Track Selection for Festivals: How Pros Plan Their Sets
· re:union Radio editorial · 4 min read
Track selection for festivals: How Indira Paganotto, IMOGEN, and Arielle Free manage BPM, peak time, and crowd reaction.
Track selection for festivals follows different rules than a club set. Larger crowds, shorter time slots, changing daylight, weather, technical failures – if you're playing on big stages, you have to adapt your music selection to completely different conditions than in an intimate club. Six experienced festival DJs shared their approach with AlphaTheta (Pioneer DJ) – supplemented by statements from Spanish techno producer Indira Paganotto from a separate SEEDJ masterclass.
At a glance
- Indira Paganotto usually plays 145–150 BPM at festivals like Awakenings, sometimes up to 250 BPM
- David Guetta consciously plays with more energy during short 90-minute slots than in a club
- IMOGEN never plans her set completely, but reacts to slot time and audience size
- Arielle Free always starts with an energetic intro or banger to gauge the mood
More Energy for More People
For David Guetta, the equation is simple: a festival slot usually lasts only 90 minutes, and the crowd is many times larger than in a club. Accordingly, his selection is more energetic. “When you play a festival, people want to hear your sound, because that’s why they buy tickets,” he told Wired. “And because the crowd is so much bigger, you need more energy to move 100,000 people than to move 200.” For him, underground music belongs in the club – even if it occasionally makes its way to a festival.
Spanish artist Indira Paganotto pursues a similar idea, even if her sound is significantly more techno-oriented. In a SEEDJ masterclass, she explained that club bookings are “more personal” for her, which is why she works with a “broader musical spectrum” there. At festivals like Awakenings, however, she usually moves between 145 and 150 BPM, occasionally up to 250 BPM – but still experiments with slower, more minimal moments, albeit less frequently than in a club.
“When you play a festival, people want to hear your sound, because that’s why they buy tickets.”
Stay Flexible Instead of Planning Completely
DJ, producer, and Wigs label founder IMOGEN consciously does not plan her sets completely. She considers the festival type, country, and slot length in advance, but generally sticks to her usual sound – she only plays slower BPM if she's opening or there's hardly any audience in front of the stage. “If there are fewer people, I don't play the peak-time set I had envisioned – it really depends on the time slot,” she explained.
The distance between the stage and the audience also plays a role. BBC Radio 1 presenter and DJ Arielle Free therefore consciously starts her sets with an energetic intro or a big banger to gauge the crowd's mood – whether the sun has made people tired, the hangover is still lingering, or everyone is ready to go immediately. She then decides how to proceed based on the audience's reaction.
Technology as a Backup
Preparation also differs from a club gig. Vinyl DJ Jerome Hill, known for his label DON'T, plays almost exclusively digitally at festivals to avoid the “mud bath” with heavy record cases – only a small selection, including his own scratch records, comes on stage. A USB stick as a backup is a must for him: “You don't want to be the one person who sounds awful when something doesn't go as it should.”
| BPM range Indira Paganotto (Festival) | approx. 145–150 BPM, occasionally up to 250 BPM |
|---|---|
| Typical set length (Guetta example) | approx. 90 minutes |
| Named DJs | Arielle Free, EMA, IMOGEN, Jerome Hill, Indira Paganotto, David Guetta |
FAQ
Which BPM are suitable for techno festival sets?
According to Indira Paganotto's experience, peak-time sets at festivals like Awakenings are usually between 145 and 150 BPM, with occasional outliers up to 250 BPM – significantly higher than in a club set with a broader musical spectrum.
Should you plan a festival set completely?
Several of the interviewed DJs, including IMOGEN, advise against it. Slot time, daylight, and the actual audience size in front of the stage often change the situation at short notice – if you are proficient in transitions and EQ work, you can react spontaneously instead of rigidly sticking to a tracklist. Harmonic mixing via Camelot Wheel also helps to spontaneously re-plan without losing the flow.
Source: How to DJ at a festival, AlphaTheta/Pioneer DJ Blog, with statements from Indira Paganotto (SEEDJ Masterclass) and David Guetta (Wired).
