guest Joey Purps
The first artist I made it on time to see was Chicago native Towkio. He is one of my favorite rappers and as many times as I have seen him live, he has yet to let me down. He performed a number of his hits off of his last project .Wav Theory such as “Reflection”, “God In Me”, and “Heaven Only Knows.” But of course he had to bring a fellow SaveMoney member for his hometown show. So during his performance he gave us a surprise guest… Joey Purps. The two Chicagoans were a great kickoff to the day by giving an energetic performance that got the crowd ready for a day that was about to be super lit.
Grandtheft
Grandtheft is an artist I had never really listened to in the past. I knew he was a well known producer/DJ but I had little knowledge of the type of music he had come out with. With that, his performance caught me WAYYY off guard. Though all the other DJs were phenomenal and gave the crowd a good time, he stood out due to the number of hip hop tracks he mixed with (and we all know the love we have for hip hop). He sampled a number of tracks from Drake, Big Sean, Fetty Wap, to many more. Grandtheft’s set definitely went hard and a top moment from the block party.
Klingande Featuring Saxophonist Arnold Pol
The French duo definitely had the crowd going insane during their set at MDBP. Their set featured many mixes to hits like “Sexual Healing” along with their original mix of “Punga.” Their tropical house vibe kept the audience dancing. One main component that kept the crowd pumped up during their gig was the live saxophone. Saxophonist Arnold Pol’s live instrumentals is not something you expect to see during a music festival of mostly all EDM artists. But nonetheless, that sax had the crowd screaming for more and was also a memorable moment from that day.
Martin Solveig
With already seven performances down, there were only two more to go. It was Martin Solveig’s turn and with having been the opener for the highly anticipated Major Lazer, the whole crowd was anxious. But Martin Solveig did not let the crowd down. He kept the audience going, keeping them amped up throughout his whole set. The French producer/ DJ showcased his original hits “Hello” & “Intoxicated” along with other mixes. A memorable moment of his performance is when he played his own version of “All Day” by Chicago native Kanye West. This man definitely surprised me by how he managed to keep the crowd going, and he, without a doubt, was a dope opener for Major Lazer which is why his set was another top moment of Saturday.
Major Lazer & Surprise Guest Wild Belle
Throughout this past year, Major Lazer has made their way up my list of favorite musicians. So my excitement to see them live was beyond any level . And God damn their performance was lit…They changed the game for all DJs out there. The trio managed to not only keep the crowd dancing after such a long day, but their visuals and chemistry with the audience made the show so much more special. They had dancers, whistles, confetti guns, streamers, and overall had us all turnt. Major Lazer also brought out surprise guest Wild Belle for their song “Be Together.”(Which is also one of my favorite songs they’ve ever released.) With that being said, they hit us with some of their famous tracks like “Powerful” and of course their summer anthem “Lean On”. Diplo also rocked a raw customized Bulls Jersey during their performance. He then kept the crowd going to their dance music by crowd surfing in a massive human hamster ball. The overall show was ridiculous…These three guys really know how to connect with an audience. Major Lazer put on one hell of a show and it definitely was my top moment of this year’s Mad Decent Block Party.
And a big shout out to Ana for the help with the photos. #you’redope
Here are some more photos from MDBP…
