Decibel Festival ends a year long hiatus and plans to return in Los Angeles

Last year, the Pacific Northwest lost one of its cherished annual festivals called Decibel, a house and techno-tuned event that had been ongoing in Seattle since 2003. Festival founder Sean Horton announced that the 12th annual festival would no longer move forward due to his decision to move to Los Angeles and pursue a position at Red Bull.

Though the break was only ever called an "extended hiatus", it might be surprising to many that the celebrated festival has already begun to unveil plans to make its return - however this time, in Los Angeles.

"With many of our key partners and a plethora of talent here, Los Angeles was always an obvious fit for Decibel to call a second home outside of Seattle," Sean explained in a statement on The Stranger. "In recent months there has been a dramatic increase in both desire and opportunity connected to a possible Decibel Festival program in Los Angeles and I'm ready to ease back into planning mode."

Horton goes on to explain a need to connect with the local community here in Southern California by kicking off a mini-series of Decibel branded events starting in June with Carl Craig at Union and continuing through July with Matias Aguayo. The founder doesn't neglect to give the festival's original home a nod too, though, with the return, also announcing a string of Seattle events starting in May with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and leading Detroit house producer Kyle Hall. Find more information on the events here.

"These are just the first many events we're planning for both Seattle and Los Angeles in 2017," Horton confirms. "As for the Decibel Festival announcement, once we have dates locked in, we'll be making an official announcement."

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here