Almost Familiar Elizabeth Dreeson, Wes Johnson

Get familiar with TF Marz, Co-founder and Creative Director of all:Lo music collective, whose Colorado and Pacific Northwest roots heavily influence his refreshing and distinct take on electronic music that is healthily infused with hip hop and RnB sensibilities. We dive into the music scene in the PNW, including his iconic sunrise set at the renowned Grove Stage at Shambhala Music Festival, the current state of the electronic music scene, the continuous evolution of all:Lo, and the future of TF Marz

Get familiar once again with Greg “The Lazershark” Ellis, a highly revered, industry-respected, ruthlessly sarcastic lighting designer who has been responsible for nearly 15 years of breathtaking and dazzling visual displays as innovative as the music it backs. Best known for his work with Pretty Lights, Greg is no stranger to the spotlight, having worked with global names like Banks, 30 Seconds to Mars, Mr. Beast, and even a few major music award shows to boot. Through and through, Greg Ellis remains an artist. Having added a new medium into his arsenal, we talk about his artistic journey and how his works influence one another.

Like the city of New Orleans and “the tangled veins of cypress roots that meander this way and that in the swamp” the final sets of the Pretty Lights tour were “interrelated, wrapped around itself in ways that aren’t always obvious.”

Channeling the spirit of Dr. John and New Orleans itself, the Pretty Lights team threw a party befitting for the end of such a historic tour; once again paying massive respects to regional musical legends by swirling the likes of Louis Armstrong, Lil Wayne, and The Meters while also integrating live horns (provided by The Soul Rebels) with the band for the first time since the days of the Analog Future Band.

While we are saddened that the tour has finally ended, we can’t help but look towards the future full of optimism as Pretty Lights continues to appear on prominent music festival lineups. The renaissance tour is over, but the future of Pretty Lights is just about to begin. We’ll see you there!

Even the sky is not the limit for the Soundship Spacesystem crew. Using it as their palette, the crew engaged Sky Lites to coordinate a light show with 75 drones, on top of having special guests in the VJ booth. This was just one of many unique elements that passengers on the Soundship Spacesystem were treated to during the crew’s mission at The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee.

The Caverns felt reminiscent of episodic festival runs at Telluride and The Gorge between its remote location, a secret set, and special guests both on stage (Adam Deitch) and in the VJ booth (Glass Crane, Psybernautics), creating a truly unique live music experience with a country flair that stands entirely apart from any other stops on tour that left us all saying, “Let's go back to Tennessee”

Famous San Francisco promoter Bill Graham’s marquee on The Warfield theater for The Grateful Dead’s concert on September 25, 1980 said it all: "THEY'RE NOT THE BEST AT WHAT THEY DO, THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT DO WHAT THEY DO"

Almost Familiar invites prolific live music journalist, Upful Life Podcast host, and friend, B.Getz, to return to the show to muse on whether the same can be said of this iteration of Pretty Lights. We reflect specifically on Derek & Company’s three-night run at The House that Garcia built in San Francisco. We can think of no better guest to help us draw parallels between the Grateful Dead’s legacy, playing, culture and experience, to what is currently happening with Pretty Lights as we continue to explore our podcast’s foundational hypothesis: Is Pretty Lights “almost familiar” to The Grateful Dead?

The best Pretty Lights show of all time? The echo chamber was swirling in the aftermath of the Soundship Spacesystem’s leveling of one of its most-visited destinations, Chicago.

Almost Familiar welcomes PLF Chicago representatives, Charlie Charles Char and Kris Wilhelmsen to reflect on the three-night tear, celebrating the influential legacies of House music and Pretty Lights’ inaugural album.

In addition to the band constantly outdoing themselves, the visual production took immeasurable strides forward as the lazershark tested the waters with brand new lasers, feasting on all those in their wake.