Seven Stars Reminded Me what Raving is All About

Although Seven Stars was yet another festival hit by bad weather, it was an incredible weekend overall.

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On October 9-11, GRiZ‘s Valley of the Seven Stars Festival returned to Arrington, Virginia, for its sophomore edition. I’m picky about what festivals I spend my time and money on nowadays, but Seven Stars is the one festival I plan to return to every year, for years to come.

Few festivals who talk the talk walk the walk, but Seven Stars is revered by ravers for a reason. It’s obvious GRiZ and his team truly cares about its attendees, a community who also care about each other.

But I’ll admit I arrived at Seven Stars in the early afternoon on Friday feeling irritable. I was running on four hours of sleep, had an upset stomach, and was jittery with pre-festival anxiety. I had questions about whether our campsite would be as good as last year’s, or if our camping gear would hold up against the inclement weather. I was looking for things to complain about, and I had no problem finding them.

We breezed through security only to be caught in a 15-minute traffic jam with no communication from staff about what the holdup was. From our corner of the campgrounds, bathrooms and water refill stations were difficult to come by, and a trek to get to. When we finally decided to go into the main venue for the night, it took 23 minutes to get through security. The first encounter I witnessed was a woman giving sass to one of the volunteers because he asked her to scan her wristband again.

But that rough start was where all my problems ended and worries faded. What unfolded over the weekend was a transformative experience where I reunited with old friends and connected with new ones, discovered new artists, saw some old favorites, remembered what it is I love about the EDM scene, and left with a revived sense of what truly matters at a festival.

While there were areas for improvement, Seven Stars took feedback from last year seriously and remedied the issues ravers expressed.

Seven Stars made major upgrades to the festival from last year that elevated this year’s edition. After last year’s several-hour merch lines, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get a jersey and had my friend with VIP preorder one for me, as that was one of VIP’s many perks. But I was pleased to discover there was no need for that as GRiZ added a second merchandise booth in the camping area that exponentially shortened wait times. There were no lines when I checked out the full merch selection around 11am on Saturday, and I found that to be the case every time I passed by either stand.

Another improvement from last year was the decision to move GRiZ’s Chasing the Golden Hour (CTGH) set from the smaller Zodiac Stage to the Big Dipper. The Zodiac Stage was the best area to catch the valley’s stunning sunset, but as there were no conflicts with CTGH, it was packed and difficult to see the stage from further back. Having his sunset set at Big Dipper, the mainstage, meant that there was ample room to experience CTGH however one desired — whether that was dancing up front, sitting and grooving in the back, or flowing off to the sides.

Seven Stars majorly upped the scale of their production, with horizontal fireworks flying into the stage and hundreds of lasers lighting up the sky. They also increased their featured amenities by adding a third location for afters — the Satellite Stage — and the Wubskis Diner for late night (or early morning) classic diner fare.

At the same time, one issue that was difficult to overlook was the shortage of bathrooms in the campgrounds. It was never a far walk from a Porta Potty last year, but the closest ones to our campsite this year were a five-minute walk away, and another five minutes to get to the next closest one. There was also an utter lack of trash cans outside of the villages and stage areas. These are easily fixable issues, though, and next year is bound to be even better if the team remedies them.

Seven Stars not only listens to its attendees, but it celebrates them also.

Before each of GRiZ’s sets, the screens at Big Dipper displayed a message of inclusivity, saying in big, bold, capital letters: “We value your color, class, creed, gender and orientation. This is a safe space. Anything less will not be tolerated.” All throughout the weekend, ravers handed out official festival trading cards saying, “You are loved and you deserve to be here.”

Crowds can make or break an experience, and GRiZ and his team clearly appreciate theirs. One fan reported her car being robbed on the way to Seven Stars, and the GRiZ team upgraded her and her friend to glamping and hooked them up with enough merch for three days of outfits.

