Skrillex apologises for Head Trip set after sound problems
Skrillex has apologised for his Oct. 11 set at Head Trip, telling fans the sound gave him what he called a nightmare on stage. On Oct. 13, the American producer and DJ posted a short statement on social media addressing the performance directly. “my deepest apologies for my set and sound at Head Trip. I was having a nightmare myself up there and hate how bad that was for everyone in the crowd. No excuses, will take the L and make a lesson of it,” he wrote, as reported by Billboard. The message came two days after the show.
Complaints focused on the audio rather than the song choices. People watching the official livestream said the first 30 minutes suffered from apparent sound faults. Some described the mix as clipped and distorted, the kind of harsh breakup that happens when a signal overloads. Others reported that some of the festival's large speaker towers did not seem to be working during portions of the set.
Visually, the performance was stark. Skrillex played without using the big video screens behind the stage, leaving much of the set in darkness. Strobe lights and bursts of fire provided most of the light, according to video recorded at the festival and shared by The Desert Sun. His set was also delayed, and the late start added to the tension for a crowd already dealing with technical uncertainty.
Head Trip was a one-time-only festival produced by Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Coachella, on the Coachella grounds in Indio, California. Skrillex appeared on the day two programme alongside DJ Harvey, Peggy Gou, Dom Dolla back-to-back with Kettama, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia. Back-to-back, often shortened to b2b, means two acts sharing the decks for one joint set. The line-up mixed club DJs and mainstream dance headliners across a single weekend.
Day one had finished early because of potential lightning, as noted in Billboard's festival recap. The weather call meant the new event never had a smooth run. By day two, attention shifted to sound quality rather than the sky.
What makes this stand out is the tone. There was no technical defence and no blame placed elsewhere. For fans, this means the issue was acknowledged quickly, with a promise to learn from it rather than a detailed explanation of what went wrong.
