Day 2 has come to an electric close with Illenium absolutely shutting down the Stadium stage. The second I walked into the photo pit and turned the corner to go down into the aisle, I stumbled upon both sides of the rail violently rocking back and forth as flames from the stage warmed up the hairs on the back of my neck. The entire time it felt like something straight out of some gladiator movie… crazy energy on both sides of the rail. The ability to do that to a crowd is not an easy task and Illenium brought out his best. I also saw RUKES quietly working in the pit, shoutout to my personal favorite electronic concert photographer of all time. The amount of Illenium, Seven Lions, and Said the Sky baseball jerseys that I saw today made it seem like the entire night was tailored for them. Fantastic scheduling on NC’s end.
A special treat on Saturday’s lineup was the b2b of Tchami and Malaa, two French powerhouses of house music. With their extensive catalogs that mesh together like a Venn diagram, the Pardon My French DJs got on stage with Malaa’s iconic bottle of Jack Daniels to melt shuffler’s faces. Every electronic festival has to have a good b2b and you can’t get much better than one from legends Tchami and Malaa.
Diplo undoubtedly performed my favorite set of the day as he closed out the Canopy stage. The stage in the middle of the festival grounds has become my favorite stage over the course of the last two days as the vibes are always immaculate under the leafy green canopy. Coming out dressed like a total dad, Diplo spun a bounce-fest of a set that featured some disgusting mashups and iconic tracks like Sidepiece collab “On My Mind” and my personal song of the summer “Don’t Forget My Love” with Miguel on the vocal.
Tomorrow, although it’s sadly the final day, has a crazy dubstep lineup at the Vega and three legendary closers in Svdden Death, Kaytranada, and Porter Robinson. Try to use up whatever energy you may have left… it’s worth it to make some lifelong memories at North Coast Music Festival ‘22!
Photos and Words by Arthur Siwek for Pursuit of Dopeness
