Ahhh IleSoniq. In only it’s second year, the third of three summer festivals put on by local uber promoter Evenko happened last weekend. After 3 days of Indie and Hip Hop music at Osheaga, some headbanging at Heavy Montreal, it was time to put away the guitars and take out the turntables for IleSoniq!
I was charged with covering the Neon stage for the festival, and turned out to be a huge hit during the 2 day festival. Organizers had the great idea of moving the stage from a clearing last year to a spot in the forest. They originally did it for Heavy Montreal and the vibe was great, I’m glad they decided to leave it there for IleSoniq. It had the feel of old school raves, hidden in the trees, with cover from the scorching sun.
I heard many festival go-ers mention that they prefered the small stages (Neon and it’s neighbor the Bud stage) to the main stages, where the names on stage are not as known but the energy and authenticity are more real.
Before I get into the flood of crowd and show images, a huge shout out to the stage crew who always do an awesome job. Always behind the scenes, dealing with artist’s missed flights, rescheduling and lineup shifts, those artists who can’t find the on button (true story), the rain, the changeovers… they make the festivals run as smoothly as possible. Here’s a quick snap of part of the crew at Neon for the weekend.
A quick mention of what staff photographers do during festivals. Not only are we covering the artists on stage, but we are also running around grabbing images of decor, fans and installations and processing images on sight. But more importantly, I consider myself an ambassador of the festival. I have probably the most direct contact with the festival go-ers other than security guards at the entrance and I strongly believe that I must ensure that they feel they are having the best festival experience. Whether that be chatting some people up or taking some images of them and their friends. There is always a limit, I mean really, do you need a 5th picture of yourself? Do you really need to grab my leg while I’m on the stage so I can snap a photo of you? Not really. I’ll get to it, don’t worry. 🙂
So here is a mashup of images from in and around the Neon stage.
*All images taken for Evenko / IleSoniq. Do not use without permission.
Trying to capture the feeling, the energy and the fun of an EDM festival, while not being your type of music (I don’t think I saw another person with grey hair… it’s premature, I swear) is a fun thing. Getting out of your comfort zone and just having a good time.
See you next year!