Decadence Arizona's 10th anniversary show was its biggest yet

On Dec. 30 and 31, Decadence Arizona returned to Phoenix Raceway for its 10th anniversary with its largest-scale production yet.

The two-day festival boasted a lineup of renowned EDM artists, including headlining performances from Svdden Death and Excision on Monday and a countdown performance on New Year’s Eve by John Summit, followed by Deorro. Other artists on the lineup include Zeds Dead, Sidepiece, Wooli, TroyBoi, Dom Dolla, Valentino Khan and dozens of others across five different stages, with genres ranging from dubstep, techno, bass, house and more.

While Decadence now hosts tens of thousands of guests and features a wide variety of A-list performers, when the event got its start under Relentless Beats founder Thomas Turner a decade ago, it started as a small EDM party at a local Tempe club, Freedom in Pompeii.

“As a 20-something-year-old party seeker and music enthusiast, I sought inclusion in an electronic music scene,” Turner says. “I would effectively take the baton that was producing high-end electronic DJs as a standard business practice.”

Relentless Beats was founded in 2006, promoting and creating a wide variety of EDM events, in nightclubs and music venues nearly every weekend, according to Turner. 

While Relentless Beats had hosted New Year’s Eve events before, Decadence Arizona arose around a decade after Relentless Beats was created, due to Turner and the team behind Relentless Beats wanting to create a larger-scale “marquee music festival.”

“The beginning of Decadence was just a conversation that we should pour ourselves into something that was distinct and had a larger purpose,” Turner says. “We sort of instinctively pursued (it) ... and the city responded really well to it.”

Over the years, like many other Relentless Beats events, Decadence has grown into a full-scale festival, with a “steady diet of large performers,” a high level of production and numerous food and shopping vendors.

“We’ve been working with these people for a really long time and we’ve been building a community of people that eventually become family," Turner says.

One aspect of planning is finding the right location. Decadence Arizona has been hosted at the Phoenix Raceway for the past three years, moving from the Rawhide Event Center (where many Relentless Beats events are currently held, including Illenium and John Summit earlier in 2024) due to capacity and weather-related concerns.

“It’s a more stable environment,” Turner says. “We need 30 days of dry weather, otherwise it damages the grounds at Rawhide.”

Additionally, with such a large crowd, having proper security measures is necessary to create a respectful and safe environment.

“We are always ongoingly discussing with all of the departments and whatever jurisdiction, in this case, Avondale, what we can do to ensure our fans are having the best and safe time,” Turner says.

Prior to this year’s event, the team behind the Relentless Beats released an 11-minute mini-documentary, showcasing all the work that goes into producing Decadence Arizona, as a celebration for the event's decade-long run.

“Producing Decadence begins the day that it ends,” Turner says. “Hundreds of people contribute energy and love to the festival: performers, behind-the-scenes artists ... Thousands of hours of labor go into creating what the end user consumes for 48 hours. It’s an amazing adventure.”

Turner hopes that attendees this year enjoyed the music, production and all the work put into the festival, but most importantly, he hopes that people remembered to live in the moment.

“These are the good days,” Turner says. “I want them to take the time to put down their phones and connect with the people they come with and relish that love.”

Kaitlyn Delagarza, a Tucson resident, has been raving for over six years and has attended Decadence for the past two.

“This year was amazing: the lineup was stacked, the weather was great and music was crazy," she says

Another attendee, Juan Silva, had never been to an EDM event prior to Decadence, but called this year’s iteration of the festival the best event he’s ever been to.

“Decadence was an absolutely amazing experience,” Silva says. “The atmosphere was electric and just all around … a surreal feeling.”