The Bronx-born duo have spent years cementing themselves as global forces in house music, taking their unmistakable sound from underground clubs to festival main stages around the world. Now, they’re returning home for a night at one of New York’s most iconic outdoor venues.

The show marks another major moment for EMW Presents, the New York-based event production company focused on pushing the future of electronic music through immersive experiences centered around sound, art, and human connection.

For The Martinez Brothers, this Central Park stop carries an extra layer of significance, tying a hometown performance to one of the city’s most celebrated cultural weekends.

Photo Credit: Phoenix Johnson

The post The Martinez Brothers Return Home for a SummerStage Takeover in Central Park appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

Wander Through Sherwood Forest

Electric Forest wouldn’t be Electric Forest without Sherwood Forest. Sitting at the heart of the festival, this immersive wonderland transforms into a fully interactive world filled with art installations, roaming performers, hidden pathways, and unexpected surprises around every turn. By day, it’s the perfect place to recharge in hammocks or stumble upon creative pop-ups. By night, it becomes something entirely different, with glowing displays, secret parties, and an atmosphere that feels straight out of another universe.

Indulge in Unexpected Dining Experiences

Festival food at Electric Forest goes far beyond the standard late-night slice. Whether you’re in the mood for dim sum, drag brunch, curated wine tastings, or elevated food experiences, the Forest offers plenty of ways to treat yourself between sets. For attendees looking to mix festival chaos with a more indulgent moment, these are something worth booking.

Earn Rewards with the Prize Cart

Leaving the Forest better than you found it comes with perks. One of Electric Forest’s most beloved interactive traditions, the Prize Cart rolls through camp to the sound of its signature remixes, rewarding attendees who help keep the grounds clean by collecting trash and turning it in. Sustainability meets scavenger hunt energy. And yes, the prizes are real.

Get Involved with Plug In Programs

Electric Forest isn’t just a place to attend, it’s a place to create. Through Plug In Programs, artists, makers, creatives, and dreamers can contribute to the festival through workshops, art projects, contests, and collaborative experiences. It’s one of the most community-driven aspects of the Forest and a reminder that the festival thrives because of the people who shape it.

Upgrade to Good Life for the Full Experience

For those wanting a more elevated Forest weekend, the Good Life offers perks that go far beyond camping. Think concierge service, complimentary showers, air-conditioned restrooms, exclusive lounges, charging stations, dedicated food and beverage offerings, and shortcut festival entrances that make getting around significantly easier. Add in happy hour, surprise sets, and a more comfortable place to recharge, and it’s easy to see why so many attendees swear by the Good Life. 

Final Thoughts

Electric Forest has always been about more than just the music. From immersive art and community-driven experiences to unexpected luxuries and unforgettable side quests, the festival offers something around every corner; making the moments between sets just as memorable as the music. 

Photo Credit: Infamous PR

The post Beyond the Music: Experiences You Can’t Miss at Electric Forest 2026 appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

GRiZ

GRiZ’s return to Electric Forest is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated moments of the weekend. Known for his genre-blending sound, live instrumentation, and unmistakable saxophone moments, the Michigan native brings an emotional energy that feels tailor-made for the Forest experience. Whether it’s euphoric bass drops or heartfelt singalongs, this is a set fans won’t want to miss.

Chris Lake

Chris Lake knows exactly how to command a crowd. The house heavyweight has built a reputation for infectious grooves, massive drops, and the kind of tracks that take over dance floors. His Forest set is sure to bring nonstop movement from start to finish, making him an easy must-see for anyone looking to dance the night away. 

DJ Diesel b2b T-Pain

If there’s one wildcard set everyone will be talking about, it’s this one. DJ Diesel and T-Pain going b2b is exactly the kind of unexpected chaos Electric Forest thrives on. Both artists first made their mark in the hip-hop and rap world before carving out surprising lanes in electronic music. Shaq has become a force in dubstep as DJ Diesel, while T-Pain has increasingly stepped into the dance music space. Between DJ Diesel’s larger-than-life bass presence and T-Pain’s undeniable stage charisma, this b2b promises pure entertainment and one of the weekend’s most unforgettable moments.

