Mad Decent Block Party NYC Recap

The Mad Decent Block Party is always a highly-anticipated event during the summer if you're lucky enough to live in one of the major cities the all-ages, day-long festival stops in. This year, Brooklyn had the honor of hosting the Diplo headed label event in New York, specifically hipster central Williamsburg, and fittingly brought an eclectic mix of NYC's finest music lovers. Partiers started arriving early to Williamsburg Park, which ironically enough has no trees or foliage, and would be detrimental to the day ahead. The 'RSVP only', 'first come, first serve' rules of the party were enough to scare anyone to brave the heat for the next 10 hours, even though there ended up not being any lists or lines to worry about. With temperatures feeling well over 100 degrees, the masses gathered around the perimeter of the "Park" and sat against the fences to try and grab an inch or two of shade. The brave ones of the crowd stood on line to grab waters or hung around the stage in an attempt to bust a move or two.

It was Australian dubstep DJ and blonde bombshell Kito that brought some mental relief from the sun when she dropped fellow Mad Decent labelmate Dillon Francis' remix of 'Broken Hearts', one of her biggest hits with vocalist Reija Lee. For a few minutes, we thought we were on a tropical island while grooving out to the dreamy dubstep song. Brooklyn-based DJ Baauer took over the decks next and kept the seemingly easy, breezy vibe going where Kito left off. He spun the Flosstradamus remix of 'Original Don' and had everyone jumping through the heat and continued to inspire movement.

News of rain approaching was welcomed and inspired some twists on the traditional rain dance, but it would take hours before the weather would turn it around. When the sky darkened and Erol Alkan took the stage, it was cause for celebration. The British DJ and frequent Boys Noize collaborator dropped BN's massive new single 'XTC' right before Diplo came out and told the now-relieved crowd that the show was being shut down due to a storm and that Erol and Major Lazer would play a full show at the Williamsburg Music Hall a few blocks away. Only minutes went by before all the attendees were caught in the rain, wind, and lightning while running to the after party where party goers continued to rage throughout the night.

Check out the full gallery over on Mad Decent Block Party's Facebook Page.