In just over 24 hours, Arizona’s premier music promoter, Relentless Beats, will open the gates to the inaugural Body Language Festival, a 3-day featuring some of the most iconic and innovative house and techno artists on the planet. As the event prepares to take over a city block in downtown Tempe, we wanted to know what attendees could expect from this brand new venture, challenges that had to be overcome during the planning process and how the event came to fruition. Relentless Beats founder and CEO Thomas Turner took some time to chat with Festival Squad as we inch closer and closer to what’s sure to be a weekend of pure, unadulterated fun.
Festival Squad: House and techno seem to be the golden children of today’s electronic music scene. Did this trend play a role in your decision to put together Body Language?
Thomas Turner: I created Relentless Beats based on my passion for house and underground music, so I’ve always had the desire to create an event of this nature, but the market needed to be in the right place to do so. With the explosion of underground music in Arizona and around the country in recent years, it felt as opportune a time as ever to finally build one in the form of Body Language.
FS: I’m sure the unexpected venue challenge was a major bump in the road. Can you tell us a little bit about how you dealt with that and how you arrived at the new downtown Tempe location?
TT: In the past month, we have toured many new spaces searching for the right home for Body Language. Thankfully we have a great partner in Diamond Juice, the owners of Sunbar, Shady Park, and other venues in Tempe. With many shows held over the years in Diamond Juice venues, we worked together to develop a plan for Body Language that we think will be very special for the community. Not to mention, it is very centrally located, which is a huge plus in our eyes.
FS: Body Language has some pretty impressive foriegn talent on the lineup considering how challenging travel can be these days. Did this affect your usual talent booking process?
TT: Booking foreign acts is always dependent on many factors, travel being one of them. We were fortunate enough to have many of the acts on the bill touring in the US at the right time, but we also lost out on many acts we inquired about since they would be overseas. In the end, we ended up with a stacked lineup emblematic of many different styles and tastemakers from around the world.
FS: The Abyss stage features some great local talent. How did you go about discovering these artists?
TT: Many of these artists are DJs that we have worked with for several years in our clubs. We wanted to assemble a group of individuals who we feel best support and foster the community of underground music both locally and regionally and give them a platform to show off their work on a larger scale than in our clubs.
FS: What can you tell us about the festival experience? Maybe some food or retail vendors to look forward to?
TT: You can expect two stages in Downtown Tempe’s streets and a third stage in the nightclub portion of Sunbar. Additionally, we will have clothing vendors such as 6 AM Group & Blvcklist and food like burgers, chicken tenders, ramen, bratwurst, pretzels, and more. Beatbox Beverages will return to host the Abyss stage serving flavors exclusive to their bar in this space, as well as VIP experiences that you have come to see from us over the last year.
FS: What’s one feeling you hope attendees of the inaugural Body Language Festival walk away with?
TT: I hope they walk away feeling like they just experienced something, unlike anything they have experienced in Arizona before.
Tickets are still available for this weekend’s Body Language Festival by clicking here. Securing your weekend ticket also affords you the opportunity to purchase after party tickets, headlined by some of the biggest names on the lineup. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of Arizona festival history!