Mary Droppinz

Mary Droppinz brings the exact kind of playful unpredictability Electric Forest is known for. Blending house, bass, and hip-hop sounds into sets that never take the obvious route, she delivers an energy that feels both chaotic yet fun in the best way. For attendees craving something a little less predictable, Mary Droppinz is guaranteed to be a standout. 

Jackie Hollander

Jackie Hollander has quickly become one of house music’s most exciting rising names, bringing a confident, groovy sound that continues to turn heads across the scene. Her high-energy selections and undeniable stage presence make her a perfect fit for Electric Forest’s atmosphere. If you’re looking to catch one of dance music’s next breakout stars, this set is one to keep on your radar.

Final Thoughts

From hometown hero returns to unexpected crossover sets and rising stars, Electric Forest 2026 will deliver something for every kind of festival-goer. Whether you’re into bass, house, or looking to discover something new and unforgettable, these five acts are worth checking out during your Forest adventure.

Photo credit: Infamous PR

The post 5 Can’t-Miss Acts at Electric Forest 2026 appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

The debate is definitely settled. 
Dancefloors are back and if you’re phone is out on the floor get the fuck off it.

What hasn’t been talked about is the part that runs underneath this movement.  The transmission of a new wave of independent dancefloors. Every one of those rooms is making decisions you don’t see about who processes their tickets, where their fan data lives, what platform sits between the promoter and the door. The cultural choice and the business choice are the same. You can’t run a no-phones policy on a platform that treats your audience like a checkout funnel.

That’s the story that’s actually moving in New York right now, and on May 13th the people running these rooms are sitting down together at Green Room in Brooklyn to talk about it out loud.

Industry Standard is what Shotgun is calling it. The Paris based ticketing platform, now in its fourth year of US operations after launching in 2014, is increasingly the default infrastructure choice for the city’s independent electronic music scene. The brand is hosting its second-ever invite-only gathering of operators; promoters, venue partners, community builders, the people who actually decide what a Wednesday night in Bushwick looks like. The first edition ran during Miami Music Week in March. They provide a space where you can fully disconnect from the outside world and dance with no worries. It’s a haven in a world where everything is being recorded and posted. The communities these shows build continue to prove the impact turning off your phone at a show makes as well. These rooms become safe spaces for the people in them, and we were lucky enough to have had a conversation with the person helping keep these clubs alive.

That person is Zach Walker, the VP of Partnerships at Shotgun. He’s the guy behind the scenes making sure that the best artists, promoters, and venues in NYC are able to build our community. Zach has spent 15 years working across the music industry, from marketing, to editorial work, to ticketing, building his vast knowledge of the industry through operating the mechanics of it. Now at Shotgun, he’s focused on creating spaces where the underground can thrive. 

What’s the actual problem you’re trying to solve by getting these specific people in a room together?

The people running the best rooms in this city already know each other. What they don’t have is a structured way to share the business side of it: what ticket pricing is actually moving, how to handle a slow month, which platforms are genuinely building for independent operators vs. just talking about it. That information circulates in text threads and backstage. We’re trying to make it a real conversation.

To better understand how some of those people are running the best rooms in the city, all you have to do is look at who they are; 

Raw Cuts, the Brooklyn collective founded by Erez Davids and Cal Green, runs one of the most disciplined no-phones, no-VIP formats in the city. They were the centerpiece of the New York Times piece in November. They’ve hosted LF SYSTEM, Carlita, Archie Hamilton, Mella Dee, Locklead rooms at H0L0 in Ridgewood and beyond.

Signal, the East Williamsburg club that opened on Morgan Avenue in May 2025, was designed from the floor up as an acoustics-first room. It’s got a floating wood floor, sculptural walls, three discrete sound systems including a d&b Audiotechnik rig, and a 400 cap. The place is crispy. Joshua Buhler, Leonard Fink, and Nicholas Spector built it after years running the Golden Records NYC party series. Steve O’Sullivan, Dyed Soundorom, Byron The Aquarius, Ron Like Hell, and Mike Servito.

