It’s been nearly a few weeks since Bass Canyon 2025 returned for its 7th year, and we still can’t get the weekend off of our minds. Hosted by Excision Presents, the festival drew thousands of headbangers from across the States for nearly a week of legendary sets, mind-numbing production, and an unforgettable community PLURR vibe.
Pre-Party at the Crater
Although the festival runs from Friday-Sunday, campers were allowed to begin their weekend as early as Wednesday, allowing folks to set up camp and prepare for the weekend ahead. On top of that, Excision threw yet another pre-party on Thursday night, with a secret special lineup. The Pre-Party was set at the highly anticipated Crater Stage, a 360-degree stage that originally debuted at Excision’s Lost Lands in 2024. This was the first year the stage was brought to Bass Canyon, and there is no doubt it was a success. Although we found the stage a little too high to see who was behind the DJ decks, the intense, immersive, panoramic visual production made up for it. Surprise artists we could make out were Sullivan King, Capochino, Calcium, Funtcase, Neotek, Prosecute, Kompany, Riot Ten, Sippy, Smoakland, SoDown, Stoned Level, and of course, Excision.
Excision performing on the Canyon Stage. Credit: @divisuals
Day One: A Stellar Start
Day one started off incredibly strong. Entry on day one to any festival can be hectic, overpacked, and take forever. This was not the case for us with Bass Canyon! Will-call lines were moving quickly, and it took us about 5-10 minutes to get through security and into the venue. Huge props to Excision’s team for making this process safe and seamless. We did a lap around the festival grounds to find our many water refill stations, porta-potties, and to finally set up our rendezvous point on the Gorge’s hilltop.
A Stacked Canyon Lineup
We found ourselves spending most of our day at the Canyon Stage, with an insane lineup that made it difficult to leave. We arrived in time for Sippy’s debut Bass Canyon set, and she was nothing short of incredible. After Sippy, the rest of the Canyon Stage schedule provided a wide variety of bass sub-genres that made each set feel like its own unique experience. Calcium B2B Samplifire (AKA Bonefire) had us on our high knees for a riddim set. Following that was Alleycvt’s debut on the Canyon Stage, throwing down all her hits and even pulling out Crankdat as a surprise as they rinsed their No Broke Boys remix.
To transition us from day to night was Adventure Club’s highly anticipated throwback set, timed during sunset. It was the perfect blend of nostalgia, melodic, and heavy hitters. To round out the night, Space Laces, Of The Trees and Liquid Stranger brought in wavy, downtempo styles while still managing to throw heavy in the name of bass. Then to end night one, the man himself, Excision, topped off the night with yet another excellent set full of his classics mixed with other popular tracks in the bass scene.
Crater Stage at Bass Canyon 2025. Credit: @luisdcolato
Day Two: Svdden Death at Sunset
Although off to a slow start for day two, we were able to catch quite a few sets between the Canyon and Crater Stages, with a few glimpses of the Starlight Stage while enroute to other destinations (such as the chicken tender booth and the porta-potties).
Word of advice: Never miss a Svdden Death sunset set; it was the highlight of our Saturday. Something about Svdden Death’s deep, heavy basslines with the beautiful sun setting behind the Canyon Stage that overlooks the Columbia River… words cannot describe the emotional and physical connection we felt to the music and the space around us. Following Svdden Death was Zingara, another excellent artist that echoed this multidimensional connection between her music, the gorgeous outdoor backdrop, and the community surrounding it.
Drum and Bass at the Crater
Reaper and Hedex gave us two of our favorite Crater Stage sets of the weekend. The energy their drum and bass sets provided combined with the insane, spherical laser and visual production was nothing short of mind-blowing. The 360-degree stage design had the crowd gathered around the artist, which provided a sense of togetherness that a regular stage cannot. One might wonder how crowded it could get in a confined, circular space like the Crater. The answer is not at all! There was never a point in the weekend where the stage felt packed; one could get as close to the DJ booth as possible and still have space to move.
Canyon Stage. Credit: @divisuals
Day Three: The Best for Last
The final day of this incredible festival had to be our favorite. There were so many schedule conflicts that had us running all over the grounds to catch bits and pieces of phenomenal artists we wanted to see. We started our day at the Crater Stage for Wonkywilla gave us just the right amount of wubby dubstep with a sprinkle of club-style hip-hop influence. We noticed that by day three, the Crater set-up was rattling quite a bit, which distracted us from the music. Halfway through his set, we made our way back to the hilltop to catch the remainder of DRINKURWATER’s set, which pumped us up just in time for Kompany and Dion Timmer.
Another schedule conflict that had us torn was that between Hol! and LYNY. We decided to catch the first 10 minutes of Hol! for some riddim action before we made our way back to the Crater for LYNY. LYNY gave us one of our top sets of the weekend. The crowd was full of great energy and the aforementioned Crater rattles did not interfere with his incredible set as it did for us before.
The Grand Finale
Very quickly after LYNY’s set concluded, we made our way back to the hilltop for Excision’s esteemed detox set. This was by far one of our favorite Excision sets we’ve seen to date (and we’ve seen many!) Rinsing loads of trap and drum-and-bass, the man himself put on one hell of a performance for his second of three sets for the weekend. Tape B followed with a more downtempo style set, and it did an excellent job preparing us to close out this weekend. Last but not least was the highly anticipated B2B: Excision B2B ATLiens. Might we sound like a broken record, to say this was also one of the, if not the, top set of the weekend? Probably. 10/10. No notes.
Canyon Stage. Credit: Orhun Uygur (www.turkphotos.com)
Final Thoughts
Bass Canyon 2025 proved once again why it holds such a special place in the bass music community. From the debut of the Crater Stage, which despite a few flaws, elevated the festival’s production to new heights, to the incredible sets that spanned both nostalgic throwbacks and innovative sound design, every moment felt finely tuned to deliver an incredible impact on all. Beyond the music, the safe and smooth organization ensured that the weekend flowed effortlessly, allowing headbangers to focus on what mattered most: immersing themselves in the energy of the Gorge and the connections that make this festival the best in the Northwest. We truly cannot wait to make our return next year.
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