Global Dance Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary on July 21 and 22 in the Mile High City: Denver, Colorado. It’s no secret that this festival has been a heavy-hitter in the bass capital of the nation; it’s a staple for Coloradans and attracts a crowd from across the nation. Throughout its history, the festival has grown from one day, to two days, to three days, and even switched venues because of its growth.
20 years of Global Dance Festival
Global Dance prides itself on staying up to date on new artists, new subgenres of dubstep, and drawing in big artists. Just to name a few, HALIENE, KX5 (Kaskade x Deadmau5), Loud Luxury, and ZEDD will take the stage at Empower Field this year. Ever since it moved to this new venue, the event has drawn in more than artists: food trucks, carnival rides, and art installations.
Now, let’s turn back the clock and dive into the history of Global Dance Festival.
2003 – 2009
The inaugural Global Dance Festival was hosted at Red Rocks Amphitheater, led by Ha Hau. Ha knew that, to stay relevant, he had to tap into dubstep and electronic dance music’s unique subgenres. He wanted to bring in a diverse group of artists, and that’s exactly what he did to kick the festival off in 2003. Ultimately, during these iconic first years, the festival hosted Armin Van Buuren, Benny Benassi, Paul van Dyke, Kaskade, and Tiesto, setting the stage for the massive success Global Dance was about to face in the coming years.
2010
This year is notable and memorable – the festival has grown to two days at Red Rocks. We believe there’s something so beautiful about watching the growth of a music festival happen right before our eyes. This year, Pendulum, Savoy, Steve Aoki, and Deadmau5 took the stage for the two-day festival. What would Global Dance do next?
2011
Our question was answered next year. The two-day festival evolved into three days. Taking over a full weekend in July, it claimed its place in Colorado’s dance music scene at Red Rocks. This festival is booming through the speakers and media. Avicii, Big Gigantic, Skrillex, and Porter Robinson were invited to celebrate this milestone.
2013 – 2017
Global Dance Festival grows, showing no sign of slowing down. It’s no surprise the festival is selling out quickly with headliners like this. Sticking true to its mission to bring in a diverse group of artists, these iconic years featured LMFAO, Sam Adams, Knife Party, ODESZA, Above and Beyond, Malaa, and innumerable more artists. We have never been disappointed with the artists, from headliners to openers. The lineup has been consistently jam-packed with a wide variety of artists. Those of us who attended the festival during these years remember the main stage and stage up-top by the museum. Those are core memories.
2018 – 2022
In 2018, Global Dance Festival announced its move from Red Rocks Amphitheater to Empower Field at Mile High. The festival grew out of its former home and moved to better accommodate its growth throughout the years. During these years, Global Dance truly made its mark in its new home bringing artists like Deadmau5, Jai Wolf, ZHU, Chris Lake, Illenium B2B Said the Sky B2B Dabin, Excision, Wooli, and so many more. Although the festival took a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19, it didn’t impact their ability to jampack their lineup after music festivals started coming back.
2023
The legendary 20th anniversary arrives at Empower Field. As a Colorado native, it’s been incredible to see this festival grow and evolve over the years. We should all celebrate this milestone, and we can’t wait to see how this year’s festival goes. It’ll be a stacked two days of hard dubstep, melodic tunes, and many activities.
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this festival, it’s been wonderful and nostalgic to look back at the history and growth of this infamous festival. We can’t wait to see how Global Dance Festival continues to evolve over the years!
Stay up to date with Global Dance Festival
Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
Looking for new music? Keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts. Updated every Friday with all the latest releases. Whether it’s the newest drops from all your favorite artists, some old-school, or underground…we just want you to hear it.
