The largest EDM festival event on the West Coast took over Phoenix Raceway to ring in 2026 last week. Decadence AZ: Portal of Illusions boasted a lineup of DJ heavyweights, a rotating silent disco, a plethora of carnival rides and even a pickleball court. The countdown to midnight had artists like Kaskade, Zedd, Knock2, Griz and so much more blasting the massive AZ crowd with pulsing beats and whirling light shows for an unforgettable start to a brand new year.
Unfortunately, Tuesday and Wednesday’s festivities were initially overshadowed by long ticketing lines and miles of traffic to get through the gates and start the party. Once inside, all stages drew huge crowds as the bass thrummed like a heartbeat across the grounds and spilled into the surrounding areas.
Day one highlights included the frenetic energy of California DJ Knock2, who spent more time on top of the table than behind it in an effort to hype up the crowd into the late hours of the night. He was followed by Zedd as Tuesday turned into Wednesday and the music continued into the early hours of the morning.
New Year’s Eve at the rave promised even bigger names and a massive audience to dance along. Kaskade was there for the early drop as the night was just getting warmed up. Mike Posner was the real standout of the evening, remixing the hits with the help of Brody Jenner on the tables and a huge tent of people ready to lend their voices to “Cooler Than Me” and “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”. The theme of his set was pure, unfiltered love and joy and he radiated that energy throughout his performance, including a beautiful dedication to Avicii that had more than a few ravers misty-eyed in the crush of the crowd.
It was finally time to count down to 2026 and who better to usher in a new year than Griz? The DJ and multi-instrumentalist took the stage- saxophone in hand- and dropped a stunning amount of balloons on a jubilant audience at the stroke of midnight. As always, Decadence continued long into the night, keeping Arizona up past its bedtime to celebrate yet another year in the desert at the wildest event of the winter. The Portal of Illusions successfully transported its passengers into the future, kicking off 2026 in style and the tradition will live on into 2027 and beyond.
