Snowta NYE Festival: Day 1 (w/ Gucci Mane, Ookay, Pretty Lights) @ Minneapolis Convention Center on Dec. 30, 2017 [Photos & Recap]

It was -6 degrees outside, but it was warm and toasty within the Minneapolis Convention Center as Day 1 of the 2nd annual SNOWTA NYE Festival began in Minneapolis, MN.

Over the course of two days (December 30th and 31st), SNOWTA created a magical music festival featuring two main stages and two smaller more intimate stages; while also offering a plethora of activities ranging from alien laser tag to human bowling, live mural painting throughout the festival grounds, a vendor village, and a snowboard rail jam and competition.

One of the standout acts of the night was Bear Grillz who had on the coolest giant bear head which disguised his true identity and created an air of mystery that worked well with the atmosphere his music created. Another standout was Joyryde who commanded the crowd without saying a word – and even had a digital show behind him featuring lots of red and blue vintage cars perfect for a joy ride. Ookay was one of my favorite performances from the night as he came onstage full of energy and jammed with his keytar to create tunes reminiscent of the 80’s and 90’s that matched his pastel and bright graphic digital backgrounds perfectly.

After much anticipation from the crowd, headliner Gucci Mane took the stage and immediately changed the atmosphere from a large EDM concert to that of an intimate performance by commanding the stage and making you forget about everything else but him.

Closing out the night was Pretty Lights who performed live with a full band – drum set and all. If I had to sum the performance up in a few words it would be that – “Pretty Lights.” The full band created a different experience than I had seen throughout the night and was great way to conclude SNOWTA day 1.