Cover photo by Alive Coverage
Thousands of bass heads flocked from all over the country for the return of NYE360! That’s right, the 360 degree rotating stage has returned to earth and successfully blasted bass heads into the new year. This year’s event in Greensboro, NC was the 6th annual 360. The first 360 event began in 2012 in Nashville, TN and ran consecutively until 2016 in Birmingham, AL. Due to this event being a fan favorite, the Bassnectar team brought back 360 for 2018. Past events had supporting acts featuring artists such as Tipper, Psymbionic, The Glitch Mob, and Gramatik to name a few. This year’s openers included Anna Morgan, Manic Focus (DJ set), and the legendary G Jones b2b Eprom, G-prom. The bar was set high for this event, and boy, they did not disappoint! More than 22,000 fans gathered together to celebrate community, love, and creativity.
Bassnectar began the event by asking the crowd to take a few deep breaths together, like how you would in a yoga class. From that moment I knew we were about to blast deep into space. The 360 experience is completely immersive and continually draws you to the present moment. The level of production and creativity is mind-blowing and inspiring. There is no other artist who obsesses over the experience each fan receives as much as Bassnectar. He is adamant about each fan feeling as if they are in front of the speakers to fully experience each sound he so carefully crafts.
I couldn’t help but notice a theme woven into this NYE set. Bassnectar has always been an advocate for living fully in the moment. He expresses this to his fans by asking them not to record his sets and just be in the moment with the music and energy. The message received from New Year’s was very clear, and that is time.
Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot Speech
This was one of my favorite moments of the whole set. The speech was right before the ball drop song, Chasing Heaven. It is an extremely profound speech that talks about how the earth is our only home. “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. On it is everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.”
Timestretch with Kendrick Lamar’s Poetic Justice acapella “every second, every minute”
This was such a special moment. Bassnectar fans know that this gem is typically saved for New Year’s. Back in August Bassnectar revealed to his fans via Twitter the vision behind Timestretch.
Michael Jackson – Do You Remember The Time
Bassnectar is the kind of artist who plays whatever he likes. It is always exciting to hear old school song layered into his sets.
Psyopia “Time Ticks On” transitioned to “Time Flies”
Psyopia is on Bassnectar’s Reflective Part 2 EP. He layered this song with “Time Kicks On” vocals and transitioned into a hypnotic remake of “Time Flies”.
Time keeps on slipping into the future
Bassnectar transitioned from Psyopia into his remix of Fly Like An Eagle by Steve Miller Band with “time keeps on slipping into the future” vocals.
Churn of the Century with Take It Back Like a Time Machine layered in
Towards the last moments of the set Bassnectar asked if the crowd wanted one more song. He gave the option of a chill relaxed song or to go bonkers together. The roar of the crowd made it obvious we wanted to go crazy. He then played Churn of the Century off of the 2009 Cozza Frenzy album layered with “take it back like a time machine” vocals.
The Bassnectar team has once again put together an unforgettable experience leaving the fans in awe and inspired. Time is our most precious gift and we have the choice to spend it how we please. Take the time to reflect on what you would like to invest your time in this year. Maybe you’d like to learn to play a new instrument, learn a new language, or learn to paint or draw. There are endless possibilities of how we can invest in ourselves. Spend your time wisely this new year!