With artists such as Pretty Lights, Zeds Dead and Wiz Khalifa, Euphoria Music Festival brought a colorful, multi-faceted and unique showcase of music to Austin’s Carson Creek Ranch last weekend.

Story by Marilee Bodden

Upon entering the festival, visitors are greeted with three stages: vendors selling everything from body paints and massages to hula hoops and trippy Rick and Morty pins, artists painting psychedelic landscapes and people, each one more unique than the last, dressed in crazy apparel composed of every color of the rainbow.

If you are camping, you set up your campsite, greet your friendly neighbors, and try to contain your enthusiasm for the weekend that is to come. You visit the Art Outside Village, which is only available to campers. It is there that you will find the silent disco stage, the art gallery, a big rack of eno hammocks and some magical contraption called a “gong bath.” A gong bath is composed of a series of large gongs hung on a dome of metal framework that you and your companions sit in the middle of. You are then transported to another dimension by the spaceship drivers (as they call themselves), while they bang and tap on the gongs that surround you.

On Friday evening, the melodious sounds of funky, indie-electronic artist FKJ, a.k.a French Kiwi Juice, fill Euphoria’s Dragonfly Stage located on the river. As a diverse musician and a solo act, FKJ placed several different instruments around stage, which he would pick up when necessary and play with precision and ease. Other electronic artists like Dr. Fresch and Minnesota played equally admirable sets. Headlining that night were Pretty Lights, The Disco Biscuits and Knife Party, each bringing a different sector of electronic music to the ears of the Euphorians. Bathed in a sea of lasers, Pretty Lights played for two funk-filled hours.

The next day brought laid-back electronic artists including Bob Moses and Papadosio alongside grimier, bass-heavy electronic artists like Ganja White Night. Local artists such as Capyac, Blunt Force and Maddy O’Neal also shook up the crowd and kept up with the funky Austin vibe in their performances. Capyac’s members, donned in everything from pineapple hats to leis made of lemons, played hits such as “Speedracer” and “Disco Muse” from a stage filled with inflatable eyeballs, creating a set full of fun.

Later on, Post Malone serenaded the crowd with his calming, serene and emotional  hip-hop and rap tunes. Rapper Young Thug, EDM artist Oliver Heldens and electro-funk artist The Floozies headlined that night, each artist quite different from the last. At night, the festival grounds are aglow with light and the air full of electricity. Lasers from stage cut through the sky into the trees, and everywhere there are light up hula-hoops, flow toys and clothing.

After hours, if you’re still awake, you can head to the silent disco, where three DJ’s play on stage simultaneously. You are handed a pair of headphones with a dial that lets you change which DJ you’re listening to as well as  the color of the headphone lights (which correspond to which DJ you’re gettin’ down and dirty to). Listening to music only they can hear, everyone dances into the silent night.

The last day showcased artists such as Dumpstaphunk, Petit Biscuit, Chromeo, Moby and headliner Zeds Dead (all are of which fall into various sectors of the electronic spectrum.) Moby, age 51, wasn’t too old to drop all his dirtiest hits and shake up Euphoria’s crowd with his bass. Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption, a reggae group, filled Euphoria with easygoing, head-boppin’ and beachy songs. Headlining alongside Zeds Dead was Wiz Khalifa, a reputable rapper. Each headliner attracted a diverse crowd, filled with people of all ages and different walks of life, but they all provided  exactly what festival goers came for—a night of amazing music to conclude an even more amazing weekend.