By: Cole Epley

Sonic Bloom Music Festival – June 25-27, 2010

Mishawaka Amphitheater in Poudre Canyon – Bellvue, Colorado

www.sonicbloomfestival.com

Undoubtedly the most revered electronic festival Colorado has to offer, this summer’s Sonic Bloom Festival features a hard-hitting lineup of many of the hottest electronic acts from near and far. Attendees will experience fresh cuts from Polish beatmeister Michal Menert, who co-produced the debut Pretty Lights album; also on the bill are the busybody duo EOTO, VibesquaD, Zilla, Big Gigantic, Eskmo, Jantsen and Evan Bluetech. Visit www.sonicbloomfestival.com to catch a peek at the electrifying lineup in store for this year’s festival.

Tickets: Tickets are being released in three separate tiers to this summer’s event and all passes are full-event passes ONLY. The early bird tier of passes has sold out and Tier 1 Advanced tickets are available at the event website for $125. Three-Day Event Passes include parking fees and shuttles to and from the parking lot. When these sell out, the price will increase to $135 and will comprise the final tier of online ticket sales. Passes will be available at the festival gates for $150. VIP packages are available for $300 and include a Three-Day Event Pass, VIP camping, VIP viewing area access and a plethora of other goodies, including artist meet-and-greets. Check the site for full VIP package details.

Camping: Please note that while camping access is included with the VIP Event Passes, you MUST have a Camping Pass to accompany your Three-Day Event Pass if you intend on camping at the base of Poudre Canyon. Camping Passes are available on the website for just $20; the passes will be available at the gate for $30 but may be subject to limited availability. Camping Passes include access to shuttles to and from the camping area to the festival site. VIP campsites will have fire rings and general campsites have access to grills for cooking. Fireworks are prohibited at Sonic Bloom as are any and all pets.

Stages & Vendors: In the past, Sonic Bloom organizers have made efforts to avoid overlapping sets between the two- or even three-stage set-ups. As set times and schedules are yet to-be-announced, be sure to check either here or at the festival site to stay updated on the who, when and where of what will be played. The Sonic Bloom Festival always has a host of vending on-site and goods available range from the typical food vendors to specialties guaranteed to please the palate of even the most finicky of eaters. Also available will be hand-blown glassware, hula hoops, handcrafted goods and artist-specific merchandise. Check back with the Sonic Bloom homepage as the event draws nearer to get more specific details on event vending.

Activities: Aside from enjoying the sheer beauty of Poudre Canyon and its Rocky Mountain surroundings, festival goers will have a multitude of activities to keep themselves busy for the weekend: rock climbing, bouldering, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, kayaking and day hiking are all available to those interested. Stay tuned to the festival website to get information regarding equipment rentals and hiking/biking routes and maps. Sonic Bloom will also be hosting discounted gear/equipment rentals for various activities—more information will soon be available on the website. A host of visual artists will be on hand to present art installations covering the gamut of photography, videography, painting installations, portraits, light shows and everything in between. Fusion dance troupes and various performers will perform throughout the festivities, sometimes even joining artists on stage to showcase fire dancing, fire eating, hoop dancing and a hodgepodge of other professional, artistic performances.

Workshops: Workshops at the 2010 Sonic Bloom Festival will include a variety of topics ranging from yoga workshops to hula hooping and the unified field theory of physics. Check out the festival homepage to stay updated on the various scheduled workshops offered by festival organizers.

Natural Surroundings: Poudre Canyon is a narrow, 40-mile long canyon created thousands of years ago by glaciers. The Cache la Poudre River winds through the canyon, which is marked by numerous glacial sedimentary deposits and forested growth of evergreen trees and shrubbery. Countless boulders and rock faces provide breathtaking views of wilderness left largely unchanged by man, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife goes to lengths to stock the Poudre River with various species of trout. Due to risk of wildfire, open fires are largely prohibited within the festival confines, although organizers will host a number of bonfires open to all festival attendees.

Sustainability & Social Awareness: The Sonic Bloom festival organizers have teamed up with The Basics Fund to provide safe and environmentally friendly shuttle transportation for festival goers in 2010. The lengths Sonic Bloom has gone to ensure that the event leaves as small of an environmental footprint as possible are commendable: the nonprofit shuttles are powered by biodiesel and all drivers are subject to strict codes of conduct to ensure the safety of both attendees and other drivers on the road. Garbage and recycling receptacles will be available to all attendees as well. Organizers have also joined forces with Conscious Alliance, who will be giving away Sonic Bloom posters in exchange for the donation of 10 non-perishable food items at this year’s festival—just look for the donation bins near the festival gates! All donations will benefit CA’s ‘Project Restoration,’ “an ongoing project to deliver emergency food relief to American Indian Reservations of the Greater Western United States.” Monetary donations are also accepted.

Untz Featured Genres: dubstep, electro, livetronica, house, breaks, downtempo, gltich, and hip hop.