Summer has been really busy for AYNiB. Clearly, festival season is for all of us. Between festivals, we’ve managed to squeeze a few key events in, some of them in celebration of festivals to come. One such night took place on July 17, 2015, smack in the middle of Stampede season in downtown Calgary. The festival in question was FozzyFest, and the Fozzy crew threw one hell of a kick off bash.

Fozzy’s pre party was a night of music, art, yummy drinks and community – all the things that makes Fozzy Fest special each year.

Fozzy has become known not just for its amazing location, but its grassroots approach of the inclusion of many local party crews and artists to make an event that’s really unique, and just feels GOOD to attend. No bad vibes. No bad days. Their pre-party mirrored this ethos perfectly.

The event took place at the National Music Centre in Calgary, a venue pretty rich in music history itself. What better place to honour the festival to come? The Fozzy crew outdid themselves on the décor on this occasion. Pulling together to create a real atmosphere, the venue boasted some AMAZING lighting perfect for taking photos, and a massive sculpted backdrop behind the DJs. This just shows the effort the Fozzy crew puts into creating atmosphere. The pre-party was a microcosm of what actually goes on at the festival, but gave us all something to look forward to all the same. Another nice touch was the inclusion of live art, with artist Tara Handelman painting her little heart out in the way back.

The music was a smattering of what attendees can expect at FozzyFest, and damn was it rowdy! Buck Wilde, Robbie C, a locals jungle jam with Logo, Alan Flava, Guru and Carbon Copy and more were all throwing down dope sets in support of the man of the night NC-17.

Important to note, NC- 17 will be coming back to these parts for the actual event in just a couple weeks time, and if you’re into a mix of high energy DNB adorned with all the classics, you should definitely make sure you don’t sleep on Fozzy 2015. This guy is a badman on the decks. When he played “Ready or Not” (a classic for the old junglists such as muself) the place went nuts. It was a personal highlight of the night for me, as tracks from my youth usually are. The feeling of nostalgia these things bring up … you can’t beat it!

With the Fozzy crew, it’s all about the details. And everything at the pre-party was taken care of, down to the selection of beverages, It’s not every day you can go to a makeshift bar at a “rave” party and find yourself sipping on mojitos, gin and tonics with homemade tonic (that tastes way better than that store bought swill), and bramble spritzers. Shoutouts to Jackie for being on top of that.

All in all the night served to highlight one very important thing. Fozzy Fest is going to be fucking awesome this year. Don’t miss it! All this will be taking place, except next time it will be at a gorgeous lake with sandy beaches. Wrap up the summer proper!

Click here for pictures from the FozzyFest 2015 Pre Party by K.Lea of Kreate Love.

Tickets for Fozzy are available online and at select stores in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Fernie, Kelowna, Kimberly, Golden, and Vancouver. (see website for details)