Illenium Resurrects The Gorge

We headed out to the magical Gorge Amphitheater on Memorial Day Weekend for the first show of their 2023 concert season. The next couple of days would be filled with dance music headlined by Illenium and his closest buds, including Tiesto, Eptic, Davin, William Black, and Acraze, to name a few. His latest eponymous record has been on repeat and we can’t get enough of it. The fact that he can pull together so many different genres and collaborate with so many artists is probably the reason so many people have been drawn to him.

Saturday night was off to a rocky start as a thunderstorm almost cancelled the whole event but by some miracle it was quick and the organizers made it work by pushing back the event by an hour. After that people came in and enjoyed the view that was paired with some epic music. We caught Eptic for the sunset over that breathtaking gorge view. The Belgian deejay and producer best known for his EP Overloard, took the place by storm. His fast beat dubstep brought so much energy and people kept moving to the tracks.

It is a rare occasion that you see Tiesto as an opener or special guest but the Dutch mega deejay would create the mood for Illenium to headline the night. Tiesto is probably the most known and successful deejay with a career of many decades. He’s accomplished so much and is credited for bringing dance music to the mainstream in the early 2000’s with his killer remix of Sarah McLachlan’s, “Silence.” He took the stage and went into overdrive as he played some of his biggest hits and latest remixes including the White Lotus Theme Song, and resurrecting the Da Hool dance anthem, “Meet her at the Loveparade.”

Tiesto recently released his record, Drive, and included many of those new tracks into his set tonight. Highlights were “The Motto,” “Lay Low,” “Don’t Be Shy,” and my personal favorite of the past couple years, “The Business.” It’s so amazing to see him perform after catching him 20 years ago for the first time at Showbox Market. It’s a mixture of being in the present moment and reliving all the great nights I’ve had in the past watching him perform. There’s only one thing for sure, where Tiesto is playing, it’s always a good time.

After the legend was done it was time for the rising star to take the stage to finish night one. It was the first time we would get to see Illenium‘s new show production for his live sets this season. The event included a couple large monitors on each side of the stage and endless amounts of pyrotechnics. Including the background display there were five screens going off at the same time making the visual part of the show intriguing and engaging. Nicholas Miller was standing at the top part of stairs with his tables and his live band members were on the stage floor a few feet down.

The night had many turns and vibes as the live set brought different music artists to the stage to add to the experience. Illenium himself stepped down the stairs to play guitar on “Shivering,” getting into the live aspect of the set. One minute we were getting lost in the dance tunes and the next we would be screaming emo lyrics into the sky. It felt like so many spectrums were covered with his set and never was there any room to look away or even run to the bathroom. He kept everyone’s attention and when the night ended people did not want to leave.

Highlights of the night included, “Takeaway,” with the Chainsmokers, “Other Side,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” with Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker, “With All My Heart,” “Story of My Life,” and “All That Really Matters,” with Teddy Swims, my personal favorite at the moment.

Photos: Sophia Barkalakis @s.barkalakis