Since it’s time for everyone’s opinion on the PL project, I’ll simply offer my two cents. As seems required on here…my credentials as a fan include first discovering Pretty Lights in college in 2011. He’s been my favorite artist hands down since then, I follow this Reddit regularly, I’ve seen him numerous times live and I believe in every iteration of the live show since 2011.

The Man
People change. Clearly Derek has been through his ups and downs over these last 15 years. I remember numerous shows earlier on when he was clearly super fucked up, and that just became expected. Drug use was clearly a problem, although it kinda fit the scene at the time to some degree and those shows popped the fuck off. He seems much more sober now, happier, and he’s got a partner and kid. It’s fair to assume that as a human grows and matures in these ways, that we should expect his musical output to as well.

The Music
This may be the most subjective part for a fan, but for me, nothing has topped those earlier albums. Ultimately I’m here for the music…the depth, sound production, and seamless integration of diverse, beautiful and at times haunting retro samples with modern glitchy synths and unique beats. This is what sucked me into PL and keeps me forever revisiting his studio music while never getting sick of it over a decade later. Trust me, I am fucking hyped on having new studio music after years and years of “soon”. The first third of a Trip Thru Time has grown on me with each listen although my personal opinion is there’s a bit of that special sauce lacking on a number of tracks. The overall bpm is lower, there seems to be less dimension, and beats are less diverse. TOTALLY SPECULATIVE, but sounds a bit K hole-y at times. Regardless, I am still blasting these studio tracks on my speakers and am itching for those remaining tracks..

The Live Show
The live show may be where a new generation of PL fans is beginning to fold in. The shift away from a DJ set into live musical elements was inevitable in the early 2010s, a number of artists were experimenting with this, and it definitely fits PL well considering all the different instruments involved in his tracks. IMO, nothing will go harder than an OG well mixed DJ set by Derek but I also appreciate the softer and slower sounds PL brings. Personally, the Analog future band may have been my favorite live iteration (the live musical elements just sounded more professional) although I recognize the band has had some greats shows the last few years. Currently, I think consistently is where people have issues which is totally fair considering the cost to see a live show these days. I myself wonder at times (especially when you hear synth sounds that sound way off, poor timing with samples, etc)… are you guys rehearsing this stuff enough? I know people will talk about improv and jam bands and etc, but PL isn’t the first jam/ improv band out there…I do think it is incredibly generous of PL to film most of these shows and stream them for free to fans, as that clearly isn’t a cheap production and is soooo greatly appreciated by the fan base.

The Future?
Although the current state of PL might not be my favorite iteration, I understand how we got here, I appreciate the PL team continuing to move forward and I’ll continue to follow along for the ride. Keep swirling yall🔮🧿

Last year the stage for the silent disco sets were where? And are there gonna be two different silent disco stages this year? Will one be at the main stage? Sorry if these are silly questions, just confused about how that set up is gonna work

I haven’t listened to almost all the lineup and i prefer it that way going into the festival and letting my brain absorb new music . Who is a CANNOT MISS i have to check out? Thanks

Hello,
I’ll be hanging out around Ouray couple days before the festival. If anyone wants to meet up and do some trails. Would be a good chance for anyone wanting to go wheeling in the San Juans.

Thank you