On the first week of July, we headed to AIM Festival. This is the second time we covered that festival. This year they went much bigger, offering 5 different stages (Bass, Multicultural, Trance, Main, and Monolithes)—satisfying all the various musical tastes of the festival lovers. The best thing about it was that it did not compromise the essence of the festival [ musically ], in other words it didn’t have to depend on the most mainstream, latest and greatest acts but focused primarily on the quality of the music and its atmosphere.
The lineup that we were most ecstatic about was the Main stage, which had veteran acts like Way out West, Dubfire, Sasha, Danny Tenaglia, amongst others. Most, if not all, are still at the top of their game. They also had the Trance stage that had massive acts like Ally and Fila, Grum, Emma Hewitt etc. Personally, however, aside from the Main stage, Trance seemed to be the second busiest stage, gathering massive crowds throughout the festival. Another new stage was the Bass stage. I gave this one a shot but its really not something that I can stand listening to for hours and hours, This stage appealed mostly to the younger generation and there seemed to be a lot of head banging. At times, it felt like I was at a metal concert without the mosh pits (at least I did not see one.) Then there was the Multi-Cultural stage that had a variety of dance rhythms and hosted a very zen-like environment. Overall it had everything for everyone.
Sunday was definitely the best day, the festival switched up and became a more intimate place with ‘I Dream All Day’. This was a series of events founded by Lee Burridge. The whole festival became more intimate, creating a whole different vibe. Although you still had the other stages, in case you wanted something different, ‘I Dream All Day’ was the stage to be at on Sunday. This year AIM has proven to be one of the biggest festivals in the country. It wouldn’t surprise me, that this festival in particular grows to be a major international attraction within the dance scene because this festival will surely keep you dancing.
Edited by: Shawna Cyr Calder.
