Festival Review: Neon Gold Celebrates Their 10 Year Anniversary!
From The Knocks invitation of the entire audience to jump on stage with them, giving security guards a heart attack, to MARINA & THE DIAMONDS FIRST U.S. PERFORMANCE IN YEARS, Neon Gold’s 10 Year Anniversary really did feel like the biggest birthday party. It was like a Sweet 16 times 10, and like, in any birthday, you felt settled in your optimism for your friend. The “friend” being Lizzy Plapinger, who KILLED it in her performance as LPX, and Derek Davies. By the end of the night, after having nearly every act on stage thank Neon Gold or David and Lizzy, I became sentimental for them.
Through mentions of their name, I was reminded that everything in life begins with a person. Every success story, or rather 10 year anniversary, starts with a someone deciding that they are good enough to lead others, and that they are strong enough to persevere all failures till they land on success. David and Lizzy had no idea that Neon Gold would go on to make some of the most pop defining artists of our time such as, Charlie XCX, Passion Pit, and Tove Lo to name a very few. Yet, they had a dream, and their 10 year anniversary was a beautiful, super fun celebration that it came true.
Winona Oak – Don’t Save Me [Neon Gold Records 10th Anniversary]
There was an easiness to this “fest” that made it feel too joyous and relaxed to be an average festival. Though I love festivals, at times, I feel like I am on the Amazing Race trying to get to different stages and go through some crazy characters. Yet, everybody was acting as if they had just received a birthday cake slice in the form of STELLAR performances that were set one after the other: no competition. Acts like, The Knocks gave a show that was so electrifying, you almost felt like God was there in the back singing “Happy Birthday, NEON GOLD!” Knockdown Center almost knocked itself out with how happily everyone bopped into the night like rabbits with an eternal carrot-flow. You may laugh at this strange comparison, but true joy can make you feel like a cartoon. Still, there were other more intimate sets such as, an acoustic show from St.Lucia that turned their zested songs into heartfelt thought-pieces. My note of such performances came in contrast to the rising acts that Neon Gold is prepping for pop takeovers.
There is something so igniting about knowing that someone is blazing into a success they have yet to conceive for themselves. I felt that watching Your Smith and Broods! Both are pushing their fanbases upwards by serving pop anthems that veil the bitter of life through sweet, electro fused arrangements. They make you want to drop-kick your negative attitudes and say, “I’m going to live better,” which makes them bring a nuance to pop that should NOT go unnoticed. In a world, that, at times, diminishes mainstream music as soulfully inaccessible or unaware of life/society’s details, both acts served songs that show new generations of artists are truly “woke” or, at least, planning to wake you up. Still, my heart went to MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS! GAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ryn Weaver – Reasons Not To Die (Demo) [Neon Gold Records 10th Anniversary]
I have been a Marina And The Diamonds since …….forever. Absolutely every person I chatted with was awaiting her like she was a goddess planning to give her followers a vision of paradise. The giddiness was undeniable, especially because she had not performed in a few years, which was part of the night’s ad. Thus, she took over the stage to sing her classic hit, “Obsession,” and introduce new songs like “Emotional Machine:” a duet she performs with fierce, Broods’ front woman Georgia Josiena Nott. Like much of Neon Gold’s performers, Marina felt like a generous spirit; a consistently refilling well of love, creativity, and spiritual incandescence towards fans. Personally, her performance solidified two things for me: Neon Gold will continue for another 10 years and I could do this Anniversary Bash every year.
PUTTING OUT THERE UNIVERSE! Neon Gold should, sincerely, consider having such a birthday bash every year. First, it was a subtle, but magnificent show of their power. Even artists that are no longer signed to them felt compelled to show their gratitude and loyalty, which moved people to see that this a label unlike other labels. Neon Gold cares about the artists they pick, how they prosper them, and how their fans feel magically altered by their sonic productions. The entire night showed music is mystifying in the humblest of ways; it turns ordinary people into the extraordinary singers for Life and Love. Hence, my second epiphany; I have no doubt that Neon Gold will be celebrating many more anniversaries and artists that can thank them for everything. For More Information On Neon Gold Records Click Here.
Charli XCX – Need Ur Love (Japanese Wallpaper Remix)
