Five things we'll take away from Creamfields 2016

Image: Creamfields

CREAMFIELDS 2017 IS NOW ON SALE

The UK's longest running dance music festival returned to Daresbury this August bank holiday weekend for another multi-arena extravaganza complete with the biggest names in house, big room, bass, hard house and techno.

With stages dedicated to club brands like Tidy, Pryda, Area10 and of course, Cream, attendees were spoilt for choice as the festival extended to four days of music (albeit all silent discos on the Thursday).

We were there on Saturday to get stuck into the abundance of acts, and here's the five things we'll remember from our stint at Creamfields 2016...

The production is next level

From the outside, the Steel Yard arena doesn't look as impressive in comparison to some of the other major stages - it's just a massive, grey dome, with small doors at the front and sides for entry. But once you step inside, it's hard to pry yourself away from the rave spectacle which was created exclusively for Creamfields this year. 

The industrial style space is absolutely epic, the towering high ceiling and momentous lighting installations are as close to Amsterdam's Gashouder as you'll get on UK soil. After spotting some posters on site for the Steel Yard at Liverpool Docks with Axwell and Ingrosso for later this year, we think you'll be seeing plenty more of this truly brilliant interchangeable space.

The awe-inspiring set ups didn't stop at the Steel Yard, The Horizon and The Arc stage were standing tall at either side of the site, both boasting gargantuan strips of LED lighting, whilst firing fireworks, confetti and CO2 on demand. 

Avicii's grand finale could have gone better

Ravers flocked from across the Creamfields site in order to get a good spot for Avicii's last ever UK performance before he retires, and rightly so, this was guaranteed to be one of the festival's defining sets. The chart-topping dance master powered through some clubland classics and his own productions as attendees clambered aboard shoulders and proudly waved their native flags.

As he finished playing 'The Nights' and the stage lights dulled, all that was left was the crowd questioning, "Is he going to play 'Levels'?" Sure enough after playing the Etta James original, and with revellers salivating for that signature beat, it finally dropped as spectacular fireworks display fired from the top of the stage.

After about 20 seconds, the music cut completely as the dazzling show continued to fire to no soundtrack, before the original vocal started again. Was it a technical fault? Was it a protest? Who knows, but it was an anti-climax to say the least as the biggest DJ in the world stepped off stage for good. 

Read Axwell and Ingrosso to play Steel Yard show in Liverpool.

Eats Everything always brings the party

The main man @eats_everything getting stuck in early @Creamfields pic.twitter.com/6O2VzgRVPK

— Skiddle (@skiddle) August 27, 2016

Over at the all All Gone Pete Tong stage, Eats Everything took to the decks at 5:30pm, a pretty early slot but by no means did this mean he was going to go easy.

As the first track started to build (his remix of 'Flash') a guy next to us turned to his mate and said, "Listen to this Ricky, it'll blow your head off" and he was absolutely right. The Bristol legend worked through some massive tracks, one of our favourites was captured above.

Find Eats Everything tickets.

Sometimes you have to go searching to find a hidden gem 

When flicking through your programme, it's easy to arrange your day from set to set, knowing exactly when to bounce from each arena. But one of our favourite stages from the whole festival wasn't even listed on our lanyard - the Smirnoff House.

Curated by Mixmag and Lab partners Smirnoff, the two tier area had a proper house party vibe - from the big American-style red cups to the graffiti adorned over the walls and the intimate layout. The set times were on the walls and available on social media, with Laidback Luke scheduled for an 80s/acid set, plus Hot Since 82 and Cristoph were on hand to soundtrack the party too.

Everyone loves Anton Powers

 

Horizon Main Stage @creamfieldsofficial Your spoilt for choice at a festival of this size. So to have 2 capacity crowds to see some divvy blows my mind & makes me very thankful. You gang of belters. Thank You 🙏🙏🙏✌🏼 #antonpowers #creamfields

A photo posted by Anton Powers (@antonpowers) on Aug 29, 2016 at 1:58am PDT

From his opening set in the Pepsi Max arena to then filling in for Nicky Romero on the Horizon stage, both areas were absolutely packed out for Anton Powers.

A local favourite after hosting radio slots aplenty for Juice FM and Radio City during the prime-time weekend openings, it's pretty obvious he knows how to start a party, and it's something which was reiterated as he conquered both stages with ease. What a guy!

Find Anton Powers tickets.

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