They gave Abby Lehner, their official fan of the year, side stage access during GRiZ’s set and a private VIP lounge for her rave fam. And to show appreciation for Josiah, the fan who saved the day during GRiZ’s return to Red Rocks, they invited him to jam with GRiZ and the University of Virginia marching band during their march through the campgrounds on Sunday morning.

Love was in the air at Seven Stars and no one was a stranger. Everywhere you looked, people were lending a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, or a dance circle to join. Several proposals happened. TYNAN did a surprise gender reveal for two fans. PLUR was alive and thriving. Kindness and generosity was in abundance.

I went into Seven Stars with a rigid game plan, but found my favorite moments in the unexpected.

I always enter a festival with my entire weekend planned out — from the activities I will participate in to the sets I would catch, with breaks also factored in. But this time, most of my plans were left at the turnstile.

The music was incredible across the board at Seven Stars. Every artist brought their absolute A-game to their sets, which balanced singalong build-ups with heavy drops, face-melting wubs, and emotional moments of introspection.

It was so easy to get a good spot with a great view and so much room no matter where or when. And while Pauline Herr and ALLEYCVT weren’t on my initial itinerary, they each delivered some of my favorite music moments on day one.

I was exhausted heading into the second day early to catch A Little Sound at 2:50pm. But I don’t regret rolling out of my sleeping bag and trudging to the rail, because the energy revived me, carrying me through the rest of the night. I ended up staying for Capochino right after. He ended up being one of my top three sets of the weekend even though I hadn’t known about him before he stepped up to the decks.

It wasn’t a surprise to me that LSDREAM ended up being my favorite set of the weekend. But I was casually curious about Avello, G Jones, Richard Finger, and Wonky Willa, and they each unexpectedly blew me away. I was a fan by the final seconds of their sets.

While my second Seven Stars experience was cut short because of the weather, I left feeling inspired and with a revived appreciation for the rave community.

My camping group’s original plan was to depart after GRiZ’s final set on Sunday. We only live a few hours away from the festival, and leaving at that time meant we could get a full night’s rest in our beds and not have our Mondays disrupted.

Our plans were derailed. It rained through the night and all of Sunday, and we were advised by staff to either leave during daylight or the following morning. It was around 2pm when we were presented with this choice, and the campgrounds were already perilously muddy. Having seen several cars through our row get towed via tractors courtesy of Seven Stars that hour, we made the choice to leave early.

Our car got stuck three times on the short drive to the concrete road, and each time ravers rallied to push us out of the muck — including two guys who didn’t hesitate to run to the rescue despite wearing flimsy flip flops. The disappointment I felt over LSDREAM’s Light Code set being canceled and missing Hedex‘s set were overshadowed by my immense gratitude for these strangers.

Although my time at Seven Stars didn’t play out quite like I planned, my experience turned out so much better than I could have imagined, and I learned so many lessons from my two days in the valley. I learned that it’s okay to deviate from your schedule — even if it means missing a set you were excited to see because you ended up spending an hour eating pizza, and engrossed in a random conversation with strangers (speaking from personal experience). It’s okay if you don’t fit in everything you intended. Sometimes, the most memorable moments are the ones you never could have foreseen.

At the same time, while getting sleep and taking breaks is undoubtedly important so that you can show up fully for your favorite artists, I wish I factored in more time to explore all the different activities Seven Stars offered. I never got to them because I kept procrastinating for just “five more minutes” of chilling at camp, and then the weather turned south before I was mentally ready. I plan to prioritize making the most of everything the festival has to offer next time, even if it’s with a Red Bull in hand.

Additionally, people say the unofficial fifth letter in PLUR is ‘R’ for “responsibility,” but I propose another addition: a second ‘P’ that stands for “positivity.” Ravers — myself included — are oftentimes quick to complain when things go awry, but it puts such a damper on the experience. I was frequently clocking my negative thoughts, and I decided to instead embrace the unexpected, whimsical, and oftentimes chaotic nature of the Seven Stars.

My weekend was all the better for it. So when it rains, don’t look at the mud seeping into your shoes, but up at the glittery raindrops falling through the lasers like stars.

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