Located on a sprawling lakefront recreation area in Zamárdi on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, this festival is continually crowded with swimsuit-clad party people from near and far. As of press time, normal four-day passes for enjoying all of Balaton Sound (July 10-13) are sold out, although VIP four-day passes are still available. Meanwhile, all one-day tickets for Friday and Saturday are sold out, but normal and VIP one-day tickets are still available for Thursday and Sunday. Complete ticket information is available here, or at the festival’s information booth in Budapest’s Nyugati Square.
Getting to Zamárdi from Budapest is easy by rail – direct trains depart from Déli Station every day at 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm. From the Zamárdi train station, the festival entrance is a 15-minute walk towards the lakefront (just follow the shirtless hordes). Driving to Balaton Sound is fairly straightforward – take Motorway M7 west from Budapest and keep following it until you pass the exit for Siófok; the exit for Zamárdi will appear soon afterwards, and plentiful signage leads to the festival grounds, although the nearest available parking spot might be several blocks away from the entrance.
After arrival, festival patrons float between various bar tents and grassy sunbathing spots, with swimming in the lake allowed all day long. Live DJ sets and concerts enliven the summery scene on diverse stages, with international electronica superstars appearing alongside top Magyar mixmasters – along with headliners like David Guetta on July 11 and Armin van Buuren on July 13, here are some other performers that will surely make a splash.
RudimentalJuly 10, 11pm – Jägermeister ArenaRudimental is basically a melting pot of the music that inspires its members: grime, drum and bass, pop, and house. The band clashes live instrumentation with digital programming, and soulful house with classic d'n'b – everything can happen while they are on stage; only the burning intensity of the show is guaranteed. They took the world by storm with their instant classic hit Feel The Love, and the list of hits only grew longer with Waiting All Night, Free, and Not Giving In. If you are interested in what makes British partygoers dance all night long, here's the answer.BaauerJuly 10, 2am – Jägermeister ArenaBaauer is the planet’s most talented trap producer, hands down. You can find everything in his sets that makes trap music so hard to resist: dancefloor-shaking drops, sounds of sirens and guns, cinematic strings, pitched-down vocals, and so on. He is a master of combining the best parts of hip-hop, electro house, and dubstep into explosive hits like the viral Harlem Shake or Higher, featuring Jay-Z. A great remixer (his version of Rollup by Flosstradamus is a trap classic too), a talented producer, and the ultimate DJ when it comes to trap – you know where to go if you want to twerk.DisclosureJuly 11, 9pm – Jägermeister ArenaThe debut album released by the Lawrence Brothers last year ("Settle”) managed to steal some mainstream radio pop into clubs that usually blare bass-music hybrids. It was aimed both at party animals and audio gourmets crazy for American/Brit underground dance music (future garage, 2-step, UK funky, etc.) – and it was brimming with earworm hits. Their DJ set also follows this dichotomy: it radiates a raw, rhythmic energy that makes you move, but it is also easily accessible. Do not miss it!DatsikJuly 11, 12:30am – Jägermeister ArenaStarting off as a hard-core rap fan, Troy Beetles ended up as one of the most brutal dupstep producers, being responsible for many of the style's dancefloor detonators. Even though he can still seem like a newbie (his debut album, "Vitamin D”, came out only two years ago), he already worked with bands like Noisia, KoRn, Infected Mushroom, and Steve Aoki. Why, you might ask? Well, our answer is that there isn't any other producer with such a wicked mind or sense for twisted earworm hits. Be warned: brain explosions and massive basslines might occur.Wiz KhalifaJuly 12, 9:30pm – MasterCard Main StageCameron Thomaz is widely considered to be the next Snoop Dogg, and he has already surpassed the achievements of most musicians – and he is not yet 30. No surprises there: he is more down-to-earth and accessible than Kid Cudi or Curren$y. he pours out hits like B.o.B., and he switches from G-funk (On My Level) to spaced out R&B (Roll Up) or to synthesizer-drum machine drilling (GangBang) with enviable ease. His first appearance in Hungary promises to be one of the best shows of Balaton Sound.
