When Grant Kwiecinski announced his indefinite hiatus from the GRiZ project in June 2023, the news shocked the U.S. festival community. After over a decade of nonstop touring, the beloved producer, DJ, and saxophonist explained it was time for a much-needed break. Following a final run of shows four months later, the scene bid a bittersweet farewell to one of its favorite sons.
But after two years of waiting, GRiZ’s devoted community of fans was rewarded for its patience, as bass music’s golden boy cemented his awaited comeback with three headline sets at his first-ever self-produced camping festival, Valley of the Seven Stars.
Held from October 10-12 at the Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, Virginia, the event marked an emotional reunion for one of the stateside festival scene’s kindest and most caring cohorts—and a dream realized for the man who brought them together.
All weekend long, we felt the love and attention put into Seven Stars by GRiZ and his team, who again showed us why the future of events is artist-led.
Read EDM Maniac’s full report on the inaugural edition of Valley of the Seven Stars below.
Vibes: ★★★★★
Back on a stage mic for the first time in years, GRiZ shared thoughtful messages with fans during his sets. On opening night, he spurred ravers to keep the vibes high and venue clean. Before Chasing the Golden Hour (CTGH) on day two, he shared lessons learned during his time away. And in a closing speech on night three, he recounted his long-held dream to throw a music festival, and thanked fans for helping him achieve it.
As we turned to our fellow dancers, we watched people share in his pride. Friends embraced, tears were shed, and it was powerful to see what his art and community mean to so many. A couple was engaged to be married during CTGH on Saturday.
All weekend long, we felt GRiZ’s words reflected in the interactions we shared with attendees, and the following remark from night three perhaps best encapsulates what Seven Stars’ inaugural gathering was all about:
“This moment will not last forever,” GRiZ said. “This is the moment that we have now. This gift of love and community, of sharing, of being with eachother. The music is cool, the stages are awesome, but this, and you, what you do for each other, that’s what life is all about. This sense of community you’ve given me the opportunity to lead; but that you are, that you’ve built, that you create.”
The comeback shows were always going to be special. But more than a hot ticket, Seven Stars was a momentous celebration of a music family that is a shining light unto our scene. Through both highs and harrowing challenges, the GRiZFam truly lived out their credo of “Show Love, Spread Love,” and reminded us why we fell in love with the scene in the first place.
From our place in the crowd, we felt safe and respected as we exchanged small gifts, kind words, and our best weird and wonky dance moves, with plenty of room to boogie. In the campgrounds, neighbors lent a helping hand. After each headline set, we saw many people pick up trash at the main stage. The dance floor was spotless, and when it was time to leave on Monday, the campground was too, as multiple cleaning volunteers have attested on the Seven Stars subreddit.
There were a few concerning incidents. Some attendees reported sleep disturbance from loud music in the campgrounds in the early hours of the morning. One intoxicated fan climbed the stage during Subtronics’ headline set, posing a security risk for artists and equipment and risking serious injury from onstage pyro. During the final afterparty on the Barn Burner campground stage, three attendees collapsed in three different areas of the crowd within 20 minutes.
However, thanks to the quick thinking and response of the Seven Stars crowd, the performing DJs, and the festival team, a tragic situation was avoided. As soon as the crowd waved flashlights to signal for medical attention, Levity, ALLEYCVT, Crankdat, and Tape B cut the music and called for medics on the mic. They personally passed naloxone to the individual they could access, and several ravers rushed to do the same for the others in the crowd.
Though the set was cut short, the show producer confirmed on the Seven Stars subreddit that all three individuals are OK. Statements shared on the page do not indicate that the collapses were due to overdose. We applaud those who stepped up to help when called upon. They only serve as further testament to the caring nature of this fanbase.
Production: ★★★☆☆
Achieving a level of seamlessness most first-year festivals can only dream of, when it came to run-of-show production, Seven Stars found the perfect balance between delivering for fans and not doing too much.
The festival’s monolithic main stage, the Big Dipper, featured a towering Stageline build flanked by hi-def LED video walls that stretched from the floor to the sky. Combined with a heavy dose of pyro, sharp lasers, swirling spotlights, and fog that nestled low in the valley, it was a perfect fit for the famously high show value of acts like Wooli, Of The Trees, Subtronics, and GRiZ himself. No expense was spared.
Though not as large, Seven Stars’ other main venue stage, Zodiac, dazzled us with a truly unique build, featuring a curved DJ booth and a scaffolded network of speakers, lighting, and video stacks, topped with pyro. The towers were linked by several lighted cables that tangled through the stage and pulsed with every beat. A circular panel of spotlights was suspended by a crane overhead.
Tucked in the woods near the campgrounds at the edge of the property, Ouroubourous served as a third destination for lineup performances, and joined Barn Burner and the Underground Dairy as a nightly afterparty spot. Ouroubourous featured elevated viewing platforms, Barn Burner’s flaming LED panels made it appear to be on fire, and Underground Dairy took shape as a stripped-back DJ booth. Sound was crisp, clear, and well-balanced at each stage throughout the weekend. Aside from a few technical difficulties during changeovers, the show went off without a hitch.
Throughout the weekend, attendees could also participate in a variety of workshops and activities, such as group yoga, meditation, and workouts; educational panels on music, mental health, and photography; and crafts, such as Tie-Dye World, where fans hand-dyed their own limited-edition festival merch.
Music: ★★★★☆
GRiZ is so back. Joined by a backing band with trombone, trumpet, Kaleena Zanders on vocals, and ProbCause on MC duties, the funk master shone as bright as ever across his three headline sets. Intentionally scheduled with no performance conflicts, each one felt like a family reunion.
