photo from the Day For Night Facebook Page
written by Austin Eames & Stephanie Rosa
Day for Night Festival this year fell on a weekend when many living in the country were being bombarded with wild weather anomalies. We enjoyed a mild version of such, as the first day we were sweating it out in 80 degree humidity to performances from BANKS, Chet Faker, ODESZA and the long awaited “return from haitus” set from Aphex twin. The following day, #2 of the two day downtown Houston festival shivered us to the bone as we made our way again through the mazes of lights and digital art, oddly scattered about what used to be Houston’s old post annex. Amongst the five stages, the one indoor stage had very eclectic acts such as Bjork digital and Soulection. This festival exemplified a wide range of music tastes paired with digital art displays that offered some very eclectic photos and experiences to us fest goers. Keeping us warm into the night Travis Scott and Kaskade closed as everyone shivered in the 30 degree cold and frosty night! A 50 degree change in temperature from first to second day marked this festival as one for the record books.
Music genre – EDM, Indie, Funk, Rap, Trance
Camping: No, Festival ended around 1am each evening
Capacity: Approx 30,000
Water stations: No water stations, only drinks for sale.
For The First Timers – Check the weather to know how many layers to wear and bring funds for food and drink as none are allowed from outside event center. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes so that you can take advantage of the different stages as well as the different digital art displays inside the gigantic old Postal Office.
Standout Food – All food trucks, which most were in a food truck court including chili fries, chicken waffle sandwiches, and fusion asian.
Musical Highlights – This one is understandably unfair as my blue ribbon award goes out to Chet Faker, whose energy has radically captivated my attention for the second time at a major festival this year. Chet brought out Markus Marr to play their compilation of “Trouble with Us”, which includes one of the most catchy funk guitar riffs of today, played by Marcus Marr. Chet’s seriously erratic nature on stage is enticing to watch, yet he only goes there after milking his classics such as “1998” and “Talk is Cheap”. I am sure the dear founder has something lovely to say about Odesza who followed suit shortly after Chet’s bout.
Things To Do — The art was the heart and soul of this festival, and even more specifically, the Bjork digital performance. If you were one of the lucky ones who jumped online to reserve your spot for her digital performance, you were in the clear. If not, you were likely someone who was waiting in the 2+ hour long line. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the digital performance so we don’t have much to say about that. However, the upstairs and downstairs area of the old Postal Office offered lots of cool line-free digital art experiences. You could spend your day popping from station to station. Whats also neat about this festival is the ability to come and go as you please. This allowed you the opportunity to leave the festival for a local Houston restaurant since you’re in the downtown area.
VIP or Nah VIP seemed worth it as it included rapid festival entry, and an exclusive front-of-stage viewing area at main stages and lounge that included comped beverages and light bites through the fest. There also was a cocktail happy hour party, and swag bag with a Day for Night t-shirt and limited edition screen print poster. Possibly something more exciting for locals to Houston?
Closing Thoughts from Stephanie: While this festival was a lot like your typical city festivals, it made sure to set itself apart. Yes, this festival was held in a downtown area thus limiting the outdoor music till about 12am, but it took advantage of its hybrid space and kept festival goers occupied until 2am. Day For Night took it a step further to provide textile carpeting outdoors near the main stage so that you weren’t sitting on gravel watching your favorite artists. It may seem like a small idea, but it goes far when you’re trying to rest your legs to make it out all day long. Yes, like every festival, Day for Night had art. But it didn’t just have any old art piece. It had digital and light interactive art pieces. The result was something wild, and made for some pretty sweet snapchats and instagram posts. The lineup was great, especially because I am a huge Chet Faker, BANKS, and Odesza fan. I got a little taste of my favorites and even got to drop it low during Soulection’s bass and rap heavy set. Overall, my musical cravings were satisfied and I really enjoyed attending this Houston based festival.
Closing Thoughts from Austin: Honestly this festival was way more psychedelic than I expected. The flow between really chill and different music on the outdoor stages coupled with the incredibly strange light displays and noises permeating through the majority of the indoor facility made for a mad hatter type vibe that I will always have a vivid recollection of. It seemed to have an almost satanic air to it, but honestly the Holiday season cheer cleared this funk for a truly magical festival.
