About 4 years ago, an event company was born in Las Vegas – a city not exactly known for its underground music scene. Ravealation changed the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas, holding hoards of events that cover every genre, from the bone-rattling bass of Zomboy and Excision, to boundary-pushing artists like Rezz and EPROM. We talked with Marcel Correa, Executive Director at Ravealation Events about Vegas, the music industry and what first-timers can expect at one of their lit AF shows.
Festival Goers: Ravealation recently celebrated its 4th birthday with a 2-day monster event that brought the likes of Carnage, Slushii, Destructo and Brillz to name a few. How did all this get started?
RVLTN: Well, we’re all huge fans of music. We all wanted to be involved in music, somehow. There was a void that needed to be filled in our city. Traveling for events was getting old so we set out to bring these shows and artists to Las Vegas. After a rough year we started gaining the cities support. That allowed us to do more and more and we’re still at it. Gearing up for a huge 2018!
Festival Goers: As Ravealation got its start, did event venues in town share your vision of what the local electronic music scene could become? How have your relationships with venues in town changed over the years?
RVLTN: At first they didn’t share the vision as much as we had hoped they would. EDM had a lot of negative press at the time & understandably so. It took us coming in and proving ourselves as responsible promoters who weren’t going to cut corners and who were willing to go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our attendees, while still providing an amazing event. Also, we were selling out every show with impressive bar numbers so I’m sure that helped. Fast forward 4 years and we have outstanding first name basis relationships with almost every venue in town.
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Festival Goers: What have you seen develop in the Las Vegas electronic music scene that excites or surprises you most? For example, fans responding to a certain genre or artists getting more enthusiastic about playing Vegas.
RVLTN: Nothing surprises me anymore to be honest but so much stuff excites me. I love the fact that our scene is so much more educated on new sounds and artists. A few times now we’ve added someone to a bill, weren’t too confident they were worth tickets and they ended up outshining the headliner of the show. This shows me that our scene isn’t just following trends, we’re digging deeper and supporting artists we truly like. As promoters, we keep our ears to the ground and do our best to stay on top of what our people want to see.
Festival Goers: Tell us a little about the specialized brands that fall under the Ravealation umbrella, like Bass N’ Trapment, Circuit and XO.
RVLTN: Bass N’ TRAPment is our all bass brand. Usually half dubstep, half trap, we overload on subs and essentially dedicate that show to the headbangers and rail breakers.
Circuit is a more intimate experience with up and coming headliners for an affordable ticket price. We like to experiment a bit with these shows, it gives us a chance to test out new acts on their way to the main stage at larger events. The room is dark, sound is amazing and every area in the venue has a great view of the stage.
❌⭕️ is our baby, it’s a Valentine’s brand that we created last year, with an emphasis on feel good music. Many people bring their Valentine to this show to party together, others make new friends to party the night away with. The vibes are just heavy at ❌⭕️
Festival Goers: Can you pick a favorite Ravealation show? What made that one special?
RVLTN: My favorite show has to be Tchami & Malaa at the World Market Center. The b2b set was incredible, the stage design was so different and original. At one point I scanned the entire room and didn’t see a single person not dancing. Even the bartenders were gettin it. We all had to go into the crowd for this one! Such a special night!
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Festival Goers: It seems like everyone wants a piece of the electronic music pie. What advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the industry, whether it be on the event promoter side or the artist side?
RVLTN: Just be persistent, it’s a marathon not a race. Nothing happens overnight. You have to let this be your passion and consume your life, you won’t succeed if you treat it like a side project. Also, surround yourself with positive people who believe in your vision and share your same work ethic. If you believe nothing is impossible, then nothing is.
Festival Goers: Can you share any future plans for Ravealation with our readers?
RVLTN: We’re definitely moving into the festival space very soon. We’re also planning more events in Reno in 2018, we’ve put together a really nice team out there. There are some pretty interesting collabs in the works that I can’t really speak of just yet, but they’re announcing soon. Also, keep an eye out for Uncut Presents, our newest brand dedicated to Hip Hop & R&B!
Festival Goers: What advice do you have for a first-timer at one of your shows?
RVLTN: My advice would be to let go of reality. Just for the night. We all have occasional problems and day to day stresses. Leave them at the door. Enjoy the people, the music, & the vibes. Free yourself and make some lasting memories. Get back to reality in the am.
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Ravealation’s next event is XO Returns on Saturday, February 10 and features GTA, Joyryde, Bleep Bloop and Graves along with local support from RR x AR, Evan Durant and JDHD. Can’t make it to Vegas that quick? Keep track of what Ravealation is up to next by following them on Facebook or visiting their site here.