Back for its third installment, this year’s Shaq’s Bass Allstars was bigger than ever! The lineup was so impressive, it’ll make you want to slap your mama! Plus, the highly anticipated debut of T-Pain’s Bass set made it a must-see Spring Event. Set against a beautiful, warm, sunny day in the mid-80s, the stage was perfect for a memorable one-night celebration.

After clearing the gates with ease, I made my way into the packed festival grounds around 5:30 pm. DRINKURWATER was blasting through the speakers at the mainstage to an already densely packed crowd. I headed to the top of the hill to take it all in and decide where to go first. After grabbing a bottle of water, I made my way to the Trenches stage to catch All The Reason. With a slightly different setup than the previous year, this year’s sound quality was immaculate. Ripping through nothing but bangers, All The Reason had the dance floor poppin’ instantly.

After getting my boogie on, I then cruised around to check out all the cool amenities they had this year. I watched a guy almost win a giant plushie out of the claw machine, which was super rad. Of course, there are always basketball hoops at any Shaq event. To no surprise, I was unable to sink a basketball, but it’s always fun to try. A nice touch this year was the row of picnic tables lined up alongside the food trucks, giving us a comfortable place to sit and eat after snagging our food.

After All The Reason I made my way over to MainStage was to catch GorrilaT! Tate always brings a massive amount of energy to his live sets, and I have to wonder how he still has a voice after screaming into the mic so much. Tonight was no exception; he played multiple new bangers off his recent Gorrilla Tapes EP, which was super rad. His set was a nice touch to this year’s lineup for sure. Next came one of my personal favorite sets of the evening… Jessica Aduiffred

¡La Princesa De Riddim!

Having never seen her live before, I was more excited than ever to catch her performance. Known for her Latin flair and hard-hitting Riddim, The Riddim Queen did not disappoint. Set against the backdrop of the Golden Hour, Jessica Audiffred’s set was incredible. At one point, she threw on Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and got the whole crowd to clap along and chant the lyrics before a filthy drop ensued. I love the delicate balance of hard-hitting dance music, a dash of techno, and bass drops that will blow your mind when she puts together her sets. I want my Riddim with an elegant touch of femininity, please! And Jessica Audiffred delivers just that.

Just before her set ended, I had to make my way back to the Trenches stage to catch the epic B2B of Celo and Neotek! And just in time, DJ Diesel, himself, was bulldozing through the crowd, wearing a black bucket hat dead center of the moshpit! One thing about Diesel—if he says he’s going to get into the moshpit, darn it, he’s going to get into that moshpit! Ripping through some of his sick metalcore flips, Neotek and Celo brought plenty of energy to the Trenches stage!

T-Pain’s Bass set…

I made my way back up the hill to grab a couple of bottles of water and got sidetracked by a robot dog dancing through the lounge area. After snagging two bottles, I quickly dashed down the hill to get set up for T-Pain’s set. The most anticipated set of the evening, I think everyone was wondering what his bass set was going to be like. Holy F**K, were our minds thoroughly blown; I was not prepared for what I was about to witness. It started off with a hard-hitting, Dome-slapping bass rendition of “Cyclone” to give us an example of the mayhem that was about to ensue. Then, to a pleasant surprise, there were these little pockets of weird wubiness that elated my heart with pure joy. Then he would flip the script with punchy dance beats that got the dance floor jumping.

Climbing to and from the top of the decks Mr. T-Pain was on, 1,000! His energy stayed the same from start to finish. I couldn’t tell who was more excited to be there: him or the crowd. The worst part of this whole set was that it was only 30 minutes long, not a full hour. Other than that, T-Pain’s set was layered, well thought out, versatile, and so well crafted that you wouldn’t believe he was a newcomer to the scene. I also loved the “Buy Me a Drank” rendition; not too many DJs/Producers can remix their own tune on stage. All in all, 10/10 hands down! I need another T-Pain bass set in my life ASAP! And then came the Diesel…

The Most Dominant Ever!

Adorned in a giant white Stetson cowboy hat, Diesel made his way behind the decks… oh shit, here we go… His opening song featured T-Pain on the mic, singing along while his white Stetson bobbed to the beat. This night couldn’t possibly get any more magical—or so I thought. After T-Pain left, Diesel took the reins and started to let the crowd know how unhinged his set was about to be. Performing for a full 90 minutes, Diesel went hard! Playing numerous hits from his recent album, M.D.E., Shaq’s booming voice thundered through the microphone, raving about his moshpit!

If you attend a Diesel set, you’d better be ready to bounce off the rails for the rest of his performance, or this isn’t the set for you, my friend. One thing that always stands out to me during a Diesel set is his humility in sharing the stage with his peers. It always looks like so much fun when all his friends join him on stage to rip through a collaboration together. I remember seeing Perrywayne up there, Neotek, Jessica Audiffred — the list goes on. He’s even known for pointing out a fellow headbanger in the crowd and inviting him on stage to rage with him. So if you’re in the front row for a Diesel set, you’d better bring your A game!

The pinnacle of the festival was definitely the emotional ending of DJ Diesel’s performance. T-Pain jumped behind the decks and grabbed a mic, while Shaq came billowing past us and began to climb over the railing and make his way into the crowd. T-Pain was perched on top of the decks singing the verse to “Buy You a Drank” when it hit me. Damn, we are truly witnessing something very special and the beginning of a new era in bass music. After the high of Diesel’s set began to wear off, I quickly remembered the show wasn’t over just yet!

You’re now experiencing Wevvity.

We still had the pleasure of witnessing a first-ever “Wevvity” B2B of Wooli B2B Levity. I’ve seen a few different Levity B2B’s in my time, but this was by far the most well-matched B2B in Levity history. Wooli and Levity’s styles blended so seamlessly, it all just flowed together as one unified set. Ripping through WOOLI’s “Wackman” then Levity’s “Mr. Postman,” the song repertoire was quite gnarly! Bass House at its best; there’s a reason this B2B was booked as the closing set this evening. With plenty of lasers and pyro to singe your eyebrows off, Wevvity railed upwards and onward.

Being so entranced with the music this evening, please don’t let me shy away from the amazing stage production throughout the event. The Fireworks blasting from behind the stage, illuminating the Fort Worth Skyline, was a superb touch to such an already amazing evening before us. As “Wevvity” carried us home for the night, I began to say my farewell and make the trek back to the truck. Words can’t express the immaculate edition of the 3rd annual Shaq’s Bass Allstars Fort Worth. Until next year!

Big Ups to Disco Presents and Shaq’s Bass Allstar’s for such an amazing event!