British superclub Cream will bring two dance festivals to the U.S. this fall. The club's hugely successful Liverpool-based version takes place annually in August and features seven stages of DJs and live acts, and close to 40,000 revelers. The American fests will take place September 1st in Riverhead, New York and September 29th in Las Vegas.
"Basically, it's an eighteen-hour dance festival, which hopefully will attract thirty-odd thousand people," said Cream Managing Director James Barton. "I think it's a modern day event. The emphasis is on the whole show, not just on the talent and the music. In Liverpool for instance we have a swimming pool and a sauna and beach volleyball and beach football. It's all about having the best night of your life."
Although the U.S. lineup has yet to be announced, the festivals three-year history in the U.K. and Ireland has included performances and DJ sets from Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, Basement Jaxx, the Pet Shop Boys, All Saints and Goldie. According to Barton, the U.S. shows will steer away from pop acts.
"It think this year it'll mostly be DJ-driven," he says. "It's important for us to position the event away from anything that's existing at the moment -- away from raves and away from traditional rock events . . . It's not just gonna be about the top twelve DJs in the world. They'll be fifty-odd DJs on the show. And we'll put a couple things in there to surprise."
JOLIE LASH
(March 29, 2001)