Asia’s biggest dance music festival Sunburn Goa has announced the first phase of its 2014 line-up, showcasing a selection of the world’s best dance music acts. Returning to Vagator Goa on 27th, 28th and 29th of December the line-up will feature the likes of Knife Party, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Sasha, Sander Van Doorn, Krewella, Makj, Paul Oakenfold, Baauer & many more in what is set to be another spectacular festival of music.
With an exotic climate, stunning shorelines and affordable prices, Goa has become one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, not only boasting an incredibly vibrant culture, but also a deep-rooted heritage in electronic music that saw Goa Trance become a globally recognised movement in the late 80s. Continuing this long tradition and rising from the ashes of Goa Trance, Sunburn are pushing boundaries to write the next chapter in Goa’s illustrious history – as Swedish House Mafia member Axwell puts it: "When I play for money I play Vegas, when I play for holidays I play Miami, when I play for love I play India”.
Successfully attracting crowds of well over 160,000 from across the globe, Sunburn has also forged a reputation for its cutting edge music programming, with the likes of Hardwell, David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia and Tiësto all participating in recent years and its 2014 edition will play host to over 150 artists across eight stages.
Kicking off this year’s line-up are Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, the Belgian brotherly duo that have taken the EDM world by storm by recently scooping the no. 2 spot in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs 2014 poll. After exploding on the scene two years ago, they have consistently commanded audiences of over 20,000 at recent gigs and are sure to deliver an earth shattering set at this year’s festival. Heralded Australian duo Knife Party are also sure to delight fans with new material from their forthcoming album ‘Abandon Ship’ when they grace the stage at Sunburn, especially having developed an exciting new audio-visual performance set up that has helped them remain one of the most sought after dance music acts in the world.
Electronic music pioneer and long-time dance icon Sasha is also in line to perform at Sunburn 2014 alongside Dutch trance legend Sander van Doorn – an artist who recently joined up with Martin Garrix and DVBBS on international chart hit ‘Gold Skies’. – whilst British club icon Paul Oakenfold is next to be unveiled, fresh off the back of releasing commemorative album ‘Trance Mission’ earlier this year.
Long-time house music favourite Michael Woods will return to Goa for 2014, after previously playing Sunburn Festival in 2011, as well as 2012’s massive ‘Hangover Tour’ that took in dates across India, whilst Berlin native Oliver Dollar is also set to bring his contemporary brand of deep house to the three-day festival, after recent single ‘Pushing On’ became one of the summer anthems of 2014. US singer-songwriter Matthew Koma is another to watch this year, after lending his dynamic vocals to a number of Top 40 dance records from the likes of Zedd, Nicky Romero, Fedde le Grande, Hardwell and Tiesto over the last two years.
Electro sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf of Krewella are to bring their epic live show to Goa too, blending electro-house, dubstep, drum & bass and progressive house, whilst rising star MAKJ, fresh off the back of holding down a lengthy Las Vegas residency, has announced he will make his Sunburn debut in 2014. Notable Dutch duo DubVision also promise to deliver a high-octane performance of their own, whilst Australian duo New World Sound, still riding high off the success of breakthrough anthem ‘Flutes’, are guaranteed to get the Sunburn party started.
Teen sensation Danny Avila is another hotly tipped star to join the line-up after first coming to the world’s attention following his Vicious Magazine ‘Best Newcomer DJ’ accolade in 2011 – an award he won aged just 16. Like Avila, LA native Paris Blohm has received massive support from the wider clubbing elite having caught the attention of the likes of Tiesto, Hardwell, and Sander Van Doorn, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, revered party starters Deniz Koyu, Far Too Loud and Baauer, producer of viral hit ‘Harlem Shake’, are both sure to bring their own signature brands of club energy to Goa.
Rounding off this blistering line up is a selection of India’s burgeoning young talent, with Anish Sood, Algorythm, Delhi Sultante X Begum x (Live), Dualist Inquiry Band (Live), Joshi, EZ Riser, Shaan, Reggae Rajahs and many more contributing. Sunburn revelers can also expect to find a dedicated ‘Sunburn Goa’ psy-trance stage at this year’s festival, with a whole host of activities at their disposal such as stunt biking, zorbing, volleyball and bungee jumping, with more adrenaline-fuelled surprises in store.
As plans gain momentum, Sunburn Goa 2014 is shaping up to be the festival’s biggest year to date. With the first two phases of early bird tickets selling out in a matter of hours and another phase of artists soon to be announced, this year’s Sunburn looks set to firmly establish India as a major player in global dance culture.