Decadence Arizona 2021 Review: New Year’s Eve Idyllic Camelot

Decadence Arizona 2021 was New Year’s Eve land of milk and honey. This was Decadence’s biggest production to date and implored ravers located in Arizona and across the country to luxuriate the final moments of 2021. A transcendent experience filled with five stages of incredible music, stunning graphics and pyrotechnics, and a beautiful cast of costumed performers, Decadence Arizona was this year's go-to New Year's celebration. 

Grand Palace: Camelot's Core

The Grand Palace stage screen was enormous enough to be seen from the parking lot, and accentuated with fire pyrotechnics and state of the art lasers that reached far beyond the outskirts. A drone and additional LED screens were placed around the perimeter for both general admission and the two VIP floors.

DJ Snake, Kaskade, Alison Wonderland Seven Lions, and BIJOU along with a plethora of other striking producers graced the Grand Palace. Day 1 dumbfounded the audience with an image of Kim Kardashian with a pentagram on her forehead lip-syncing to Alan Walker lyrics during his set. Dillon Francis’ midnight performance included the countdown and affirmations to ring in the New Year with optimistic aspirations for 2022. The unifying afterglow of the New Year countdown was preserved in kisses lasting long after the balloons spilled from the ceiling.

After Dillon Francis’ performance, it began to rain and fans flocked to the Grand Palace and Royal Ballroom stages, seconds away from becoming drenched. Everybody in the Grand Palace matched with rain-soaked fur jackets and eagerness for Marshmello's headline set. Excision ended the second day as he delivered his first performance of 2022 at the Grand Palace stage. Mesmerized by Excision's reality-shattering visuals, lasers, and pyrotechnics as he beat-dropped, the crowd was overwhelmed by these prime beginning moments of 2022.

Gleeful Heaven at the Grand Ballroom 

The retired Rawhide Event Center main stage, the Grand Ballroom has been re-vamped to exhibit purely talented artists like Chris Lake, Loud Luxury, Purple Disco Machine, Madeon, Nora En Pure, and Gem & Tauri. The Grand Ballroom followed suit with sharp lasers and crisp visuals, furthering the indecision between the many stage options.

TVBOO had the crowd grinding in the Grand Ballroom while he shared new music from his recent comedic album Songs Your Wife Leaves You To. Fisher’s set was brimming with people on the entrances. The rain and cool air exhilarated the flooded crowd underneath the Grand Ballroom to dance more, creating their own heat and forgetting the existence of the rain. While Fisher intensified the crowd, performers with white monochromatic tuxes, top hats, poi flowlights, and angel wings graced the crowd with their presence.

The Transcendental Playhouse Silent Disco

The Playhouse Silent Disco hosted by BeatBox was a fascinating chance to experience something out of the ordinary. There was an absence of music and conversation, a silence emitting from the stage presenting three DJs: Dark Mark, Paz, and SHSTR. A sea of green, red, and blue lit headphones illuminated the crowd as ravers danced hard and headbanged in silent circles. Other silent disco sets bestowed Social, Medicine Mike, and Mutil8 and Grackle Beats, Bigstabes, and Voodreau. 

Grandiose Go Puff Roller Disco

The Go Puff Roller Disco put a spotlight on artists like Jeff O’Neal, CHKLZ, Jur, and Justin Irby. Tall daisies encircled the roller rink while gleaming colors of pink, purple, blue, and yellow posed as their sun. Roller skating has become a trending flow art and it showed in the cases of many ravers. Ravers now turned roller skaters, held hands to maintain balance and laughed as quickly as they were to slip–a childlike, freeing euphoria.  With flushed cheeks and widening smiles, an endearing couple of lovers fell atop one another like they slipped on cartoon soap during CHKLZ’ hot set of house music.

Jester's Court: Home of the Hardcore Juggernauts 

Jester's Court was the home of wonky, nasty bass faces with featured artists like Sharps, Francis Derelle, M?stic, Lujan, TokyoNotJapan, and Pr!ce. Before Excision’s performance, the midnight showers were spotted at the Jester’s Court stage satisfying their bass fix from the deep, layered riddim tracks courtesy of Odd Language. They became the ultimate epitome of dancing in the rain. 

Weird And Wonderful Cast + Activities

The performers from Decadence's Weird And Wonderful Cast were dressed in dapper, extravagant LED costumes. Posing with attendees, performers wore custom tutus, tuxes, and top hats, with a surplus of corsets and bright, flamboyant feathers. Juggling, hooping, and poi acts joined space-whippers and stilt-walkers to penetrate the crowds during the music sets. Immersive for both rail-breakers in the front and shufflers towards the back, the audience was left on their toes wondering when the next featured performance from the Weird And Wonderful Cast would occur. Costumes weren’t exclusive to the performers. Witnessed at the Grand Palace stage were attendees dressed in fairy wings, banana suits, and smiling white fox masks.

Torn between watching performances and venturing into the rich activities, Decadence's two-day affair allowed fans to conquer every extravagance. Fans could try their hand at axe throwing hosted by Social Axe Throwing or designing their own kandi at Kandies World. Photo opportunities begged to be explored among the wonderland of the Smirnoff Lounge, Bud Light Beer Garden, and Raw Rolling Papers Lounge.

Decadence Arizona 2021 was a breathtaking two-day New Year’s Eve utopia. Starstruck and always wanting more, Arizona can’t wait to see Decadence return in 2022. This is only the beginning of an exceptional year filled with entertainment for Relentless Beats. Join Relentless Beats this February for Crush Arizona and this March for the first annual Body Language.

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