On opening night, GRiZ played his most loved bangers, welcoming fans to Seven Stars with a special intro featuring the University of Virginia Marching Band. On a cloudy afternoon on day two, his Chasing the Golden Hour set brought a chilled-out vibe with his famous sax melodies. The skies parted for a beautiful sunset, as he closed the performance with his heartwarming edit of Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s “It’s Called: Freefall” and “On a High.”
On day three, GRiZ unleashed a fury of live debuts for the tracks he’s released since breaking his silence earlier this year, as well as never-before-heard collabs with Tape B (who joined GRiZ on stage), Levity, Effin, ProbCause, and Kaleena Zanders.
Elsewhere, we delighted in a support lineup stacked with big names and unsung heroes in bass and beyond. A capped crowd afforded one of the more intimate dance floor experiences we’ve had with a lineup of this caliber, and we were so happy to feel love for GRiZ and this community reciprocated by the other DJs, both on stage and in a flood of post-festival social media posts.
As we floated around the venue on day one, we caught Crawdad Sniper, Jon Casey, and some groovy house from J. Worra. Later, Daily Bread threw down bassy trip-hop bliss, and we caught a banging intro from Wooli before getting bathed in low-end bass from INZO on the Zodiac stage.
After Chasing the Golden Hour on night two, we stuck around Zodiac for some high-energy neurofunk from Manic Focus and mind-melting wubs from Cool Customer. Disco Lines then dished out an outstanding cross-genre blend of house and heavy bass, before Subtronics dropped an all-time favorite headline set, featuring the return of “Griztronics.” He even played the original demo of the bass anthem. Also, big up EAZYBAKED—those afters were filthy.
On day three, we trekked over to Ourobourous for MPH, who threw down a wicked set of UKG and bassline bangers, and caught a few drops from Levity while we ventured to LYNY, who threw down a mind-expanding set fusing low-end dubstep, UKG, and house. He then handed the decks over to his roommate Hamdi for some ferocious half-time dubstep before we finished the weekend with GRiZ.
Venue: ★★★☆☆
Past winding roads off Interstate 29 in Nelson County, Virginia, Seven Stars’ home at the Oak Ridge estate comprises 4,800 acres of open farmland, historic buildings, and a one-mile horse track in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Surrounded by fall foliage in mid-October, the valleyed property has previously hosted events ranging from music festivals to monster truck rallies and is well-suited to host Seven Stars as it grows in the coming years.
We felt the space was maximized for best use. Campgrounds and parking flanked the main venue on three sides, and afterparty stages and the Seven Stars General Store, a wild west-themed locale with merch and activities, were opposite the campgrounds at the far edge of the festival footprint. However, group and pre-set tent campers near the racetrack faced a nearly two-mile walk to get there. The terrain featured lots of gentle slopes and scattered dips or potholes, but the surface was grass and soft clay—easy on the feet.
Inside the venue, bathrooms were easily accessible and kept clean. Long lines were rare, mainly at the portapotties nearest to the no-conflict sets. In the campgrounds, portapotties in congested areas and main thoroughfares got gross quickly and could’ve used more regular attention. Some portapotties were treacherously placed on inclines, and toilet paper was limited. Only the bathrooms within the main venue had hand-washing stations.
Paid showers were available in GA camping for $10 each or $30 for three showers. Showers were open from 1PM to 4PM. There were two water refill stations within the main venue. We felt attendees could benefit from a third water station near the Zodiac stage, so they don’t have to leave the area to fill up.
While Ouroubourous and the Underground Dairy were equipped to handle crowd capacity, the Barn Burner struggled to support crowds for some of the biggest late-night sets. Its place at the bottom of a hill made it difficult to enter or exit at peak times, and a serious pinch point at the downhill exit literally stopped attendees in their tracks for seconds at a time.
GRiZ and his team are known for releasing limited-edition merch, and demand was expected to be high for duds from his first-ever curated festival. However, with just three locations to purchase, attendees waited in lines of up to 6 hours on day one and between 2 and 3 hours later in the weekend. With this crowd, more merch booths were needed.
Food & Beverage: ★★☆☆☆
While Seven Stars didn’t feature the scale of food and beverage offerings we’ve found at larger legacy festivals, variety kept campers happy, with options like burgers, wraps, and sandwiches; loaded fries; grilled cheese; pizza; tacos; chicken tenders; Jamaican food; sushi; smoothies; and coffee. Prices were on par with most events of this scale. Sides ranged from $5 to $8, and larger entrees ranged from $15 to $30. A slice of pizza cost $10.
Beverage partners included Red Bull, Michelob Ultra, craft brews, and canned cocktails from local Virginia brewers Devil’s Backbone and New Realm, as well as seltzer options from Nutrl and Mamitas. Canned beverages were priced between $8 and 12. The festival also offered bookable multi-course meal options.
Overall: ★★★☆☆
GRiZ has a good thing going in Virginia. The first-ever Valley of the Seven Stars festival was one of the most special weekend raves we’ve had the pleasure to attend. We were overjoyed, not only to relish in GRiZ’s return to the stage, but to reconnect with a loving electronic music community we missed dearly over the last two years.
First-year events face immense pressure and rarely go off without a few hiccups, but we felt the Seven Stars team, for the most part, executed a flawless show weekend.
With a simple but smart recipe—killer production, a sprawling natural venue, unique afterparty stages, and farm-themed activations that build event culture—the event showcased acute attention to detail that only comes from an artist who has pored over every detail to prioritize fan experience. You simply won’t find this charm at large-scale corporate-backed festivals, and there’s still so much room for Seven Stars to grow.
Find EDM Maniac’s complete Festival Report Card archive here.
Featured image courtesy: Seven Stars Festival. Credit: Parker Merritt.