Flashback to a few weekends ago when I had to take one for the team and spend over 14 hours at the House Of Creatives Music Festival. Being a part of the Tropi team is hard work, but hey someones gotta do it. 😉

I enjoyed all the usual festival debauchery. Everything you could imagine that could happen did. Here’s a brief rundown.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

A girl named Bethany got pulled on stage and did a respectable duo with the rapper Saint Jhn. She rose above shouts of “show us a titty” from the crowd, strutting her stuff while the bass boomed. This is how memories are made ya’ll.

I was pleasantly surprised by how clean the festival grounds were kept, and feel like it’s an important point to mention given that the festival was held at Virginia Key Beach. Many of the vendors also used recyclable or compostable flatware for food. Including Miami favorite Coyo Taco, who served up tacos for a mere $4 with a full salsa bar selection. They were the clear winner for me out of the many food choices, but only a close second to Monsieur Poutine.

The alcohol vendors missed out on an opportunity to be sustainable by passing out hundreds, probably thousands, of plastic cups, although I did take advantage of a few of the free drinks myself so #NoOne’sPerfect.

I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Rakastella music festival which will be held at the same location, but has been working with local consultant Vivian Belzaguy, from the Idea Garden on how to make their event more sustainable and minimalize their impact on the environment.

The vibes over the weekend were excellent.  Local creative Joan Isaac was out in full effect. She and her whole tribe of sorts danced around in handmade costumes. There were unicorns, flowers, lights, sparkles, hula hoops, and light shows. I got semi-invited, ok let’s be honest, I went into their backstage tent, and they kindly dusted me up. It was epic and it streamed live on my gram!

Families came out to see the performances. Everyone from parents to babies enjoyed the show. I spotted several parents of Jaialai, the latest band Tropicult has an eye on.

The event agency SWARM was on site also helping out with the good vibes. Their team of friendly bartenders gave healthy servings of alcohol in the yummy drinks. Albeit at a little higher price point than I’m comfortable with. I mean this isn’t South Beach, come on guys. Everyone already shelled out $300 for a ticket. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Now let’s get to the music. If you missed out, check out the official HOC Fest Spotify playlist.

It was impossible to see everyone. Between the music, vendors, and art installations there was an overload of things to do and see! Clear crowd favorites were B.A.G. and Sofi Tukker. M.I.A.  shut down the show, her visuals were amazing. I caught a glance as I was leaving. It had been a long day and I wanted to avoid surge pricing.

I was super impressed with the visuals all around, for all of the acts, and love how much that type of art adds to the show.

People came from far and wide to attend HOC. I spoke to a girl from Mexico who came all the way to see Chromeo. I’m sure it was worth it. On day one after killing their main stage performance, they entertained fans in close quarters, fist-bumping them, and taking pictures of them for social media.

The tent off to the main stage was kept poppin at all hours. Especially crowded for the PillowTalk set, and special mention to Lonely C. from Soul Clap. He closed out night one under wet conditions as fans held up tarps to keep the party going into the early morning.

Read my review on day one of the festival for more highlights and enjoy the photo gallery below.