Porter Robinson Brought Nurture To The Rocks
Porter Robinson is a name that echos through the EDM scene, as he has continuously influenced the genre since debuting with Spitfire in 2010. Even Billboard acknowledged that he was gonna be a force for years to come by having him on their list of 21 people under 21 to watch. This was a prolific start to an already storied career. Porter’s last time performing at Red Rocks was under his DJ moniker Virtual Self in 2018, but this time, he brought a full-fledged tour to Red Rocks to open the season.
The Concept Of The Tour
Porter is extremely meticulous in every aspect of his tours to properly present his vision. Each artist brings something different to the table, but everything blends seamlessly. You rarely see an artist able to curate a lineup that feels like each act is on the same label. Most importantly, this tour had one goal, and that was to give Porter the confidence to break out in full sing-a-longs. This is where Porter can allude to the tour and album’s name, Nurture.
Porter Opening For Himself
There was a mysterious act double-booked for both nights, which started right at doors and played for an hour and a half. Most people have never heard of Air To Earth, and little did people know that this was actually Porter Robinson. This is an ambitious feat as it puts him collectively playing three and a half hours of music, of which two hours of it is all performed live. It’s a sight to behold whenever an artist can pull this off at the extreme altitude of Red Rocks while performing at the highest level.
The Curated Artists
We briefly discussed how Porter is meticulous with the artists that he brings along on tour, but the placement of each act was perfect. The highs from Air To Earth led right into Qrion, then Wavedash takes control of the audience with their powerful and intricate style. All of this is topped off with day-specific artists Machinedrum and Magdalena Bay. Both of these artists set the floor perfectly for Porter to give in his own words, his best performances in ten years.
Porter’s Best Performance In Ten Years
He has come out and ranked these performances above his own music festival Second Sky performances. This is unique, but it is only possible by being as calculated as possible, and continuous tweaking. Songs that were once hard to imagine being played live were instant highlights. Most notably, Wind Tempos, which went from sweet melodies to jumping rhythms. For the encore, one of the main singles off of Nurture, Get Your Wish, feels like a perfect goodbye to a world. It was the vision of, “It will serve you in due time” coming to a reality. Clearly, the peak of emotions for Porter after pouring his craft on stage.
“Thank You, I’ll Say Goodbye Now”
To conclude what was a visually and soundly outstanding performance, he finished with a sing-a-long to Goodbye To A World. Almost hinting that he will be back, and to our surprise, he announced the return of the Second Sky Music Festival in late October. A world that he can control while having more control to fully immerse everyone into his vision. The crowd was brought to tears with all of us saying goodbye, but knowing this won’t be the last journey we share. It’s the perfect ending to what has been a memorable return to Red Rocks for the first shows of the season.
Photos by Patrik Essy
Find Artist On:
