Photos & story by: Auburn Petty (Plugged In Publicity)

Electronic funk master GRiZ, neé Grant Kwiecinski, rang in the New Year in Asheville, NC, headlining his first specially-curated New Year’s Eve event.

“I’m so excited to introduce my first-ever true GRiZ New Year’s Eve Celebration,” Kwiecinski announced on Facebook last October. “We're calling it ‘The Get Down,’ and you know it's about to be a very special FUNKtion.”

The next day he dropped the lineup, and everyone was buzzing. It was an all-star roster—GRiZ performing with live guitarist Dan Hacker (aka Muzzy Bearr), G Jones, Papadosio, and Freddy Todd. Even some die-hard bassheads jumped ship from Birmingham to Asheville for this funky NYE celebration.

The Get Down sold more than 6,500 tickets, packing out Asheville’s US Cellular Center’s largest stage, the ExploreAsheville.com Arena and making this the biggest electronic music event the city has seen in years.

Freddy Todd kicked things off with his funky bass music, wielding (and absolutely destroying) a keytar, as the floor began to fill with a colorful, glittery and energetic crowd.

Papadosio, an Asheville-based electro-jam band, took the stage next, creating a seamless, blissful experience as the arena packed out.

G Jones turned things up a notch, throwing down some of the weirdest bass we heard all night (and maybe all our lives). He even dropped some unreleased tunage on us, so keep your eyes peeled for what’s next because let me tell you—it’s fuego.

Finally, it was time to ring in the New Year with the main event, GRiZ with Muzzy Bearr on guitar. From the first notes of Grant’s sweet alto sax, the crowd was in a trance. Before we knew it, we were counting down to midnight, as balloons of all sizes and colors rained down on us.

The vibes that night were absolutely contagious, and GRiZ’s the Get Down was the perfect way to do away with 2016 and move toward a better and brighter 2017.