What do you get when you mix mountain culture with three days of dance music on one of the biggest weekends of the year? The annual SnowGlobe Festival in South Lake Tahoe. The festival brings people from around the world to ski, snowboard and dance to some of the most amazing music in Tahoe on New Year’s Eve weekend.
SnowGlobe | Alex Dunne | Hatchery 17
Chad Donnelly the founder of the SnowGlobe Festival hails from Colorado where skiing was and still is a huge part of his life. His first Coachella Festival had a huge impact on him, as did the dance music scene he discovered while studying economics in Prague, Czech Republic. The influence festivals and dance music had on his life intersected with his mountain upbringing, which gave birth to SnowGlobe, he says.
“I had this love of the mountains, the mountain culture and dance music. I had a vision and wanted to create a platform to bring people together to celebrate and connect,” Donnelly explained. “When I had the idea to create an event in a cold winter setting people told me I was crazy, but I wanted to do something that was unique and fresh. And it’s taken off in a big way,” said Donnelly.
Alex Dunne | Hatchery 17
Donnelly is not only the visionary of the event but he also organizes all of the programming and bookings for the artists. He describes this as a long and laborious process.
“It’s a lot to curate something like this. The artists are excited to come, play music and take some time to ski or board on the mountain,” Donnelly added. “I consider the event more of an experience, with the environment, culture and music. One has to have an adventurous spirit to take on this festival and experience this,” he added.
Donnelly is excited about the upcoming event, which is held mostly outdoors with a few indoor heated venues. “Impacting people’s lives for three days is really special,” he said.
Alex Dunne | Hatchery 17
The lineup for the festival is extensive. There are a number of artists from Australia, which Donnelly explains is reflective of the music emerging from that continent. Chet Faker, Cut Copy and Alison Wonderland are some of the artists performing from Australia.
California is represented as well with artists like Hippie Sabotage from Sacramento, J Phlip and Rob Garza from San Francisco. Nick Alvarado aka Pumpkin, a well-loved DJ who can often be found on the Tahoe circuit, is originally from LA.
Celebrate with Pumpkin
Pumpkin grew up on all things music – his grandmother was a music teacher and from the time he was a toddler, instruments were his toys. This is also where he began his journey as a DJ. Playing in a number of bands in his teens he discovered the electronic music scene in his early 20s, which led him to playing at Burning Man and festivals such as Lightening in a Bottle, Coachella and Woogie Weekend.
Pumpkin | Louis Fisher
Pumpkin’s music is lighthearted, happy, fun and infused with love. Nostalgia and pop culture have a huge impact on his remixes. He attributes this to growing up as a latchkey kid and watching a lot of TV and movies and listening to music.
“I had a huge imagination. And my parents encouraged me to pursue music,” said Pumpkin.
“I am a big kid who loves toys and comedy. I remix things that bring me back to certain times in my life being raised on disco, classic rock and Indie music along with childlike qualities I appreciate like the Muppets that were educational, weirdly positive and had a genuine message,” he added.
Louis Fisher
Pumpkin’s enthusiasm and genuine nature is evident in his easy manner. “I am passionate about music, and humor is sacred. On the dance floor, it’s a celebration. I try not to take myself too seriously.”
Life is good for Pumpkin with a new original release entitled “Shifting Things” featuring Kyrstyn Pixton.
“Kristen is a gifted singer and songwriter and the release has been in the making for a very long time,” said Pumpkin.
Currently living in San Francisco, this is Pumpkin’s first time performing at SnowGlobe and he says that he looks forward to celebrating the New Year, bringing the love with his nostalgic throwback mixes and Indie love tunes set to a house beat.
SnowGlobe Music Festival
Dec. 29-31
Tickets start at $99
Lake Tahoe Community College | South Lake Tahoe
To purchase tickets, visit snowglobemusicfestival.com
