Splash House recently concluded the first of its two annual summer festivals over the first weekend of June, and has once again cemented the title of being the G.O.A.T of Palm Springs summer pool parties. The past couple of years has seen this “hotel meets house party” festival continue to grow both physically by expanding from two to three incredible hotels and sonically by showcasing Splash House vets and newbies alike while debuting some of dance music biggest acts before they break. This was the sixth edition of the festival and Splash House continued the tradition of showcasing a massive collection of artists from across the electronic spectrum at all three of its Palm Springs venues: The Renaissance, Riviera, and Saguaro Hotels with After Hours at the Air Museum adding the perfect splash of grenadine to the delicious musical cocktail.
Each of the Splash House hotel locations has their own vibe and die-hard following of fans, and in my opinion, the Saguaro still does it better. So in honor of the amazing vibes thrown down at the Saguaro stage this weekend here is my top 5 House Music sets of the weekend.
J.Phlip – The Saguaro
Making her poolside debut at the June Splash House was Jessica Phillippe, lovingly known as the Dirtybird OG- J.Phlip. While there were many great sets of the weekend, J.Phlip has a personal place in my heart and I will never miss a J.Phlip set if I can help it. It was seeing her perform at Los Angeles nightclub, Exchange, years ago when I was so incredibly unhappy with the way my life was going (both professionally and personally) and I had hit this ultimate low point where every day I woke up and while I was walking into work I would think “if this is my life it’s just not worth being here”. Then at her set both the music as well as seeing how carefree and happy she was behind the decks- it made me want to change and grow and find my own niche that brought the same kind of joy in my life. She is the reason I really pursued writing and went all in on myself and even with all the ups and downs that come with making a creative field your main source of income- I’ve never been happier. By total accident, I was lucky enough this weekend at Splash House to come full circle and stand up on stage behind J.Phlip as she threw down one of the funkiest, dirtiest, grooviest house sets of the weekend and all I can say is: HOLY FUCK does J.Phlip know how to throw down on the decks. And since I wasn’t really supposed to be up there as I was leaving the stage to go meet up with my friends the security told me “If you leave now, you can’t come back up.” All I could think was nothing would beat that moment on stage with my house music hero and that is totally fine with me.
Nora En Pure – Air Museum
Your EDM has been on the Nora En Pure train for years and even though it is hard to place Nora in any one genre box, I couldn’t do a review of any substance without talking about the incredible set she performed Friday night. Kicking off the weekend by closing out the first After Hours party at the Air Museum- Nora En Pure really set the tone for the weekend to follow. Known for never having a set “plan” and just simply following her own musical instincts in her sets: Nora’s opening performance was both vibey, laid back, fun, and had just a touch of grime. To put it simply: Nora En Pure managed to personify Splash House in a single set.
PS – Shout out to the The Flamingo crew that mobbed the air museum crowd with matching Flamingo/Unicorns jerseys and custom made flamingo covered fans. I see you and I’m with it.
Chris Lake – The Renaissance
OWSLA’s ace house producer Chris Lake brought his signature “love of all genres” approach to music at Splash House this weekend by sharing house music outside of the Saguaro stage to the self-coined “central hub” of Splash House- the Renaissance pool. Even if you didn’t make it out to Splash House over the weekend- you can relive all the Chris Lake Splash House highlights from both his Renaissance set as well as the b2b set with Justin Martin Sunday night at Zelda’s- including his tunes “Operator (Ring Ring)” and “Pizza” w/ Chris Lorenzo in the video below captured from the HOWSLA DJs official instagram story:
The Magician – The Saguaro
The Saguaro stage has long been the home of the good vibes and house music at Splash House and this year’s lineup really showcased the festivals ability to bring the intimate feel of a great house party poolside at the Saguaro hotel. Coming Onstage as the sun began to drop and temps cooled down, The Magician, threw a magical (no pun intended) set on Saturday that was the perfect end to a day of sunshine and water fights leading right into the After Hours parties over at the Air Museum.
Justin Martin – The Saguaro
The very first Splash House I attended was June of 2016 and I’ll admit the main reason I went was to see Justin Martin poolside at the Riviera. The only stage with a pool right in front of the stage the Riviera always offered a unique venue for some of the largest names performing at Splash House- but I’m not going to lie as a Saguaro ride or die Splash House fan I was not only stoked to see that the Dirtybird producer was not only returning but would be performing at my favourite stage this time around!
All smiles for @mrJUSTINMARTIN! 🌺 🌴 pic.twitter.com/b7kK8fTFnW
— Splash House (@SplashHousePS) June 11, 2018
If you missed out on the epic return Splash House in June rendition, you still have a chance to join in the splashing good time when Splash House returns in August. Hotel Packages include Splash House tickets and three-night accommodations at any of our host hotels. Separate tickets are available for After Hours at the Palm Springs Air Museum. If you would like to attend both Splash House and After Hours events, Combo passes are available for purchase and include access to Splash House and After Hours. Tickets for August are now available via SplashHouse.com.