House of Yes, the Bushwick institution founded by Kae Burke and Anya Sapozhnikova, turned ten years old in December. That’s a decade of dance music in one of the most ambitious creative nightlife spaces in Brooklyn.

Book Club Radio runs events disguised as exactly what the name suggests — a Librarian’s Manifesto read aloud before the music starts, an explicit framing of how the room is supposed to behave. EDM Identity profiled them in 2023 as a direct response to dancefloor disengagement. Intentionality as a programming choice.

ZERO Community operates the longest tail of the bunch; seven years of City of Gods at Industry City with House of Yes, an East Coast Halloween fixture, plus The Masquerade series with selectors like Satori, Christian Löffler, Robag Wruhme, and ELIF. 

You have a partner roster in this city that overlaps almost exactly with the venues and collectives that got named in the Times’ phone-free piece: Raw Cuts, House of Yes, Signal. Is that coincidence, or is there something about the kind of operator who chooses Shotgun that maps to the kind of operator running a phone-free room?

It’s not coincidence, but I’d push back on the idea that Shotgun chose them. They chose us, and that distinction matters. The operators running phone-free rooms have already made a decision about what kind of experience they’re building. They’ve decided the floor is worth protecting. When you’ve made that call, you start looking at every other infrastructure decision the same way: who’s processing my tickets, where does my fan data go, is the platform I’m using aligned with what I’m trying to build or working against it. Shotgun doesn’t produce competing events. We’ve turned down acquisition offers. We’re not going to show up in your market running shows next to yours. For an operator who has already decided to protect the room, that’s not a small thing. So yeah, there’s overlap with the Times list. I think what it actually reflects is that a certain kind of operator, one who’s made intentional decisions about the culture they’re building, eventually ends up asking the same questions about their infrastructure. We just happened to be the answer they landed on.

DICE getting acquired by Fever last year was a real moment for a lot of operators in this scene. From where you sit, what actually shifted on the ground after that deal closed and what are promoters telling you they’re now looking for in a ticketing partner that they weren’t asking about two years ago?

The conversations changed. Promoters who had been comfortable started asking questions they weren’t asking before: who owns this now, what does that mean for my fan data, are my early-access lists going into a competitor’s CRM. That’s a legitimate concern. When the platform processing your door is owned by the same company producing events in your market, the conflict is structural.

Shotgun has turned down acquisition offers. You don’t produce your own events. You’re dedicated only to music. In a market where every other major platform has gone the other direction, how do you explain that position to a promoter who’s trying to figure out who to trust with their door for the next five years?

Honestly, I don’t explain it that much. The situation explains itself.

DICE was acquired by Fever. Fever produces events. Eventbrite has been trying to re-enter nightlife for two years and still doesn’t know what it wants to be. The platforms that came up speaking the language of the underground took the highest bid and moved on. That’s just what happened.

Shotgun has been offered acquisition deals. We said no. We don’t produce events in the markets where our partners are operating. We don’t have a festival arm, we’re not building a competing business on top of the data our promoters are generating. That’s not a brand position, that’s just how the company is structured.

For a promoter trying to decide who to trust with their door for the next five years, the question I’d ask is: what does this platform need from me beyond the transaction? If the answer is your audience data to feed their own event business, that’s worth knowing before you sign.

You’ve got NYC Rave Girls, House of Yes, and Xanadu/Danger Danger on the panel — community layer, venue layer, promoter and brand layer. What’s the conversation you’re hoping happens between those three vantage points that doesn’t happen anywhere else?

The honest answer is I want them to disagree.

Mary and Kseniya are coming from the community side. They built NYC Rave Girls from the audience up, which means they think about what a room feels like to the person who bought a ticket and showed up alone hoping to connect with something. That’s a specific vantage point and it doesn’t always align with what a promoter needs to make the economics work.

Ilan has been running House of Yes for ten years. A decade in Bushwick means he’s watched the neighborhood change around him, watched venues open and close, watched the culture shift. He knows what it costs to hold a room together over time and what you have to compromise to do it. That’s different from what the community layer sees.

