Motive Events has been a bridge connecting the underground with mainstream in SoCal (L.A mainly) for years

On Saturday, April 22^nd, 2017, they did it again with 420 Fest held at the beautiful Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. This venue has gone through renovations and the go-to spot for some spectacular events. The sound, lasers and lights made it a joy to party on the main floor or in the balcony chilling with your friends.  This year, 420 Fest went big with four rooms hosting a variety of sounds of local talents in two small rooms while the Bass Arena and Temple of Trance stage brought in some big names like Nitrous Oxide, Wuki, Dan Stone, Ricky Remedy, Lostly, Dack Janiels, Transcendent, Mr. Brooks and Geo to name a few.

Spending most of my time in the Temple of Trance, I did venture around exploring the different local artists and head bangers of the Bass Arena. Going hard from the get go was Geo playing some old favorite tracks of mine with a heavy bass remix. I was smiling as I watched a mosh pit form and the crowd went wild as the let loose. Other artist such as Wuki who I haven’t seen in a few years definitely had the crowd going hard and jumping with his hair flying over the place. Though I wanted to enjoy my time down there, the Temple of Trance was definitely calling my name so like a moth to a flame I couldn’t stay away.

One of my favorite part of attending Motive Events is seeing local DJs performing next to big names. For many of these artists, it is their chance to showcase their talents and really build a following. Like L.A local Krystal Ramirez, better known as Transcendent, is one of only three females (besides Kristina Sky and Nifra) to have performed on a Dreamstate stage proving time and time again that your inner circle is vital to your success. It was awesome to see Transcendent’s perseverance earned herself a well deserve time slot opening for Dan Stone with her signature style of hard-hitting psy and techy trance. It was awesome for her to join Trance Family LA in our group photo as we always support her.

The trance journey was amazing as Dan Stone, Lostly, and Nitrous Oxide brought the house down. Each one of them interacted with the crowd showing a more personal side. The smaller stage allowed for an almost intimate setting as fans were literally right there. Intricacy founder and long time trance fan Baraki Deal was all over the place and on several occasions got Dan Stone to dab during his set, nicknaming him Dab Stone for the night. Usually I would frown at dabbing in trance, but it was actually too funny not to laugh.

As the night came to an end, we gathered for a final group photo, DJs gave out autographs and last-minute chit-chat with friends who had fun spending a majority of their time in the Bass Arena. Motive Events did it again and I cannot wait to attend their next event.

-Danielle Sanders