EDM lovers light up Summerfest for Subtronics

Summerfest‘s scope and crowds never fail to amaze: 12 stages; hundreds of artists; and Milwaukee, ever-so-eager to kick off each new festival weekend. On Thursday night, Subtronics paid a visit to Summerfest. The crowd impressed with its own scope, energy, and numbers, reaching all the way to the very back of the Generac Power Stage area, spilling into its bordering pavement with force and fun.

Only two months ago, Subtronics (Jesse Kardon) played two weekend Sahara Tent sets at Coachella, immersing hundreds of thousands of listeners in his electronic sound. You could say Milwaukee is like the valley, but with more lake and a lot more Giannis jerseys in the crowd.

Kardon is a DJ and producer who has not only played Coachella and some of the most well-known EDM festivals in the world, but frequents electronic music charts and has experimented with electronic music since high school.

Around 7 p.m., before entering the grounds, it was obvious Subtronics fans were filling the sidewalks leading to Lincoln Memorial Drive, with rainbow scarves, sunglasses, and EDM dumping out of vehicles.

The walk inside the park was met, of course, with the sight of famous rainbow SkyGliders and dangling feet; a glowing Waxing Gibbous moon in the sky; and, this year, a FuzzPop Workshop sculpture called “Radiant Echoes.” The installation glows and fogs over on the north side of the grounds, appearing as giant radiant plants.

Subtronics’ opener was Grabbitz, who went onto the Generac stage around 8. Grabbitz, a.k.a. Nicholas Chiari, is a producer and electronic artist who has nearly two million monthly Spotify listeners, as well as a roster of work alongside artists like Subtronics, LEVEL UP, Zedd, VALORANT, and more, as listed on Spotify. Grabbitz surprised with a silly singalong to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and a preview of a new collaboration for Milwaukee.

Subtronics went on to play a mix of his signature pieces like “Itchy Scratchy,” “Lock In,” “Eyes Cut Deeper (feat. Inéz),” and the remix of “Black Out Days” by Phantogram, among many other popular tracks. Subtronics mixed dubstep and heavy bass with pop songs and snippets of dialogue at an incredibly rapid and exciting pace.

Kardon was energetic, moving the entire set and jumping on and off of platforms for drops, geometrics in the background and on screens spinning, spiraling, and moving like eyeballs peaking on the crowd.

One of my favorite parts of the experience was watching the person next to me use a Nintendo DS to take photos of the set. I also appreciated the kindness of a stranger who filled in benches to help out during restroom breaks.

The stands were body-to-body, and people filled in between the bleachers to dance around and meet up with their friends and Midwestern acquaintances. Small dance crowds formed on the sides of the bleachers like circles of jumping beans. Nearby, Icelandic band KALEO played on the Miller Lite Oasis Stage, with the deep voice of lead singer JJ Julius Son drawing folks in as they wandered past.

At the end of the night, performers on the Generac stage thanked Milwaukee for showing up and being awesome.

For Subtronics, Thursday was the beginning of a three-day, four-show run across the nation. For Summerfest-goers, Thursday was the start of another festival weekend, with more shows Friday, Saturday, and next weekend.

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