Ian is operating at the brand and promoter layer where the actual business decisions get made: who’s booking, what’s the ticket price, how do you build an audience that shows up on a Tuesday. 

Those three perspectives don’t naturally agree on what a room is supposed to optimize for. The community wants authenticity, the venue needs longevity, the promoter needs it to pencil out. What I’m hoping happens is that conversation gets had out loud, in a room where people are actually listening, instead of in three separate DMs that never connect.

The phone-free thing reads in the press as a cultural choice, vibe, presence, etc.  But every operator running that policy is also making a series of infrastructure decisions to support it, from door communication to fan data to refund flow. What does a ticketing partner actually do to support a no-phones room that a generic platform doesn’t?

The policy is the easy part. Telling people no phones on the floor takes thirty seconds to write in the event description. What’s harder is building the operational layer that makes it coherent.

Start with door communication. If you’re running a no-phones room, your ticketing partner needs to be able to message your attendees before they arrive, clearly, in your voice, so the policy isn’t a surprise at the door. A generic platform gives you a confirmation email with their branding on it. That’s not the same thing.

Fan data is the bigger issue. The operators running these rooms have built real audiences. People who come back, who follow them to new venues, who trust the curation. That audience relationship lives in the ticket purchase data. If your ticketing platform owns that data and you can’t export it, can’t message those people directly, can’t build on top of it, then you don’t actually own the relationship. You’re renting it from the platform.

Refund flow matters more than people think for this specific format. A no-phones room is a considered experience. The person buying a ticket has made a deliberate choice. When something goes wrong, how that gets handled either reinforces the relationship or breaks it. A checkout funnel built for volume doesn’t have a lot of patience for that nuance.

What we try to do is make sure the infrastructure matches the intention. If an operator has decided the floor is worth protecting, every touchpoint we control should reflect that decision. The confirmation email, the check-in process, the data they walk away with after the show. None of that is glamorous but all of it is what makes the policy real instead of just a caption.

The five operators we’ve been talking about share a real philosophy about what a room is supposed to be. What does the next year look like for an independent NYC promoter who wants to build a business on that philosophy and not get crushed by the consolidation around them?

Harder than it was two years ago and more possible than people think.

The consolidation is real. The platforms that were built around independent culture have mostly been absorbed into companies that don’t share those values.

The venues that defined neighborhoods are closing. The economics of running a 300-cap room in Brooklyn in 2026 are genuinely difficult in a way that requires more than good taste to navigate.

But the operators who are surviving are the ones who figured out that the floor is a relationship, not a transaction. Raw Cuts didn’t build what they built by optimizing ticket yield. House of Yes didn’t make it ten years by treating Bushwick as a market to be captured. The promoters who are still standing are the ones who invested in the audience as a community and built real loyalty that doesn’t disappear when a bigger player moves into the neighborhood.

So practically, what does that look like for the next year? Own your data. Know who your audience is, where they came from, how they found you. Don’t build on infrastructure that extracts that relationship and sells it back to you. Be deliberate about who you partner with because your partners are a signal to your audience about what you value.

And show up. The scene is built by people who are in it, not people who are managing it from a distance. The promoters who are going to be standing in two years are the ones in the room tonight.

Industry Standard NYC takes place May 13th at Green Room in Brooklyn. The gathering is invite-only.

RSVP link: https://shotgun.live/en/festivals/industry-standard-nyc

The post No Phones, No Shortcuts: What NYC’s Phone-Free Rooms Know About Building Nightlife Culture appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

First up is YARD Festival, returning to Portugal’s Setúbal region from May 21–24. Set throughout Azeitão, less than an hour from Lisbon, the four-day festival spans multiple locations including a historic castle, coastal park, and vineyard-lined countryside surrounded by the region’s White Sand Mountains. Blending electronic music with large-scale art installations and Burning Man collaborations, YARD continues building a reputation as one of Europe’s more visually immersive destination festivals. Its 2026 lineup features Bonobo, Jamie Jones, Chris Stussy, Seth Troxler, Monolink, and RY X live.

