By Kiley Petracek
TAMPA, Fla. — Breakaway Music Festival, a touring electronic music entertainment brand, hosted a two-day music festival at Raymond James Stadium for its second year in a row on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26.
The 18+ event sold out for Friday, with electronic dance music (EDM) artists Fisher and Louis the Child headlining. Saturday closed with Knock2 and ISOxo, ending at midnight.
Breakaway is leading the industry as a touring production company, hoping to “provide premium experiences to underserved music fans across the nation.” Single-day tickets began at $74.
The capacity is estimated to be around 10,000 attendees this year, after EDMTunes reported ticket-holders were held at the gate with capacity concerns last year.
“2024 was Breakaway’s biggest year to date,” said Zach Ruben, co-founder at Breakaway, in a press release from October. “We can’t be more excited to have a bigger and more electric year in 2025.”
The Breakaway team was unable to provide The Minaret with any other comments.
Upon entering on Friday, attendees passed by onsite experiences such as photo ops, bubbles, a Ferris wheel, and if over 21, receiving samples from Mango Cart and ZYN booths.
Artists Pushman and Gazza began at the two stages — Main Stage and The Launch Pad — when doors opened at 5 p.m., respectively. Then the Ritz Ybor resident DJ, MYR, followed at The Launch Pad, while Rich Dietz played remixes of popular club songs at Main Stage. Florida local CELO played after, conflicting times with house songwriter Kaleena Zanders.
While the two primary stages were bumping, the silent disco was in full-force with three local DJ’s at a time, including Skrucher, Wilco Beats, and RAYVISION.
The divide between house at Main Stage and bass or dubstep at The Launch Pad was defined when Surf Mesa, an electric pop artist recently signed with Breakaway Projects, played at Main Stage, while midtempo veteran Dr. Fresch DJ’ed at The Launch Pad. The sound bleed between the TikTok-song remixes and strong bassline only overlapped near the vendors, porta-potties, and tables in the middle of the venue.
On Friday, attendees were dancing on the grass in the Raymond James parking lot while at Main Stage. However, it was mostly sand that created an aura of dust at The Launch Pad.
Bass and house enjoyers next united at Main Stage for a crowded Disco Lines set, the producer behind modern dance classics “Babygirl” and “TECHNO + TEQUILA.”
The mix of fans might be due to Disco Lines’ evolution of producing house music into dubstep, in light of his recent single “Fuck It Up.”
“Techno & tequila era is over… its vodka and drum & bass sznn,” Disco Lines posted on the social platform X.
Meanwhile, 150 bpm speed house pioneer CHYL played at The Launch Pad.
After CHYL and Disco Lines ended around 9:30 p.m., the crowds shifted again as Louis the Child, an electronic pop group founded in 2013, conflicted with dubstep producer that has gained popularity in the past few years, Mersiv.
The Launch Pad crowd then migrated to Main Stage to view Fisher close while wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey.
The crowd danced under fireworks and lights listening to EDM classic “Losing It,” and other hits such as “You Little Beauty” and “Atmosphere.”
The festival ended at midnight, and select partygoers headed to The Ritz Ybor to see Mersiv indoors for an official afterparty.
The Minaret was not granted press for Saturday night, but it featured a diverse range of artists such as Knock2, ISOxo, Hamdi, TWINSICK, Evan Giia b2b with MEMBA, and Westend. The day two afterparty was held at The Ritz Ybor and hosted Hamdi.
Other stops to come this year will include Atlanta, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, and more.
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Thumbnail image courtesy of Ana Ortiz.