Lost Lands returned to Legend Valley this past September to bring three days of heavy hitting bass music to Ohio. The annual festival is put on by one of the most notable names in Electronic music, Excision, who brings his prehistoric dreams to reality. This year’s event featured some of the biggest names in EDM, playing to a nearly sold-out crowd alongside life-sized dinosaurs, and erupting volcanoes. 

This was only the second year the festival was held, after receiving rave reviews in 2017, Excision and his production team decided to bring new ideas to life. This year’s festival did not disappoint either. With promises of “3x more dinosaurs and 1,000,000 watts of bass” along with added fan features; dubstep fans hurried to grab tickets. Excision fulfilled his promises with bringing not only high production value to the venue, but he also put together a lineup featuring the biggest names in bass music. Headlining sets featured sounds from Flux Pavilion, Illenium, Jauz, Rezz, NGTMRE & SLANDER along with many more. The weekend also featured a highly anticipated surprise set, from DJ Diesel, better known as Shaq.

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The three-day festival got underway with a wild pre-party on Thursday featuring nearly every headliner throwing down and warming up the crowd for a bass-filled weekend. Friday marked the first official day of the festival, and the sold-out campgrounds quickly filled up. Even with sold-out campgrounds, the over-crowded atmosphere actually added to the experience. Neighbors from across the venue came together and were very friendly to one another throughout the weekend. No matter where you turned, it seemed as though someone was always willing to lend a helping hand if needed. 

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As the weekend got underway, the heavy drops began to spread throughout Legend Valley.. NGTMRE & SLANDER headlined Friday night at the Wompy Woods stage with a club-like set that featured numerous remixes of popular rap singles such as “Sicko Mode” and “I Fall Apart”. As their set closed out, a big announcement came that they would be starting an EDM centered record label titled Gud Vibrations, and promised to continue to be pioneers in the electronic scene. The announcement was followed up by a set from their first official signed artist, WAVEDASH, who played some unreleased tracks until the end the night.

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Friendly campers kept the good vibes rolling as the entertainment continued through the weekend. Highly anticipated B2B sets from 12th Planet and Virtual Riot, along with Excision and Downlink had head bangers shaking the rail throughout the day. The night was closed out by one of the most intimate performances of the weekend from Illenium at Prehistoric Paradox. He created an immersive audio-visual experience accompanied by an immaculate light show. His set featured some of his most popular tracks such as “Don’t Let Me Down (Remix)” and “Gold (Stupid Love)”. Illenium’s milder style of dubstep was a refreshing change of pace that brought a more relaxing atmosphere to Legend Valley. 

Once the third and final day came, Sunday was started on a concerning note. With expected thunderstorms to come overnight, performances were shortened and the day was scheduled around the forecasted storms. Set times for headliners such as Jauz, Rezz, Flux Pavillion B2B Doctor P and more, all got shortened, leaving fans with hard choices on which sets to pick from. However, the bass continued throughout the day, with continuous drops and quick change overs from artist to artist.

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One of the most anticipated performances came from the upcoming DJ and NBA legend, DJ Diesel. Shaq made his appearance for the “surprise set” and he did not hold back. His heavy drops and visuals of his NBA highlights brought the crowd together. At the end of the set, Excision was hoisted on Shaq’s shoulders as the notable bass tracks continued. Excision followed up his set with a much need “Detox Set” that featured milder drops, to recharge fans after the high-energy DJ Diesel performance. Jauz’s inaugural “Wicked Set” followed-up Excision on the Prehistoric Paradox stage which featured many hits off his latest album The Wise and The Wicked. One of the night’s last performances came from two EDM legends going B2B, Flux Pavilion and Doctor P dropped heavy bass while dressed to the nine’s. Both were wearing tuxedos and they kept it classy by playing remixes to their popular hits such as “Savage” and “I Can’t Stop”. Which closed out Lost Lands 2018 with tons of good energy.

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The weekend was full of non-stop sets, spot-on production and some of the biggest DJs going B2B. With the added Sound Camps this year, DJs from across genres were throwing down until the sun came up. The added sound camps were new for 2018, but a bit overwhelming at times. Seven small scale stages lined a portion of the campgrounds, and music almost seemed to blend together with the congested space. Campers were able to hear music from the next stage over, with only steel barriers separating crowds in attempt to contain the music in each stage. The late-night lineups not only featured local DJs, but surprise sets from some of the biggest names on the lineup. One of the most electrifying sets came from Subtronics, Boogie T and Dirt Monkey all going B2B that had the crowd going until sometime after 4AM. These Sound Camps were an added bonus for 2018, and hopefully there are plans to restructure and continue the feature for 2019.

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Altogether Lost Lands was one of the best festivals in terms of production and a welcoming atmosphere in the 2018 season. Electronic music fans from across the world came together in Ohio to enjoy a weekend full of impressive sets from some of the biggest names in dubstep. It will be interesting to see what Excision has in store for this year’s event. Stay up-to-date by following them at @LostLandsFestival or by checking out their website.