Breakaway Boston festival: 'New England EDM, finally!'

I go to more than my fair share of concerts and music festivals, but I was up front with promoters for the inaugural Breakaway Boston electronic dance music (EDM) festival when they reached out to offer a media pass—this style of music was outside of my usual sphere. But what the heck, I’m up for new experiences and also wanted to check out the Stage @ Suffolk Downs, which opened this year at the old East Boston horse racing track that still features many structural remnants of its former use.

I’d only been to Suffolk Downs once before, back in the mid-1990s to see a legendary thoroughbred named Cigar whup the rest of the field at the MassCap. That was before, I’d wager, most of my fellow EDM festival attendees were born.

After arriving at the event via a sluggish green line/blue line combination, I got the lay of the spacious venue, which featured one main stage, a border of merch, food/beverage, and other stalls, plus fun activities in between.

Before I had a chance to get too lost, I had the good fortune to meet Jason, who took me under his wing after spotting my camera and asking me to take his photo wearing a newly acquired “Everything We Need is Already Here” T-shirt in a nod to headlining DJ Porter Robinson.

Breakaway Boston festival Stage @ Suffolk Downs — My impromptu tour guide Jason taking in the sunset

“You want a headline for your article?” he asked me, upon learning that I’d be posting about the show. “New England EDM, finally!” Done (see above).

No stranger to the club scene from the west to east coasts, and in between, Jason said it was about time an EDM festival came to town. Breakaway has been hosting such events in other parts of the country, beginning in Columbus, Ohio, since 2013.

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My new festival friend pulled me into the fray at Breakaway as I peppered him with questions about what we were seeing, hearing, and experiencing. I’d been to EDM performances at festivals like Boston Calling, seeing the likes of Odesza and Disclosure, just not to a full-on EDM extravaganza.

And it wasn’t like I hadn’t done my homework for this event. I knew that Night Tales, the first performers I saw upon arrival, hailed from Australia. The tandem, splitting duties between DJ and vocals, got the pre-dusk crowd jumping with offerings such as “Phoenix,” with its chorus of “Come out from the dark, in through the fire,” and “Lovesong,” a cover of The Cure song familiar to alternative music fans like myself.

Knock2 out of San Diego has been enjoying his rapid rise, and ratcheted the crowd enthusiasm even higher, moving between his spot behind the DJ gear to strutting across the platform. Banter was limited during my spell at the festival to obligatory “How you doin’ Boston,” urgings to get crazier and louder and raise those hands, and requests for end-of-show selfies.

Jason filled in my knowledge gaps as we wove toward the front of crowd with future house DJ Tchami taking the stage high above us, manipulating mixers and digital turntables to pump out non-stop danceable music heavy on bass and drops. The artists at these shows, he said, are typically some combination of performer-producer-DJ, with Tchami excelling as both a producer and DJ. The French producer is partial to religious wear and symbolism, and indeed appeared as a shadowy figure on stage as he hit us with beautiful and blinding visuals ranging from stained glass imagery to complete conflagration.

“This is where the heart of the crowd is,” Jason emphasized, as we took in a spectacular sunrise washing over blissful attendees fully bowing at Tchami’s alter as he pumped out “The Calling,” with its chorus of “Searching for a higher calling…”

The sunrise took an already spectacular light and visual show up a notch, and I’m not just talking about the stage effects. Attendees went all out with their light-up and sparkly outfits on what could be one of the last chances to show them off before cooler weather hits the region.

A show-goer named Matt next to us really liked his colors judging by his choice of wardrobe, which featured all of them. He introduced himself by saying: “I’m completely sober, but take a look through these glasses.” He handed me a pair of 3D diffraction specs that added a layer of kaleidoscope over the already visually enveloping stage show. “Whoa!” was the only appropriate reaction.

Matt, a veteran of much larger EDM festivals, said he was impressed with the opening night of Breakaway’s 2-day stay at Suffolk Downs. “These shows are great for meeting people from all over, the crowds tend to be very international.”

If you’ve never been to an EDM festival, half the fun is people watching and meeting, as groups assemble in coordinated outfits based on color or themes. At Breakaway, there were the horse people, the lobster people, and the giraffe people, among others. But all members of the human/animal kingdoms seemed to get along just fine, whether it was rolling or stumbling around the roller skating rink or blissing out at the Silent Disco, where we donned illuminated headsets fed music by one of three DJs depending upon whether we switched on the red, green, or blue on our gear.

And for those embroiled in local pickleball noise disputes as in Wellesley, by the way, it would appear the real solution to drowning out the pop-pop-pop of the paddle sport is to crank up the EDM. A pickleball court in the middle of the spacious Suffolk Downs venue provided entertainment for those playing and watching, as errant strikes floated past passersby.

Much of the rest of the venue is covered in grass, providing a soft landing for those of us who needed to give our feet a break here and there. After all, as an EDM festival newcomer, I knew pacing was key to survival, and so did many other attendees, as there were still after-parties to hit.