| Paradiso Festival | |
| Location: | The Gorge Amphitheatre, Quincy, Washington, United States |
| Years Active: | 2012–2019 |
| Founders: | USC Events, Live Nation Entertainment |
| Genre: | Electronic dance music |
| Attendance: | 20,000+ |
| Website: | Paradiso Festival website |
Paradiso Festival was an annual electronic dance music (EDM) festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre located on the Columbia River in George, Washington, United States. Founded by USC Events and Live Nation Entertainment in 2012, Paradiso was billed as the "largest Electronic Dance Music event ever staged in the Pacific Northwest", with the 2012 attendance exceeding 29,000 people. The 2013 event saw performances by Kaskade, Porter Robinson, Tiesto, and more.[1]
On January 28, 2020 Insomniac filed a lawsuit against USC Events alleging that USC refused to account for $2 million meant for artists and vendors at the 2019 festival.[2] [3] Insomniac has expressed interest in having a summer event at the Gorge which will likely replace Paradiso.[4]
A Seattle Washington-based Events company founded in 1996.[5] USC has been silent and has not hosted any events since 2019. Alongside Paradiso, USC also hosted a few other festivals, including Freaknight, Lucky, and Resolution to name a few. After many vendors, employees, and artists failed to receive payment in 2019 for Paradiso it placed pressure on the company who eventually went under.[6]
Attendants of the Paradiso Festival also had an option to camp at The Gorge Amphitheatre. While the festival itself was two days long, camping traditionally began a day before the festival started. At the 2017 festival, camping was open to everyone at 1 p.m. PST. There were four types of camping an attendant could buy: Standard Camping, Premier Camping, Gold Camping, and Terrace Camping. The Standard Camping pass was the cheapest option, while the Terrace Camping pass was the most expensive. Each campground had its own perks, with the perks getting better as one purchased a more expensive camping pass. Campers were normally permitted one vehicle and six people per camp site. There were vendors for food and misc. items such as clothing and artist merchandise, as well as showers towards the middle of the camp grounds. There were Porta Potty/Handwashing stations, and trash cans located throughout the campgrounds.
Attendants could expect to see costumes and outfits that are catered to the EDM industry, such as vibrantly colored clothing. Many attendants were also representative of the PLUR movement. Art was also a centerpiece at the festival, with festivalgoers finding many different artistic displays throughout the festival grounds. Many of the performances represented EDM, but within the genre itself there was a wide spectrum of sounds that were then categorized into various subgenres. Some examples commonly found were house music and trap music.
Attendants could expect to be searched and patted down upon entry to the festival for illegal substances and alcohol. In the actual festival area, attendants could find vendors for food and drinks. Other vendors sold accessories, clothing, and assorted miscellaneous items. There were carnival rides and carnival games for those who were interested. Hydration stations and Porta Potties were set up almost everywhere within the area. There were also people who walked around looking out for those who need help, called the "Conscious Crew". There were medical tents for those in need. There were three total stages, with three artists playing simultaneously, with attendants often going back and forth between artists until their sets were over. At night, the main stage was typically where major artists would play. Several headliners from the 2017 festival included Yellow Claw and Marshmello. Attendants could expect to see light shows and lasers at the various stages throughout the night.
