Hailing from the East Coast, Moonrise Festival is an event that is very near to home for me. A ton of my friends growing up, before I got into the scene, went. Even now, many people in my rave family attend this festival annually. It’s definitely one that should be on your festival bucket list.

This year, Moonrise is back and better than ever. Not only with a kicking lineup, but the curators have upped their game with stage upgrades and immersive art installations and experiences for the festival-goers. This year, Moonrise is returning to the Pimlico Race Course from August 10th – 11th.

Traveling to Moonrise

If this is going to be your first Moonrise, then this section will be essential to making sure you’re ready to for the event. First things first, this is not a camping festival. Attendees need to not only coordinate travel plans to the event, but they also need to make sure they have somewhere to stay for the 3-4 nights that they choose to be in Baltimore. As well, given the area that the event is held in, it’s very important to plan travel to and from the event accordingly.

Hotels & Airbnb

Since this isn’t a camping festival, securing somewhere to sleep for your time at the festival is important. Getting a hotel is obviously a popular option for this festival. There are several popular options that I’ve listed for you below, but there are also just some areas in general that make for great options to stay as well.

Another option to keep in mind when preparing for Moonrise is Airbnb’s in the area. This can be a really great option for a couple of different reasons: 1. They cost less the larger your group, 2. They give you a functioning kitchen, which means saving mad $$ on eating out (not to mention it’s way healthier).

Recommended Hotels:

Something to also keep in mind about these hotels is that they are a short walk from the Bus Stop located at the Holocaust Memorial.

• Baltimore Marriot (15-minute walk to bus stop)
• Hotel RI (5-minutes walk to bus stop)
• Crowne Plaza (13-minutes walk to bus stop)
• Holiday Inn (15-minutes walk to bus stop)
• Hotel Indigo (18-minutes walk to bus stop)
• Lord Baltimore (11-minutes walk to bus stop))
• Radisson Inner Harbor (13-minutes walk to bus stop)
• Renaissance (5-minutes walk to bus stop)

Traveling To & From Moonrise

If you’re not familiar with the area around Pimlico Race Track, it can be a very rough neighborhood and it is very easy to find yourself in the wrong area. The area directly to the North and East of Pimlico are relatively safe if you’re going to be walking/waiting for an uber/ride. It’s recommended to stay away from the South and West sides of Pimlico. These areas can be dangerous, and there are more than a fair share of attendees annually that are robbed/mugged walking around these areas late at night. Just be smart and aware of your surroundings.

Ubers/Lyft can be very expensive during events, and Moonrise is no different. People in previous years have seen prices 5-60x the regular prices due to the price surge increases that the apps allow. This means paying sometimes upwards of $150 just to get a couple of miles home. Something else to keep in mind is that cell service during/near the event is horrible, so you may not even be able to call for an Uber/Lyft.

Shuttles are a great reliable option to consider for attendees. They run about $50 for the weekend, but it can be worth it to have a guaranteed pick up and drop off that’s safe. Not to mention that the shuttles are operated by Festdrive- a leading company is festival transportation. Like a rave on wheels- yanno?

An alternative to both of these options is walking. This is when being aware of your surroundings is highly important. Driving is also an option for Moonrise as there’s a parking lot provided for attendees, however, please avoid driving under the influence of ANYTHING. Your life is worth so much more than that.

The Music

This year’s Moonrise Festival lineup is one for the books. With four stages, each with their own genres and diversity, there’s a little something for everyone. Not to mention that Moonrise has absolutely STACKED their lineup this year. Honestly- the schedule conflicts might just crush your soul, it’s THAT good.

The Stellar Stage

One of the four stages at Moonrise, the Stellar Stage is going to be home to some huge name artists. Popular names on the festival circuit this year, Illenium, along with Seven Lions, and the Gud Vibrations boys will be gracing the floors of the Stellar Stage.

A cannot miss act at this stage is going to be Tiesto. This DJ has a show unlike any other, with visuals, lasers, and so much more. His live shows are highly acclaimed, so make sure not to miss him while you’re at Moonrise this year. Another notable act that is going to be gracing the stages of the Stellar Stage is Alan Walker. After seeing him for Haunt Fest last year, his show BLEW me away. His uptempo, scream at your lungs songs are some of my favorite to dance and vibe too. So make sure you don’t miss it.

Celestial Garden Stage

The Celestial Garden Stage is going to be perfect for any of those festival-goers that need a little house music in their life. Moonrise is giving everyone their daily dose.

When it comes to cannot miss artists, I highly encourage you all not to miss my boy AC Slater. Although I’m admittedly not a huge house lover, after seeing him at Bonnaroo this year he’s someone I would definitely see again. Also, Desert Hearts with Mikey Lion x Lee Reynolds are also making an appearance at Pimlico. For you Trance & House lovers, you will absolutely not want to miss this event.

Solar Dance Stage

This stage is one of the most highly anticipated stages of the entire weekend. The lineup for the Solar Stage is out of this world. Not only is the lineup stacked, but this stage has gotten some mad love from the Moonrise curators. They’ve made the tent almost 60% larger than last year, they’ve added more production and bass, AND they’ve added Co2 throughout the entire tent. But lemme tell you about this setlist.

Artists that you absolutely cannot miss are Peekaboo, Rusko, Boogie T, Hekler, Wooli, and Atliens. I promise, if you catch these sets you will not be disappointed. Peekaboo brings the absolute heat when it comes to bass- not to mention that he has absolutely popped off over the past year or so. Boogie T has a performance that no one should miss- with so much fun going on on stage, it’s hard not to find yourself wigglin’.

After seeing Rusko at Lost Lands in 2018, I was sold. His sound is so original, not to mention that his visuals are out of this world too. Hekler absolutely blew me away at Bonnaroo too. Although his visuals were relatively basic, his mixes were awesome. Throwing in fan favorites, as well as oldies that the crowd could scream/sing along with.

Lunar Stage

Last, but certainly not least, is the Lunar Stage. This stage is going to be home to some amazing performances this year. Some big names that you all know- Excision, Big Gigantic and Zhu will be playing at this stage come August. This stage has tons of diversity for attendees, giving them the melodic bass they love, while also giving them the headbang they all deserve. Needless to say, these artists will be on everyone’s ‘cannot miss list’, however, there are some additional ones that you all won’t want to miss either.

Gryffin, Blackbear, and Haywyre will also be on the Lunar Stage this year. Gryffin has some amazing visuals, not to mention that his songs are beyond amazing to sing along to. Blackbear brings the deep and dark vibes to the world. These tunes always get me in the mood to just rage. Haywyre is another name that has popped up and taken off in the festival circuit. After announcing at Lost Lands 2018 that he was signing onto the Gud Vibrations label, we’ve been seeing a lot of Haywyre and rightly so. His show is full of bass and watching his performance on stage is exciting too.