A few colorfully dressed, openly gay couples also saunter through the hundreds of thousands this in a society hostile to LGBTQ expression. At Soundstorm, many women (though still dressed modestly) wear makeup, reveal some cleavage and let curly locks blow in the arid air-a step in the right direction. DJ Khaled Photos Photos - DJ Khaled attends The 2021 Sports Illustrated Awards at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Decemin Hollywood, Florida. But prior to the recent rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017, conservative Saudi Arabian society didn’t allow its women to drive, attend sporting events, socialize with men and a litany of other repressive, discriminatory restrictions. “Get out of my head,” she sings, a swarm of men and women responding “hey!” Female Soundstorm attendees raise lighters alongside their bfs or besties, the same as at any American music festival.

EDM DJs ruled the dance tent, with throngs of Saudi Arabians in T-shirts and jeans-ankle-length robes, headscarves and veils too-dancing as well as anyone at Coachella or SXSW.ĭressed in a head-to-toe midnight blue dress with gloves, England’s own Jorja Smith leads a call-and-response on “Digging,” a standout ballad from 2021’s Be Right Back.

The country notoriously prohibits all alcohol, and so the many beverage booths offer Red Bull, coffee and various mocktails. An elevated walkway reserved for thousands of VIP ticketholders reduced foot traffic on the ground level, a clever upgrade from Soundstorm ’21. MDLBEAST Soundstorm itself resembled an immense, 5.5 million square meter carnival. Writer Miles Marshall Lewis in the desert near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Soundstorm EDM Festival fun.

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