Imagine Festival 2022 Review

Connor Phillips | October 07, 2022

Imagine Music Festival came back with a vengeance this year. From September 15-18, the renowned experience showcased a nonstop lineup of global talent at its new location Kingston Downs. This reclusive getaway is surrounded by lush woodlands and encompasses rolling hills, open fields, nature trails, and riverfront access. The camping festival could not have picked a better destination or a better weekend for its attendees. All weekend long, the weather was immaculate. While the days were sunny and warm, the nights were a bit cooler, which was ideal when dancing for countless hours.

Opening the festivities, Imagine's Thursday night pre-party was a great precursor for the rest of the weekend. Campers quickly set up their tents and rushed over to the gates to catch the Ophelia Takeover, headed by Seven Lions. Many ravers sat on a giant hill and watched in awe as the performing DJs blessed them with melodic dubstep. Some of the attendees decided to explore the festival grounds, shop around for rave-wear additions, and learn where each stage was positioned.

Day 1 of Imagine was a jam-packed lineup of artists from every genre within electronic music. Rising stars like LUPA played high-energy techno and bass house sets over at the Aeria stage. Another standout set was Borgore B2B Riot Ten at Imagine's most popular stage, Oceania. Their ear-shattering bass erupted over the crowd as everyone collectively broke their necks to the riddim-fueled set. Closing out the night was John Summit and Gorgon City over at the Disco Inferno stage. John Summit had the crowd under his spell with the optimal balance of tech house and techno anthems.

Holding it down for Atlanta on Day 2, techno guru Sam Wolfe and gifted heavy-bass producer Zubah had reality-bending sets. With a one-of-a-kind sunset performance, Air2Earth, Porter Robinson's airy disco and house project, filled the orange sky with groovy basslines. Then HUGEL took the stage for an hour of Latin house that had shufflers going crazy. Around 10 PM, people began to migrate to the Oceania for unique visual and auditory experience that Ganja White Night displays. Finishing up Saturday, Kaskade played an infectious deep house set. The bass was so intense that each note would flow through the attendees' bodies. As the main gates closed, the night owls flocked to the silent disco stage.

Proceeding Kaskade's afternoon pool party the day before, Sunday's pool party on day 3 was hosted by BONNIE X CLYDE and Adventure Club. The Disco Inferno stage quickly started to heat up when Gettoblaster went back to back with Franklyn Watts. Mesmerizing future bass and dubstep artists like Kaivon and ATLiens got things going over at the Oceania stage. After ATLiens, Boogie T and Dirt Monkey dropped a funky set of wubz as the sun went down. House extraordinaries Dombresky, SIDEPIECE, and Dom Dolla wrapped up the weekend for many of the Imagineers. People embraced each other and danced to groovy disco vibes that Dombresky sent out. Then SIDEPIECE and Dom Dolla had the crowd roaring with their fierce unreleased edits.

In regards to the production and scenery throughout Imagine, the views were breathtaking. Each stage had something different to offer and was themed around elements of nature, air, wood, fire, and water. From the Aeria stage, festivalgoers could look out across the festival grounds and the entire camping area. The Disco Inferno stage featured a huge purple octopus and overloaded the crowd with smoke and fire effects. At Amazonia, the stage design was exceptionally detailed and the spotlights were captivating. Lastly, the Oceania stage had massive screens displaying eccentric visuals, which had people pinching themselves in disbelief. Performers on stilts, aquatic-dressed dancers, and sea animal characters roamed around the venue. During Kaskade's headlining sets, fireworks shot out and color-changing orbs flew across the crowd.

In addition to the amazing music and visuals at Imagine, the festival also had phenomenal vendors and side attractions. Attendees could choose anything from strawberry smoothies to vegan chorizo fries and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, along with two conveniently located water filling stations. Relaxation sessions, live painting, and kandi-making booths were some of the crowd favorites throughout the weekend.

In its entirety, Imagine was much more than a music event. The four-day experience took attendees to a place that they thought could only be seen in dreams. With it's star-studded lineup, unbelievable production, and everything else in between, Imagine 2022 climbed to the top of list when it comes to music festivals.

Photos courtesy of Imagine Festival