Article By: Gracie Roberts ; Photos By: Mason Trinca

This year, St. Patrick’s Day went off with a bang in Seattle, Washington. Lucky 2012, presented by USC Events & Digital Innovators, gave northwest EDM fans a reason to celebrate all the way across the electronic rainbow. This magnificent one-night bash attracted more than 8,000 Kelly green, Irish-for-a-day party monsters to an arena filled with dancing, themed festivities, and even a few leprechauns to boost the Lucky spirit.

Starting early on Friday (technically, the day before, but who cares), the Lucky Arena of the WaMu Theater hosted artists Johnny Monsoon & Allya, Angger Dimas, and Manufactured Superstars. A stone’s throw away lay the alternate stage, cleverly titled the Leprechaun’s Lair. On this platform, Hexidecibel, Just One, Crizzly, Goldie, and Ed Rush & Optical filled the air with the freshest sounds that the electronic dance world has to offer, seamlessly switching sets in order to keep the crowd on the edge of their toes.

10:30 p.m. marked Hardwell’s arrival in the main Lucky Arena. This 23-year-old Dutch producer, born Robbert van de Corput, began his DJ career at the young age of 13. Hardwell was quickly picked up by a Dutch label less than a year after his debut. Now making a name for himself in the U.S., Hardwell has been recognized by the industry as having a new, refreshing take on a continuously evolving music scene. Centering his unique take as a producer on a big house sound, Hardwell has generated a captivating identity for himself. At Lucky, Hardwell charmed the hungry crowd with his melodious vibe, with each track containing a tuneful aspect almost haunting in its nature. With a booming live performance and an energetic disposition to boot, Hardwell served as the ideal segue into latter Lucky’s performances.

Without skipping a beat, Porter Robinson appeared on the Lucky Arena stage to proceed with the musical marathon. This festival is one of many stops on this 19-year-old native of Chapel Hill’s spring tour. Over the past two years, Robinson has seen immense growth in his popularity and musical aptitude. His most recent EP, Spitfire, has gained vast notoriety both with new fans and the artists that have supported Porter from the beginning.

With a peak level of liveliness onstage, Porter Robinson blasted the crowd with an array of musical megahits. In addition to his own prized tracks, such as “Unison” and “Vandalism,” Robinson dropped Duck Sauce’s “Big Bad Wolf,” Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” and his own remix of Avicii’s “Levels.” This diverse collection won over the Lucky crowd, who couldn’t get enough.

The Leprechaun’s Lair was home to Dirtyphonics following Porter’s set. With “Dirty Beyond Good and Evil” as their slogan, it becomes clear what this Parisian foursome holds as important in their melodic sound. With their incredible production level and a unique live PA recognized as one of the most energetic to be seen, Dirtyphonics have been taking crowds by surprise since their 2006 debut. The group is composed of Charly, Thomas, Pho, and Pitchin, who combine their individual talents to come together as an electronic act with four times the power. Their set at Lucky took on a rock & roll aesthetic –one that sounded, at times, even close to heavy metal. Along their rise in popularity, the group has been asked to remix tracks for big names such as Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Nero, and The Bloody Beetroots. With their constant growth as artists, the Seattle crowd was truly lucky to experience what the Dirtyphonics crew had to offer.

Back in the arena, a long-awaited headliner was revealed onstage: ATB. This pioneer of trance music made it a point to visit Seattle during his U.S. tour - a privilege that was clearly appreciated by Lucky’s crowd. Born André Tanneberger, ATB has been influencing the EDM world since the early 1990. His ninth studio album, Distant Earth, was both critically-acclaimed and well-received by his throngs of fans around the world.

ATB fed the crowd with the exact tunes they were craving, including “9 P.M. (Till I Come)” and the esteemed “Ecstasy.” After providing a taste of his personal sound, André astonished the crowd with a full-length presentation of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The incorporation of grunge sound into ATB’s performance was especially appropriate for Seattle’s crowd, who have roots in the emergence of the grunge genre itself.

Two headliners went head-to-head to finish off the prolonged Lucky celebration. In the Lucky Arena, Calvin Harris owned the stage with a spectacular light show and a combination of his greatest hits. Born Adam Richard Wiles in Dumfries, Scotland, Calvin Harris has been blazing a trail since the release of his gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, in 2007. Harris featured tracks including “Awooga,” “I’m Not Alone,” and “Feel So Close” during his St. Paddy’s Day performance. Near the end of his set, Calvin chose to feature Rihanna’s “We Found Love” as a monumental windup to the party he skillfully created during his performance.

Adventure Club provided another portion of Lucky’s attendants with a wall-shaking, ear-blasting performance that put crowd members in a blissful trance. Adventure Club is a ‘clubstep’ duo hailing from Montreal, Canada. Formed by local musicians Christian Srigley and Leighton James, the Club is a DJ pair that has risen to stardom through the vast distribution of their remixed material. Tracks including Flight Facilities’ “Crave You,” Foxes’ “Youth,” and Lips’ “Everything to Me” have been revamped with dubstep flair by the talented Canadian duo. With a performance lasting until 3:30 a.m., the Lucky crowd was left with the sounds of Adventure Club on repeat in their minds until the wee hours of the morning.