In Croatia, Gates of Agartha returns June 4–7 inside the dramatic Cave Romane quarry, one of Europe’s most architecturally unique festival settings. Surrounded by towering stone walls and natural acoustics, the open-air venue creates a cinematic atmosphere like no other. This year’s lineup includes ANOTR, Mau P, Dennis Cruz, Hot Since 82, Traumer, and Mita Gami, further cementing the festival’s reputation within Europe’s electronic scene.

Later in the summer, Terminal V Croatia returns to The Garden Resort in Tisno from July 16–20. Set along Croatia’s Adriatic coastline, the festival combines beach stages, boat parties, and waterfront production with forward-thinking house and techno programming. Known for its high-energy atmosphere and international crowd, Terminal V Croatia’s 2026 edition features artists including Ben Klock, Mall Grab, Hannah Laing, Ewan McVicar, Trym, and 999999999.

As electronic music tourism continues expanding globally, festivals like YARD, Gates of Agartha, and Terminal V Croatia highlight the growing demand for destination-led experiences that merge travel, culture, and electronic music into something far beyond a traditional festival weekend.

The post These Festivals Are Turning Historic Landscapes Into Immersive Destination Experiences appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

808 BEACH is the New York duo of John “J-C” Carr and Bill Coleman, two veterans with remix and writing credits running from Deee-Lite and Ultra Naté to Lizzo and Beyoncé. Belle Humble brings her own resume to the table: a multi-platinum songwriter behind Flux Pavilion’s “Cracks” and a long list of cross-genre work with Paloma Faith, Dub Pistols, and Tom Swoon. With 808 BEACH, the groove is a given. With Belle, the vocal lands.

The lead mix keeps the bones of the original in place. Humble’s voice sits clean and bright over Carr and Coleman’s production, expanding the song’s emotional reach without rewriting it.

The post 808 BEACH and Belle Humble rework a Sundays classic for after hours appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

“Polaroids” comes from the Miami-based producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, and it sits squarely in the blurred space between wanting someone and questioning the version of them you’ve built in your head. The track grew out of late-night notes and journal-style writing, and it shows.

“‘Polaroids’ is a song that lives in that blurry space between what’s real and what’s in your head,” Adelle says. “There’s a lyric, ‘I see you every time I close my eyes, are you real?’ and it’s that feeling right before you fall asleep when someone is stuck in your mind and you can’t tell if it’s real or something you’ve created.”

“Polaroids” lets the uncertainty linger instead of forcing a payoff, which is what makes it land. With her festival debut at We Belong Here on deck and a tour schedule rolling out behind it, Adelle has plenty more coming.

The post Listen: Emmy Adelle’s quietly confident new single ‘Polaroids’ appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

Founded in 2016 by Dylan Mamid and Zachary Rapp-Rovan, better known as Zeds Dead, Deadbeats launched with the release of “Back Home” featuring Freddie Gibbs and quickly became a creative home for forward-thinking electronic music. Blending dubstep, drum & bass, house, experimental bass, and hip-hop influences, the label has helped spotlight artists including REZZ, Subtronics, IMANU, Rusko, Caspa, Nostalgix, and CHEE, while its “We Are Deadbeats” compilation series further cemented its influence within bass music culture.

To celebrate its 10-year milestone, Deadbeats marked the occasion with anniversary events in Miami, London, and Paris, bringing together the global community that has grown alongside the label over the past decade.

Beyond releases, Deadbeats has evolved into a larger cultural ecosystem through live events, touring, and fan experiences. The label remains closely tied to Zeds Dead’s immersive live shows, including their annual Deadrocks residency at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which has become one of bass music’s most celebrated traditions. Deadbeats Radio, the duo’s long-running radio show and podcast, has also helped foster a direct connection between the label and its global audience.

The anniversary arrives during another landmark moment for Zeds Dead as they prepare to launch Journey of a Lifetime, the biggest headlining tour of their career celebrating more than 15 years of music. A decade later, Deadbeats continues to push bass music forward while staying rooted in the creativity, experimentation, and community that built it from the start.

