16 Jaw-Dropping Festival Stages in 2016
Article by: emily ward|@_drawylimeThu December 22, 2016 | 00:00 AM
Well, we made it. 2016 is finally in the rearview mirror. In a year marked by an abundance of ugliness, we were still spoiled in the name of a good party. The global festival community spent hundreds (if not thousands) of hours in the company of stages that moved, swirled, exploded, morphed and liquified right in front of us. Stunning projection mapping and the brightest colors imaginable? Standard.
Thousands of talented people all over the world spent countless hours planning, designing and building 2016’s festival stages, and innovators have emerged. Fortunately for us, festival production designers are increasingly comfortable with tossing the idea that “bigger = better” out the window. The coolest stages weren’t regularly the biggest. Robust visual layouts, innovative design (often via recycled materials!), thoughtful construction with the audience experience top of mind, - these aspects set a small percentage of stages apart. most memorable stages.
A lot of the stages featured below are repeated from our 2015 list because they’re simply stunning. In a nod to open interpretations of “coolness,” the world’s recognizable stages are absent to make room in favor of more unconventional structures.
Behold, a visual smorgasbord of our favorite festival stages from 2016.
Boom Festival, Portugal - "Dance Temple"
Creators : The DoLab & Vita Motus (California) , Boom Festival Productions (Portugal)
Dominator Festival , Netherlands - "Methods of Mutilation"
Creators: StageKings (Netherlands), WICreations (Netherlands)
Alfa Future People, Russia - Main Stage
Creator: Bassline Productions (UK)
Sensation, Netherlands - "Angels & Demons"
Creator: ID&T (Netherlands)
Electric Daisy Carnival, Nevada, USA - Kinetic Field
Creator: Insomniac Events (CA), Stageco
Extrema Outdoor, Belgium - "RowShow"
Creator: elrowFamily
Defqon 1, Netherlands - Red Stage
Photo by: Defqon 1
Creator: Q-Dance Australia (Design, Logistics)
Outlook Festival, Croatia - "Noah's Ballroom"
C reators: Whole Nine Yards (Stage, Production Design), RG Jones Sound Engineering (Sound)
Mysteryland, Netherlands - Main Stage
Created By: ID&T (Stage Design)
Burning Man, Nevada, USA - "The Mayan Warrior"
Created By: Mayan Warrior Team (Mexico)
Envision Festival , Costa Rica - Luna Stage
Created By: Tico Sighting and Astra Projections, (Projections), Carey Thompson (Stage Design)
Electric Zoo, New York - Sunday School Grove
Creator/Designer: Sunday School (Programming), Made Event (EZoo Production),
Symbiosis Gathering, California, USA - Juke Lagoon
Creator/Designer: William “dalabil” Potvin & The Department of Visual Consciousness
Did we miss any of your favorite festival stages?