Top 5 Performances at Spring Awakening 2013

June 14^th kicked off festival season for me here at Run The Trap, and what better way to do so than throwing down on the legendary Soldier Field (literally standing on the field where the Bears play, dancing to some of my favorite artists), you just can’t beat it. 2013 marks the second year of Spring Awakening Music Festival, and React Presents and everyone else involved did a supreme job of running this event for the second year in a row.

They do a stellar job of making the festival experience as enjoyable as possible, with tons of free cold water fountains, tons of seating throughout the fest, and one of the cleanest festivals I’ve ever been to. Did I mention actual bathrooms? Always a plus (ask your girlfriend).

There was a ton of quality talent at SAMF this year, far too much that I can accurately describe. But let me just get  to the point and spell out my personal top 5 favorite sets of the weekend.

Top 5 Performances at Spring Awakening 2013

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5. Break Science

One of the sleepers of Spring Awakening in my opinion, Break Science came through with the PLM grooves that your soul can’t help but love. Not to mention they bring the live drum kit and instrumentation into play, that shit is just too good..

Low quality live vid:

Their Twilight Frequency collab  EP w/ Michal Menert is dope AF too:

4. Gramatik

Similar to Break Science (as far as PLM vibes go), Gramatik always brings his A game when he’s stepping up to the decks. Not to mention he’s joined by his guitarist Ales, assuring they bring the funk, and they do it right. There’s just something about funk-ed out hip hop instrumentals that I can’t help but love. Not to mention the weather was fantastic and it was a great kickoff into the night at hand.

3. Moby

I remember the first time I saw Moby at North Coast here in Chicago two or three years ago with completely no expectations what so ever. Expecting a chilled out set with tracks like Porcelain and Natural Blues to vibe out to, but no.. Moby brings it hard! It was one of the most talked about sets that year, and he came through with the same accord for SAMF 2o13. There’s just something about Moby playing hard techno that is so enjoyable.. The guy is a wizard when it comes to music production as well, so you can only imagine how great his sets are. Truly a pro at his craft.

2. Flosstradamus

How could the titans of the turnup not be in our top picks? We run the trap over here bru bru.. Nothing put more of a smile on my face than seeing that Floss-ed out chicago flag light up and the home town Chicago homies throw shit down on the legendary Soldier Field. Must have been a dream come true for Josh and Curt, and we couldn’t be happier about it.

1. Bassnectar

Bassnectar, mainstage, to close out Saturday night of SAMF 2o13… Need I say More? Ok I will. As we all probably know Lorin always throws down an epic set, mixing with 2 laptops and 2 trigger fingers for an intense and always-custom live experience. Lorin’s set also had a perfectly times 10 minutes of rain showers, proving to be an amazing way to close out the second night of the festival. Plus, it’s Bassnectar guys, he throws shit down.. Dude was using 808’s before it was cool.

Top 5 Performances at Spring Awakening 2013