Ryan Raddon, AKA Kaskade, is one of the biggest names in dance music thanks to more than a decade of experience, dozens of raucous collaborations with the likes of Skrillex, Deadmau5 and Dada Life and his share of stellar remixes for such multiplatinum artists as Lady Gaga and Beyonce. And like fellow electronic dance music (EDM) titans Tiesto and Paul van Dyk, he’s taking his brand of magnetic music on the road, kicking off his North American “Freaks of Nature” tour, his biggest to date, on May 25.
Now Los Angeles-based, the Chicago-born DJ sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his new music video for “Room For Happiness” featuring Skylar Grey and his upcoming festival stops, including Coachella, where he’ll take the stage for the third time.
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“Coachella has become something so big and global, people from all over the world look to it as this place that is programming really progressive music,” Kaskade tells THR about the appeal of the event, which will be held on two consecutive weekends this year.
“I guess we’re redefining music a bit, people are paying attention,” says Kaskade of the rapidly growing EDM genre (to wit: last year’s Lollapalooza featured Deadmau5 as a headliner). “It’s cool that people are discovering it now and it’s being utilized in other genres like pop music. It’s interesting to see it reach beyond it’s original borders and boundaries.”
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With the scene’s unique sense of community, Kaskade, like other major EDM names, gives off the essence of a small secret club even as the music appeals to millions. Of his peers, Kaskade gives tremendous credit to Diplo “because he’s broken a lot of boundaries,” and also the Grammy-winnig Skrillex, who Kasade describes as “another guy who kind of kicked down the door for a lot of artists in our world.”
For more of Kaskade’s thoughts on his dream collaboration, the growing reach of EDM and his advice to New York on EDC, watch the video above. And see the announced tour dates (with more to come in the coming weeks) below:
Kaskade “Freaks of Nature” Tour Dates:
- 5/25 TBA TBA
- 5/26 Cosmo Ballroom Las Vegas, NV
- 5/27 TBA TBA
- 6/15 MCU Park New York, NY
- 6/16 Olympia Theatre Montreal, QC
- 6/17 CE Centre Ottawa, ON
- 6/19 Bogart’s Cincinnati, OH
- 6/20 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
- 6/22 DCU Exhibition Hall Worcester, MA
- 6/23 Festival Stage at Comcast Hartford, CT
- 6/26 Music Farm Charleston, SC
- 6/28 Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing Philadelphia, PA
- 6/29 1st Mariner Arena Baltimore, MD
- 6/30 Boonstock Festival Gibbons, AB
- 7/1 TBA TBA
- 7/11 Fillmore Charlotte, NC
- 7/12 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
- 7/13 Ford Exposition Hall Tampa, FL
- 7/14 Klipsch Amphitheatre at Bayfront Park Miami, FL
- 7/16 Limelight Nashville, TN
- 7/18 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO
- 7/19 Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City, OK
- 7/20 Bayou Music Center Houston, TX
- 7/21 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie Dallas, TX
- 7/23 Cowboys San Antonio, TX
- 7/24 Buchanan’s Event Center El Paso, TX
- 7/25 Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, NM
- 7/26 Rialto Tucson, AZ
- 7/27 TBA TBA
- 7/30 Belly Up Aspen, CO
- 8/1 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver, CO
- 8/3 Egyptian Room Indianapolis, IN
- 8/4 Fillmore Detroit, MI
- 8/5 TBA TBA
- 8/7 Knitting Factory Spokane, WA
- 8/8 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA
- 8/9 Roseland Ballroom Portland, OR
- 8/10 WaMu Theater Seattle, WA
- 8/11 PNE Forum Vancouver, BC
- 8/12 9one9 Victoria, BC
Twitter: @sweetporkchop / @THRMusic
