Euphoria Denali Recap
Dancing the night away is easy when the sun never sets.
A spirited gathering experienced Euphoria Denali last month, celebrating the midnight sun in one of the most stunning places on Earth. In Alaska, the summer solstice permits 24 hours of sunlight, resulting in two full days of music, camping and community bonding.
Euphoria joined forces with 49th State Brewing Company to take the festival up north June 17th, 2016; nestled within the Denali National Park and Preserve atop the tallest mountain in the United States.
Our exciting week kicked off with a series of pre-festival “brew chats” at a local pizzeria, and on Friday, the brewery hosted seminars including “Homebrewing 101” and “Grilling with Beer.” Beer knowledge filled minds, while custom brewed Solstice IPA filled stomachs.
However, at the heart of every Euphoria experience is the music. Alaskan locals were introduced to an eclectic lineup featuring no shortage of funk and flavor, in addition to aerial performing artists and fire dancers to give the full festival experience.
Friday evening, Texas talent Rupert the Duke and local DJ Jasper Chili lit up the party before Blunt Force took over with some silky smooth, future funk. Keeping the good vibes flowing, Clark After Dark and Willgood led the tribe into an energetic late night dance session.
Frank Beaumont and Denali Cooks opened Saturday's show before Muzzy Bearr took the stage; the Detroit DJ bringing together a special brew of electronic retro-soul. Dan Hacker (Muzzy Bearr) is a veteran performer that you can usually find gracing the stage with his current tour partner, GRiZ (another Euphoria alumni).
“Alaska is an amazingly beautiful place with some truly unique and inspiring individuals,” Hacker said. “To be able to go up there and do what I love in a place where everybody seems to be living a life that they love was nothing short of inspiring. Euphoria Denali will remain in my heart as one of the best experiences I've had throughout my music making career." —Muzzy Bear
Much to everyone's surprise, Blunt Force took the stage after Muzzy Bearr for an impromptu set.
"For me, I'd say the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night/Sunday morning after Muzzy Bearr finished his set. There was maybe 45 minutes until the venue was going to close, and people kept trying to get us to play a 'renegade' late night set. Since we hadn't originally planned on playing that night, we hauled it back to the hotel to grab our gear and got back with just enough time to start. No sound check, no preparation, we sorta just went for it. We were really piggybacking off the energy of the crowd and rode that vibe into the wee hours of the morning. We wrapped up with an awesome family photo that I felt perfectly summed up the energy in the venue that night. That's probably my favorite impromptou set we've ever played. I'll always remember that night." —Blunt Force
Euphoria Denali’s inaugural solstice celebration was a success, and is on the road to becoming a recurring event. Look out for news about future Denali shows, as well as new Euphoria destinations. THANK YOU to our entire Alaska family for finding Euphoria with us!
