2016 marked the first year of Imagine Music Festival taking place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The larger venue allowed for an impressive layout of stages catering to specific styles of music: the Oceania Stage hosted an assortment of big names and headliners, the Amazonia Stage trended towards live music, funk, and glitch, the Aeria Stage had a slew of heavier drum & bass and dubstep, and the Disco Inferno stage naturally showcased an assortment of disco, house, and techno artists. Imagine will be building upon the success of the curated stages, notably with the Disco Inferno Stage, which will feature Claude VonStroke and the Dirtybird Players Stage.
Barclay Crenshaw, AKA Claude VonStroke, has been building the Dirtybird Records brand since 2005, specializing in a brand of house music that he’s dubbed “tech funk.” Some of the quintessential characteristics of the Dirtybird brand seem to revolve around having fun, being chill, and just doing your own thing. This is immediately evident given the events that Dirtybird Records has been throwing lately, namely the Dirtybird BBQ series and Dirtybird Campout. If the event names don’t make it clear, a primary goal is to elicit a laid-back feel, with a funky soundtrack of course. After Mixmag voted Dirtybird Records as the number one record label of the decade, Claude VonStroke was surprised and humbled, commenting that “We’ve always done our own thing, even if it wasn’t popular. It definitely wasn’t popular for a while, and it might not even be popular now, but we’re still just doing our own thing.”
Much of the success of Dirtybird could be attributed to this laid-back style of focusing on what’s fun and unique, not necessarily what’s popular or trendy. This style of recruiting artists, running a label, and throwing events should make any house music fan excited to see what’s in store this year for the Disco Inferno Stage at Imagine Music Festival. This year’s Disco Inferno Stage has an impressive lineup, including Dirtybird artists: Claude VonStroke, Shiba San, Will Clarke, Ciszak, and Dateless, as well as Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Claptone, and Nora En Pure. The Dirtybird Players Stage will take place on Sunday, September 24, while the remaining artists will perform at the Disco Inferno Stage throughout the rest of the weekend.
In addition to the music, the festival producers are expanding the stage. Glen Goodhand, Co-Founder of Imagine Music Festival explains what’s in store for this year’s Disco Inferno Stage:
“This year’s Disco Inferno Stage will feature a giant disco ball center piece that shoots a 100 foot flame out of the top of it. Along with many other disco domes sprinkled in the crowd that will have water misting during the day and fire roofs at night. These will all be tied together with an elaborate truss system and massive D&B Audiotechnik sound system so everyone can hear and feel the beautiful sounds. A true 360-degree immersive experience.”
Between the music, atmosphere, and stage production, the Disco Inferno Stage at Imagine Music Festival should certainly heat up the dance floor and get the crowd groovin’ and we can’t wait! If you haven’t purchased tickets yet, GA and VIP tickets are still available through the ticketing website. We hope to see you there!
