Hardstyle brings an energy that no other festival can quite deliver. It’s loud, relentless and full of movement, with BPMs that seem to hit you from every direction. The bass moves through your body as crowds swarm the stages of their must-see DJs. Not even ten minutes in and I was popping in my earplugs. It was going to be an intense night.
From the moment I walked in, I could feel the excitement. I had never seen this many people at a festival. As festival goers found their spots in the pit, the DJs came in hot and did not let up.
I chose to start at The Shelter stage. That’s where the harder style of EDM was playing, and for me, I knew it would be the most fun. The stage was insane, with lights, fog machines and wild visuals. I was literally discovering a whole new world I never knew existed. Anticipation for the rest of the night was high.
As I explored the other stages to see what they had to offer, all the while trying to pace myself, I took the opportunity to check out the vegan food options. Unfortunately, this venue didn’t have many compared to other festivals I’ve attended. The choices were wood-fired vegan cheese pizza, garlic noodles with the option of adding king mushrooms for protein, and mushroom skewers.
Since Wasteland was a two-day festival, I had plenty of DJs to choose from, and honestly, I enjoyed most of them. I spent the majority of my time at The Shelter, with occasional visits over to The Hanger. The style of music was really what kept me there. As long as I can dance, I’m good.
Hardstyle has its own style of dance, with shuffling and T-shuffling showing up across different styles of EDM and house music, while hakken is specifically associated with hardstyle. I even tried to get in on it while I was in the moment. Let’s just say hakken is going to take some practice. It’s definitely not something you learn overnight. I’ll be practicing for sure.
Wasteland runs on a much later schedule than most festivals. It kicked off at 6 PM and ran until 2 AM, which actually worked well for an event centered around hardstyle. There were three stages: The Hanger, The Scrap Yard and The Shelter. The venue itself was on the smaller side, so getting from one stage to another was pretty easy. The biggest challenge was navigating through the crowds once things really got going.
As for next year and whether I’ll be there, it really depends on the lineup. I did enjoy myself, and the crowd was extremely PLUR. Everyone was there to dance, have a good time and enjoy the music, and that made the experience even better.
Overall, Wasteland was definitely an experience. I went in knowing I liked hardstyle, but I left with a better appreciation for the music, the culture and the people who make up the community. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Just give me one day and let me recover afterward.
