Time for Something a Little Different: Bassnectar’s Freestyle Sessions
There’s always one thing that bass heads can count on every year: Bassnectar’s return to the beautiful state of Colorado for a string of Summer shows. Fans from far and wide have made Colorado their home for a weekend spent with the King of The Sound for nearly nine years now. After being virtually forced to relocate from Red Rocks Amphitheatre on account of sound ordinance issues just three years after his debut at the venue, the Bassnectar team needed to find a worthy replacement for their annual Colorado takeover. A trial run at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in 2016 for Bass Center IX gave way to switching gears and ultimately deciding upon 1st Bank Center in Broomfield to offer fans a Bassnectar experience quite unlike any other. Focused on a deep dive of sonic exploration, intimacy, and immersion, Freestyle Sessions are simply unlike any other Bassnectar show. The Sessions are crafted for dedicated and new fans alike, and offer the Bassnectar community a golden opportunity to catch rare tracks, throwbacks, and moments that will not be found in any other Bassnectar show. “Viva Freestyle Music!”
While setting the stage for the Bassnectar team’s most ”think-outside-the-box” curated event of the year, it’s important to consider the historic year that the DJ is having. Deja Voom, his grand take on a destination festival in Mexico, was a smash hit, and will be returning in 2020. The freestyle bass figurehead made his epic return to Coachella for the first time since 2013 and closed the Outdoor Theater on Saturday night. 2019 also sees the continued growth of Be Interactive, the Bassnectar team’s charity that is focused on inspiring the empathic to make an impact through radical kindness, respectful creativity, and volunteering. Bassnectar will be hosting a sold out night of music to celebrate Be Interactive in Nashville in July. On top of that, Bassnectar will be making his annual return to Hampton, Virginia for Bass Center XII over Labor Day weekend, with both nights sold out in less than two hours; the fastest sellout of Hampton Coliseum that Bassnectar has ever had. There’s no sign of slowing down; with headlining festival appearances at Electric Forest, Camp Bisco, Breakaway Festival, and North Coast Music Festival, Freestyle Sessions will serve as the perfect kick off to a wild festival season for bass heads.
Dedicated followers know that the best way to attend Freestyle Sessions is to have no expectations of what tracks Ashton will drop. However, with the recent release of Reflective Part 4 in April, it might be safe to assume that Ashton will rinse out some of this new material that most fans have yet to see performed live. Other than that, everything is on the table. When asked about the initial concept of Freestyle Sessions in a Reddit AMA in 2017 (https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6k2l5n/hello_im_lorin_i_make_music_called_bassnectar/), Ashton said:
“This is something i hope to do all over, and basically turn the Creativity Knob up to max… getting to just DJ in a freestyle context [like what would i play at a house party] mixed with all the magic of how our shows have evolved… it’s super inspiring.”
Bassnectar’s Summer Gathering is returning to Broomfield, Colorado’s 1st Bank Center on June 7th – 9th for three nights of unparalleled experimentation in bass. Similar in nature to the past couple years of Freestyle Sessions, the three themed nights will be Freestyle, Dreamtempo, and Wildstyle. Bassnectar will close each night and will be supported by Shades, J:Kenzo, Joker, Reso, Phutureprimative, The Librarian, Thelem, Pushloop, & DJ Danny Corn. With Bassnectar’s return to Colorado, its safe to say that Summer is now officially in session.
Photo credit: aLIVE Coverage