Okeechobee 2023 was one of the greatest music festivals I have ever attended. I had the honor to document the whole experience with my best friends. Together, we are the Bass Cake Family, and this is the Okeechobee 2023 Aftermovie.
Our journey began on Thursday, March 2, 2023. We arrived at the camp around 3:30 PM and the setup process began. Collectively, we had over seven canopies and even more tents. After about three hours of steup, we were ready to begin our first night in Sunshine Grove. The night started when we arrived at Aquachobee, the beach stage. We saw the first half of Gillian Moss' set, which was a very groovy and relaxing house set. The vibes were incredible, however, we had to quickly move to prepare for the headliners of Thursday night: Peekaboo and Excision. Peekaboo and Excision are two of the most popular Bass music producers today. Peekaboo is known for his experimental bass and excellent call-and-response, while Excision is known for his hard-hitting bass and "rail breaking" energy. Overall, these sets were highly energetic and defiantly a great way to start the weekend.
Friday morning began as we woke up to the Florida heat. It was too hot to sleep for too long, so much of the day was spent exploring the campgrounds and festival. The first artist I saw on Friday was Celo on the Incendia stage. He is a bass artist who is known for working with Shaquille O'Neal (also known as DJ Diesel). Celo's set was mind-blowing with his unique mashups of popular songs with Melodic Riddim. This set was my first-time seeing Celo live and I highly suggest seeing him someday if you have the chance. After Celo, the Bass Cake Family moved over to the "BE" stage for ODEZSA. ODEZSA is an electronic/future bass artist that played at Okeechobee for his first festival in over four years. He brought out a drumline and extra lasers for an amazing show. However, it was the most packed show I had ever witnessed live, so I stayed towards the back for most of the set. Regardless, ODESZA was defiantly a fun time!
Saturday morning was when the adventures really began. Michael and I started the morning by going shopping with two friends, Jenna and Stacie, whom we met earlier while trying to find gas for our generator. We all hung out for a while, but Michael and I wanted to do a slack line. We snuck away from the group to see if we still had our balance! After our slackline adventures, we met up with Aiden to see one of the most anticipated sets...Big Boi. Big Boi is an Atlanta rapper who is most known for being one-half of Outkast. He played some of his biggest songs including "All Night" and "Ms. Jackson". Big Boi is considered to be one of the greatest rappers in histroy, so it was a honor to see him perform. After Big Boi, Earth, Wind and Fire came out to perform. Earth, Wind and Fire have been performing since the late 1960's and are known for classic anthems such as "Boogie Wonderland" and "September". It was an abslutley mind blowing set that will never be forgotten. My favorite moment was singing "September" with my best friends by my side. Right after Earth, Wind and Fire, we took a break to get some food and relax before Blunts and Blondes at 1;00 AM. Blunts and Blondes is known for his bass music and is one of my favorite producers. I ALWAYS must see his set if he is booked. We arrived about 30 minutes early to get a good spot, and I could not have anticipated what was about to happen. He went insane! The crowd was hooked for the whole set, and he never missed with his song choices. My favorites of his set include Hostage Situation - 2 Step as well as Sublime - Santeria (Blunts and Blondes Remix). This was my fourth time seeing him and he continues to get better with each set. After the set, we went back to camp to discuss and reflect on the weekend so far.
Sunday is what we like to call "Sunday Funday" amongst the Bass Cake Family. It is the last day of the festival, so we all like to chill and just vibe. Most of Sunday was spent at Aquachobee, listening to some of the biggest house artists such as SNBRN and Chris Lorenzo. It was a great time filled with so much dancing! Around 9;00, we ventured over to the "NOW" stage for JPEGMAFIA. JPEGMAFIA is a grimy, energetic rapper from Flatbush, New York. He has worked with many popular rappers such as Danny Brown and Denzel Curry. He provided a high-energy set with a connection to the fans unlike most performers. My favorite m0ment of his set was his remix of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song "Call Me Maybe". I was only familiar with a few of his songs before his set. However, his energy and performance has made me review his discography. After JPEGMAFIA, the Bass Cake Family ventured over to see Baby Keem, a rapper who has frequently worked with Kendrick Lamar. Just as the case for JPEGMAFIA, I was only familiar with a few of Keem's songs. However, he put on a great show filled with amazing visuals. The mosh pit for his biggest song, "Family Ties", had so much energy! Baby Keem delivered a great set that made me want to listen to him more in the future.
After Baby Keem, I was very tired after a long weekend. I wanted to go back to camp, but rumors were going around that there was going to be a secret set from 1:00 to 2:00 AM at the Incendia Stage. The rumors turned out to be true as GRIZ and LSDream put on their first ever B2B (that I am aware of). GRIZ and LSDream are two of the biggest headliners in electronic music. They are both known for their wonky bass music, which was perfect for a late-night set on Sunday. It was a very interesting set, because they did not play much of their popular songs, but rather some remixes of globally popular songs and IDs (unreleased songs). It was great for two of the biggest artists in a genre to play together. At the end of the set, I started to fall asleep. Out of know where, GRIZ got on the mic to announce that there were some 'special guests' that were going to play next. Lab Group came on and I did not know who they were at the time. After a hectic weekend, Lab Group played a set of bass music that was relaxing rather than exciting. It was the PERFECT way to decompress after a busy weekend. I fell asleep halfway through, and I mean that in the best way. It was a welcome surprise, a great way to end the weekend.
Monday was a sad, but happy day. I was sad that the weekend was over but overcome with joy about how much fun I had during the weekend. While cleaning up camp, Modey asked the question he asks at the end of every festival, "What one word would you use to describe your weekend at Okeechobee?" I pondered for a while until I answered simply with "surprising." I was very anxious and excited the whole time leading up to the festival and my expectations were exceeded past my wildest dreams. If you ever get the chance to experience Okeechobee, I highly recommend it. It was the surprise of a lifetime! Thank you Okeechobee and I cannot wait until 2024!
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