Loudfest is the outdoor festival edition of b2s legendary indoor Loudness concept. Good enough, but how do you translate the vibe of an unique location like the Maassilo into a successful festival? “Say no more, party people”, b2s probably thought to themselves and found the perfect summer location for the concept: The Onderzeebootloods (en.: “The Submarine Warehouse”). Taking the shuttle bus from Zuidplein was already a bit of an adventure – while a more frequent shuttle bus would have been nice, the trip itself was already preparing the visitor for what was coming up. As the bus reached the docks of the Rotterdam harbor, the landscape got more and more industrial. Surrounded by ships, warehouses, and the Maas river, The Onderzeebootloods was just the absolutely right fit for a Raw Hardstyle festival.
The location consisted of three areas: A big indoor area, a mid-sized indoor area, and an outdoor area. The big indoor area was absolutely amazing, stage, sound, light, and overall production of the area were brilliant. The warehouse feel that Loudness lovers knew from the Maassilo was well projected in to the new festival location.The second indoor area on the other hand, felt a bit awkward and could have been a bit downsized. Adding to that, there were enough bars & chill spots, but food and toilets were just minimally available. And the outdoor stage? That one was the (not so secret) highlight for us: Going outside, a great sight of the Rotterdam harbor awaited the Raw Hardstyle enthusiasts attending Loudfest. While the stage design was small, the crowd, vibe and especially the view completely stole the show. In the evening you could see the sun sink, the clouds go red and orange, and the Maas looked like it was made of liquid gold – stunning!
Musically speaking Loudfest had “Raw” for everyone. You could have started your day with Myst and Phuture Noize and ended it at Radical Redemption. But you could have also started it with Riot Shift and ended it with Jason Payne. The festival was small enough to see everyone for at least half an hour and the long (mostly 1,5h!) sets made it easy to listen to as many sets as you liked, as long as you didn’t mind missing a bit from another set.
Our favourites of the night were Delete, Chris One, Warface and Radical Redemption. Delete played a very accessible set that called for kickrolling in the air several times. The set seemed a bit calmer and more melodic than what we were used to from him, which was a nice surprise – more of this! Chris One undeniable saved the “Dock 2” area, filling the room and delivering one hell of a set, even including classics like “Psycho”. Outside, Warface played a set that was the absolutely perfect transition from Delete to Rebelion – once again: lots of favourites and just the right vibe for the moment! Finishing (yes, in the Mortal Kombat sense) the festival was Radical Redemption. Just fuckin’ “Brutal”! Do we need to say more?!
Conclusion: Lovers of the Raw and Ultra-Raw within Hardstyle will find Loudfest to be a great addition to their festival schedule. With an absolutely stunning, industrial location, b2s perfectly translated the Loudness concept into a summer festival. With potential to grow and the concept being well executed, we can not wait how Loudfest will look in the future. We say: The outdoor kickrolling season is officially opened!
Image Credit: b2s / Rossumedia
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