Snapped: Diversion LA with Dixon, KiNK, Danny Daze and Droog, Los Angeles
A perfect summer cap for the city
Welcome to Downtown Los Angeles.
Despite the overarching stereotypes about Los Angeles - think sunny beaches and glitzy Hollywood - where the city really seems to come alive nowadays is in a dark, underdressed industrial space in the corners of the city's grungy downtown areas.
Perhaps it's the homey, reminiscent feel that comforts the flood of underground talent that have made it apparent that their preferred dancefloor isn't one that is adjacent to the Walk of Fame, but rather the new age street-turned-dance floor on a summer night in Los Angeles.
Diversion LA set out to deliver exactly that with their one-day event highlighted by mega talents Dixon, KiNK, Danny Daze, Droog and more with an after party that flowed into Lot 613 just a couple steps away from the event's main dancefloor.
Doors opened in the afternoon on a end-of-the-summer day in the city, allowing attendees to flow out onto a closed-off street capped by a stage, surrounded by brightly painted walls and encapsulated by the creative spirit of Los Angeles' Arts District.
Around the corner, Lot 613 served as Diversion LA's second stage. The venue's usually dark room was lit up by skylights - a rare daytime sighting that provided a cozy, smaller room for festival goers seeking shade without foregoing good tunes.
By the time Danny Daze took to the stage, the crowd was thick in the street and remained that way until Dixon's last song.
KiNK delivered a high-energy set, taking "live" to the next level by having a great time of his own, smiling while picking up and showing off his live skills on his equipment for an enraptured crowd. Then, appropriately, as sunset faded into evening, Dixon thundered in for a two-hour closing set, dropping bombs from Red Axes and left-field hitters like Wilfrido Vargas' 'El Africano' in a way that only Dixon could.
See what you missed from the show above.
[Photos: Corina Marie]
*****Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here*****