Future Forest has been embracing the future like it’s the present, and just in time considering the impact COVID-19 has had on the 2020 festival season. The festival is going digital with Virtual Spring, the online equivalent of their arboreal dance party. Today Future Forest announced the line-up for their inaugural two-day live-streamed event.
Live-streaming has become the world’s favourite pastime since we were all locked down two months ago. Festivals, eager to jump on the latest and greatest (and with few other options), pivoted to meet their audiences online. While many festivals have been content to simply share the broadcasts of their artists, some festivals, like Future Forest, have gone the extra mile to create a whole new experience.
Earlier this month, Future Forest announced they have been working with visual artist Wasko to create an immersive experience by designing a virtual 3D Prism Stage to replicate the very real physical counterpart on the festival ground.
“We have figured out a way to implement the virtual stages we have been creating into the Unreal 4 gaming engine and are just scratching the surface of this but with funding the possibilities are endless,” says Future Forest’s director Tim Kukula.
The festival also announced their (mostly) full line-up today.
Friday
PINEO & LOEB [ NS | Westwood / Sleeveless / Asylum ]
Funk // House // Electronic Dance // Rock //
Miz Megs [ TOR | Techno // House // Bass-House ]
Freddy J [ AB | Electric Love / TruFunk / Emengy / Gauntlet ]
Bassline // Funk // Breaks // Electro // Bass Music
Leiya [ NB | Techno // House // 4×4 ]
Troy Power [ NS | Lighthouse / Home Bass ]
House // Techno // Bassline // Frogs
Aryn Benoit [ NB | House // Breaks // Funk ]
BassGrynder [ NB | Electro // House // DnB ]
Brick Haus [ AB | House // Funk // Breaks ]
Saturday
Anna Morgan DJ [ NYC | Worst Behaviour Recs ]
Bass // Halftime // 160 // Dancehall // Jungle // 808
Mat The Alien [ BC | Really Good / Monster Energy ]
Turntablism // Bass // Grime // Dubstep // Beats // Reggae
Beat Kitty [ NYC | Home Bass / Vitamin B ]
Left-Field // Halftime // Global Bass // Dub
dope [ NS | Saturate / Grease Coast / LoFreq / Opulence ]
Hip-Hop // Grime // Trap // 808 // Experimental
SYSTMS [ MTL | Left-Field // Hybrid Trap // Suplex ]
LISSN [ MTL | Bass // Grime // 808 ]
Siri [ BC | Booms // Blaps // Wormhole ]
NatBeast [ NB | Bass // Psy // DnB ]
Festival organizers say there are still a few more performers to be announced.
Future Forest’s Virtual Spring will be held over two nights on May 29 and May 30, with live-streams expected to last eight hours each. The festival will be streamed over Facebook, Twitch and YouTube, with a suggested donation of $5.00 per day.