The post Deadbeats Celebrates 10 Years as a Defining Force in Bass Music appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

The implications here are subtle, yet significant. We’ve seen brands flirt with social connectivity at events before, but this transcends simple check-ins or hashtag campaigns. The Clinker isn’t *facilitating* interaction; it’s *pre-qualifying* it. It’s a controlled introduction, a guarantee of common ground in a sea of sonic chaos. Think of it as a digital handshake, a shortcut to bypassing the small talk and diving straight into shared musical passion. It’s a far cry from the early days of PLUR, but the intent – fostering connection through music – feels distinctly familiar.

This isn’t just a marketing gimmick. Heineken is placing a bet on the future of festival experiences, one where technology actively curates social circles. The success of this experiment will hinge on whether attendees genuinely embrace the concept, or view it as another layer of mediated interaction. Either way, the conversation has shifted. The future isn’t about *finding* your tribe, it’s about having it *delivered* with your lager.

The post Heineken’s ‘The Clinker’ Smartband Creates Festival Friends appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.

What began as a personal record quickly transformed into an international release after her manager, Dannie Fite, shared the track with HYBE while the label was searching for new material. While several songs initially missed the mark, Softest Hard’s unreleased demo immediately resonated with the team.

“This is exactly what we’re looking for,” she recalled them saying after hearing the track for the first time.

The collaboration came together organically, eventually reaching HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk and the members of LE SSERAFIM themselves, who all quickly connected with the record.

For Softest Hard, the process also highlighted the creative differences between producing electronic music and working within the K-pop space. While EDM traditionally prioritizes longer drops and dance breaks built for live DJ sets, she explained that K-pop songwriting focuses far more heavily on vocals and lyrical structure.

“In the EDM world, it’s more about the drop,” she explained. “You’re anticipating the drop. But in K-pop, it’s more focused on the singing and the overall song structure and that’s something I had to get used to.”

Long before stepping into the global K-pop world, Softest Hard was already building momentum through support from some of dance music’s biggest names. Most notably, Skrillex discovered her music during the SoundCloud era and personally invited her to the studio shortly after she moved to Los Angeles.

“I literally thought it was fake. I had just moved to LA, I was 19, and I thought, ‘There’s no way this is the real Skrillex.’”

The moment became especially full circle considering Skrillex was also responsible for introducing her to electronic music in the first place.

“My first EDM show ever was a Skrillex show,” she recalled.

The mentorship eventually evolved into opening opportunities, unreleased collaborations, and continued support throughout her career. She also credited Diplo with helping shape her artistic development after becoming a resident DJ on Diplo’s Revolution SiriusXM platform, where she was constantly challenged to discover new music and refine her ear as a selector.

Beyond industry mentorship, Softest Hard says her Vietnamese heritage has played a major role in shaping her musical identity. Growing up, she was surrounded by classic dance records and nostalgic electronic tracks played by her mother which influences her productions today.

“My mom used to play tracks like ‘Better Off Alone’ and ‘Blue’ all the time. Dance music is huge in Vietnam, so I grew up with it always in my ear.”

That nostalgia continues to define the core of her evolving sound. While she feels she has now fully developed the balance between the melodic “soft” side of her music and the heavier energy reflected in her name, she says the next chapter is all about experimentation and unexpected collaborations.

“I feel like I’ve perfected that sound, and now it’s about exploring it deeper. I love finding new pockets that I can dive into.”

After more than a decade of grinding within the electronic space, Softest Hard hopes her journey can also inspire younger producers — especially women entering the scene — to remain patient and continue pushing forward despite setbacks.

“It took me 10 years to get something this big,” she said. “You know you’re fire, but other people don’t unless you put yourself out there, so just keep going.” 

With an evolving sound and an eye toward innovation, Softest Hard is carving out a lane entirely her own.

The post Bridging EDM and K-Pop: Softest Hard on Crafting Global Sound appeared first on Dancing Astronaut.