Europe dance scene…

…isn’t all about the glitz and glamour as experienced in California, and being from Los Angeles, we are spoiled with love from oversea artists. With that being said, it’s not often that I will see if the grass is greener across the pond when it comes to the grimier side of the dance community as it is not often, we get to travel abroad. But during my visit for Luminosity, I had to experience other things as well.

During my excursion in Europe for the last weekend in June, I found myself stepping out of my comfort zone in terms of festivals I would normally attend. Instead of a trance or techno festival, I found myself in the countryside of Belgium attending the biggest dubstep and drum ‘n bass festival in the world; Rampage. And let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

Rampage was held in a small town named Lommel, Belgium about 1 hour and 45 mins from Antwerp, Belgium from Friday June 30^th through Sunday July 2^nd . It felt like a mini version of EDC but specific to only two genres of EDM. The festival itself was well laid out with six stages, three pools with several carnival rides, and a variety of different food options, plus food trucks for specialty foods such as dessert, pasta, Asian noodles, waffles, and crepes. The one thing that stood out, was the mini skateboarding park with a big and small ramp in the center of the festival next to the swings.

Transportation logistics were somewhat of a nightmare to figure out. While my accommodation was only a 15-minute car ride away, calling an Uber was virtually non-existent and taxis wanted to charge 80 euros. On the first night we grabbed the train to Mol, to catch the shuttle there to Lommel, but there was no sign or anything. Lommel is in between Pelt and Mol, so essentially, we had made a big u-turn because transportation logistics were an issue, I was unable to make it inside the festival Saturday as trains don’t run on weekends and we didn’t know where the bus station was. Aside from transportation nightmares, the weather was not on our side; rainy, overcast and cold.

Overall, I had a good time, despite not knowing very many artists. It was an experience and an adventure. Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone pays off.

-Sharissa Garcia