Better Together is a first time house music festival that took place in Phoenix, Arizona on November 22nd and 23rd 2024. This single stage festival hosted EDM legends such as Carl Cox, Black Coffee, Tiesto and so many more. The warehouse layout brought us back to our roots and allowed for every artist to be heard fully without the stress of set conflicts. Better Together was definitely a festival we are excited to see return and grow over the years.
Layout
The return to Rawhide has been nothing short of extraordinary. The festival has returned to using Rawhide’s warehouse structure, giving a perfect backdrop for the house music being played all weekend long. With a single stage, the focus of the layout felt like it was going back to the roots of OG raves and festivals. Better Together proved that sometimes, a one-stage layout can really work and this one did. Entering the festival, there was an outdoor area that contained all of the bathrooms, vendors and water stations along with an easily marked medical tent and merch tent. Inside the warehouse there was the one and only stage that was the center of the whole festival, each artist got to shine and have their moment on the main stage, which was a unique difference from larger festivals and benefited a first time festival still finding its footing. Festival goers even had the option to use the indoor flushable toilets, or the porta potties outside. Overall the layout was easy to navigate and layed out well–we never once felt overcrowded and always had enough space to dance and enjoy the festival.
Production
The festival lasers were absolutely insane, courtesy of Polar Productions. The production/laser company, based out of Arizona, is gearing up to run lasers for Anyma at the Las Vegas Sphere on its upcoming historic New Year’s Eve string of shows. Their work at Better Together seemed to be a preview of what is to come for lasers in Arizona, and soon to be world wide. The warehouse layout allowed lasers to bounce all over the walls, lighting up what would be a dark and gloomy warehouse, giving it a new feel to an underground concept. We were a little underwhelmed with the speaker quality on Day 2, as the right speakers seemed to have a lower quality the closer you were to the stage (mainly heard in VIP), but as soon as we stepped a little further back the sound really came to life. Probably the only downside to the entire festival, we would’ve liked to have better speakers hosting the magic the artists produced. Overall, the layout and stage design were simple but beautiful and the lasers really brought it to life.
Vendors
There were a few vendors that stood out, all of which were in the vendor area. The Beatbox activation allowed us to make free, personalized bandanas, try Beatbox samples, and even play Dance Dance Revolution, which was an awesome activation for ravers everywhere. Bang Energy also brought the ‘energy’ to the dancefloor all night. Free cans of Bang were given away all night, which we appreciated as a pick me up while we were feeling a little sleepy on Day 2. Moonlvnding allowed ravers to get the other essentials such as deodorant, chapstick and the coolest blacklight/LED fans ever. Overall, the vendors were memorable and enhanced our experience as the festival, without being too overwhelming which advertisements can feel sometimes.
Set Highlights
The lineup was definitely the highlight of the festival. For the first time in our entire lives, we did not hear a single bad song that was played the entire weekend. Every artist on this lineup was a legend in their own rights and there was not a set to be missed. Spencer Brown started the weekend off with a chill mix of his best tracks and remixes, with the most breathtaking visuals of nature. Carl Cox, the king of techno, playing for an Arizona crowd was a special site to see. While he has quite literally played at the Pyramids in Egypt, seeing a smaller intimate festival set from Cox allowed him to take more risks than normal, and switch from house to techno while never once loosing attention from the crowd. Disclosure and Tiesto both can sell out tours on their own, seeing them play back to back sets was a 3 hour window from heaven. From Disclosure’s unreal “When A Fire Starts To Burn” introduction to Tiesto playing his classics to end the night, Day 1 was a perfect way to start Better Together.
AND THEN THERE WAS DAY 2. Again, no sets were bad and every set had too many highlights to include in this review. Channel Tres brought the sexy club vibe, ramping up the dance moves across festival goers. Bonobo played a surprisingly dance-filled and techno set. As a first time Bonobo viewer, we were not sure what to expect but he exceeded any expectation we had, The highlight of the weekend was Kaytranana and Black Coffee. Both outstanding in their own right, dancing with our friends during these two sets reminded us why we like music festivals. Great remixes, celebration of life and groovy beats all around, they were almost perfect sets. Fisher closed out the weekend, giving the lasers one last show and festival goers an exit to remember.
Overall, Better Together was one of our new favorite festivals to date. The small intimate feel allowed the festival to shine, and helped prove that not every festival needs to be “Bigger and Better” but reminded us the real power of festivals is with friends, in the crowd, and makes us be “Better Together.
