The Techibeats crew had another excellent time in Chicago thanks to the good folks over at React Presents. Mamby On The Beach was everything we were looking for in a mid summer, 4th of July weekend get away. Acts ranging from hip hop to house and from indie bands to techno djs, there is definitely something for every music fan at Mamby On The Beach and not to mention with the less than mainstream lineup the festival is not ridden with EDM kids covered in neon and clenching their jaws. In addition to the three stages there is also a silent disco area, a yoga area, Henna tattoo den, and even a booth with a psychic. After attending the inaugural first year last summer we had a pretty good idea of what to expect with this event however with a new stage in place and expanded grounds, there was plenty of exploring to be had.
Thomas Jack on the Beach Stage
We arrived to Oakwood Beach just around 5pm on Saturday just in time to catch This Ain’t Bristol madman Billy Kenny stepping off stage and welcoming UK sweetheart Hannah Wants onto the decks. Her set was filled with plenty of proper house and garage tunes. One that seemed to go over well with the whole crowd was Claude Von Stroke’s 2016 edit of his classic single ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit?’ After grooving to her beats for a hot minute we dipped out of the DJ tent and caught some sun rays over on the main stage with tropical house maestro, Thomas Jack. His set was filled with plenty of melodic house tracks that seemed to fit perfectly for the Beach Stage setting with the sand in your toes. Once the clock hit 6pm we knew it was time to head back to the DJ tent for our dose of basslines from the big dog Shiba San. Ever since his breakout track ‘Okay’ was released by Dirtybird, Shiba San has been one of our favorites. Two stand out tracks from this set would have to be Justin Martin and Will Clarke’s ‘Back to the Jungle’ as well as Will Clarke’s ‘Booty Percolating.‘ After plenty of 4×4 beats we figured it was time to go cool off at the Beach Stage and catch Minneapolis hip hop act Atmosphere. With plenty of classics in their set including ‘Trying to Find a Balance’, ‘God’s Bathroom Floor’, and ‘The Woman With The Tattooed Hands’; this was definitely a set for those longtime Atmosphere fans. Finally to close out Friday night we headed back to the DJ stage and were mesmerized by Tale of Us for the last hour and a half of the festival. Of course by the end of the night word got out that we missed a special guest performance by Chicago’s very own Chance The Rapper who hopped on stage with Lido earlier in the day while we were in the DJ tent, that would have been an awesome live collab to see! After the madness that was day one, we can only imagine what day two has in store for us.
Chicago Skyline over the beach
After being out all day and night for Saturday, it’s safe to say we were feeling a little sluggish and didn’t make it to the beach until about 5pm. Our first act of the day was Gallant and boy did he put on. This dude has nothing but energy and his band was absolutely on point as well. 10/10 would recommend seeing him again! After the Gallant set we bounced around for a little bit catching bits and pieces from the likes of Derrick Carter, Chromeo, and The Martinez Brothers. Chromeo is another act that we can’t get enough of. Their sets are always full of excitement and crowd interaction and not to mention those funky sounds we all have grown to love! We caught the last half of The Martinez Brothers set and claimed some territory for the Loco Dice closing set. Nothing like a sundown set on the beach with proper house and techno to close down the weekend festivities. All in all another sensational event put on by React Presents! We will be back for year three of Mamby On The Beach without a doubt.
Loco Dice closing down the DJ Tent
All photos courtesy of Mamby On The Beach facebook page.
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