Diplo Announces a Slew of Unique Performances by Himself, Major Lazer, Jack U at Burning Man
What actually goes down in the Playa may remain a mystery to anyone who doesn’t get the opportunity to attend, but one thing’s for sure — Diplo, Major Lazer, and Jack U will be performing this year. Burning Man has become a low-key annual tradition for Diplo, and 2015 was shaping up to be his biggest run yet at the festival.
Diplo took to Twitter to reveal the performances in a series of tweets this past weekend. After the whole “booed off stage” saga at the 2014 event — something Diplo later disputed, insisting there were no bad vibes and that the crowd reaction got blown out of proportion — he’s coming back this year with a full schedule of performances switching between a variety of his signature DJ styles. The sets will include a Dub & Reggae sunset set by Diplo himself at the Robot Heart sound car, a Jack U & Diplo set at the Opulent White Party, Major Lazer vs. Jack U, and a Major Lazer musical marathon boating around on the Janky Barge throughout the entire evening. There’s no doubt Burning Man is about to get crazy.
burning man fam!
WEDNESDAY 10&K sunset 6:30pm.. I'm playing deep dub and reggae at the legendary sound car you know as r_b_t h__rt
— diplo (@diplo) August 28, 2015
burning man fam
Wednesday night 1:45 – 3 DIPLO and jacku opulent white party
— diplo (@diplo) August 28, 2015
burning man fam
thursday night! camp question mark 1am-3am Major lazer vs JackU @ 2&c
— diplo (@diplo) August 28, 2015
burning man fam
tuesday night.. – janky barge – all night long we playing major lazer around the playa
— diplo (@diplo) August 28, 2015
What makes this run so interesting is how spread out it is. Instead of locking into one stage for one set, Diplo basically built himself a mini tour across the desert over the course of a few nights, hopping between the Robot Heart sound car, the Opulent White Party, camp Question Mark, and the roaming Janky Barge. That kind of schedule takes serious logistics in a place with no cell service and no real roads, which says a lot about how connected Diplo and his crew already were to the Burning Man scene by 2015.
It also lines up with a bigger year for the Jack U project, the collaborative duo Diplo formed with Skrillex, which was riding high off festival buzz and would go on to release its debut album and the massive single “Where Are Ü Now” with Justin Bieber not long after. Burning Man has always had a reputation for surprise sets from artists who want to play for the love of it rather than a paycheck, and this lineup of Diplo, Major Lazer, and Jack U popping up across the Playa was a pretty perfect example of that spirit.