| 2016 Line-Up[7] | 2017 Line-Up[8] | 2018 Line-Up[9] | 2019 Line-Up[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12th Planet | Alan Walker | AC Slater | 1788-L |
| 4B | Alix Perezdick | Armin Van Buuren | Alison Wonderland |
| Alison Wonderland | Andy C | Audien | ARMNHMR |
| Aly & Fila | Anna Lunoe | AutoGraF | Bear Grillz |
| Andrew Rayel | Baauer | Axel Boy | Benny Benassi |
| Astrix | Barely Alive | Brohug | Bingo Players |
| Audien | Ben Nicky | Captain Hook | Blanke |
| Bassjackers | Bijou | Claude Vonstroke | Borgeous |
| Bassnectar | Billy Kenny | Dada Life | Born Dirty |
| Bear Grillz | Black Tiger Sex Machine | Daktyl | Coone |
| Bro Safari | Bleep Bloop | Darren Styles | Dateless B2B Lucati |
| BT | Boombox Cartel | Darrius | Delta Heavy B2B Dirtyphonics |
| Cash Cash | Breathe Carolina | Deadmau5 | Doctor P |
| Caspa B2B Rusko | Camo & Krooked | DJ Snake | Elephante |
| Cazzette | Chris Lake | Drezo | Eli Brown |
| Cheat Codes | Darrius | Droeloe | Emok |
| Chris Lorenzo | Doctor P | Ekali | Fury + MC Dino |
| Cookie Monsta B2B Funtcase | Dyro | Elephante | Gammer |
| Cosmic Gate | Flux Pavilion | Eptic B2B Must Die! | Getter |
| Darksiderz | Fury | Feed Me | GG Magree |
| Datsik | Gammer | Fury + MC Dino | Goldfish |
| Deorro | Gareth Emery | G Jones | Habstrakt |
| Destructo | Getter | Gabriel & Dresde | Herobust |
| Dillon Francis | Griz | Ganja White Night | i_o |
| Dirtyphonics | Gryffin | Gramatik | Illenium |
| Dom Dolla | GTA | Graves | Infected Mushroom |
| Drezo | Johnny Monsoon | Grum | Kaskade |
| DVBBS | Joyryde | Hal-V & Spacecase | Kayzo |
| Ephwurd | JSTJR | Hotel Garuda | Keys N Krates |
| Excision | K?D | Jake Crocker | Klingande |
| Fury + MC Dino | Kayzo | Justin Martin | Kuuro |
| Go Freek | Keys N Krates | Jvmpkicks | Lick |
| Gorgon City (DJ Set) | KSHMR | Kai Wachi | Low Steppa |
| Hardwell | Lane 8 | Kidnap | Markus Schulz |
| Herobust | Le Youth | Lady Faith | Morgan Page |
| Hucci | Lost Kings | Louis The Child | Noisecontrollers |
| Hunter Siegel | Marlo | Matroda | Oliver Heldens |
| Illenium | Marshmello | Medasin | Omnom |
| Jackal | Mija | Megalodon B2B Krimer | Opiuo |
| Jauz | Oliver Heldens | Midnight Trannosaurus | Phantoms |
| Jay Hardaway | Omnia | Minnesota B2B BuKu | PhaseOne |
| KRNE | Ookay | Moksi | Riot Ten |
| LNY TNZ | Porter Robinson | Monxx B2b P0gman | Rusko |
| Madeon (DJ Set) | Prince Fox | Moon Boots | S.P.Y |
| Matrix & Futurebound | Quix | Netsky | San Holo |
| MK (Marc Kinchen) | Rabbit In the Moon | Noisia | Shades |
| New World Punk | Sam Feldt | Party Favor | Shiba San |
| NGHTMRE | SayMyName | Paul Van Dyk | Skrillex |
| Orjan Nilsen | Seven Lions | Pendulum | Slumberjack |
| Oski | Slander | Planet of the Drums | SNBRN |
| Peking Duk | Snails | Rezz | Tails |
| Rezz | SNBRN | Said The Sky | Taska Black |
| RL Grime | Space Jesus | Snails | Tokimonsta |
| Shaun Frank | Spag Heddy | Sonny Fodera | Troyboi |
| Sigala | Sub Focus | Subset Feat. Ammo | Two Friends |
| Sleepy Tom | Tiësto | Subsonic Drops | Volac |
| Styles&Complete | Troyboi | Tchami x Malaa | Walker & Royce |
| Terravita | Tydi | The Crystal Method | What So Not |
| The Chainsmokers | Vini Vici | Tollefson | Whethan |
| Thomas Jack | Virtual Riot | Troyboi | Zeds Dead |
| Timmy Trumpet | Wax Motif | Um.. | Zhu |
| Ummet Ozcan | Will Sparks | Valentino Khan | |
| What So Not | Yellow Claw | Virtual Self | |
| Zeds Dead | |||
| Zomboy |