It’s 4 p.m. on a breezy Sunday at Under the K Bridge Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Bubbles float in the sky and soft house music booms in the background.
Chris Lake is set to perform at 7:30 after his Saturday show was canceled due to a thunderstorm. Today, he’ll put on a spectacle complete with two stages, multiple amateur artists, and a 2.5-hour set from the Scottish legend himself.
Even though it’s still early in the day, the park is already starting to feel like its own little world under the bridge. Groups of friends hop around in a circle at the second Renegade stage. Boomers, Millennials and Gen Zers bump their heads to the music at the main stage while sweat drips off their foreheads and whoops float through the crowd.
Pre-show standouts Tiga and AYYBO played back-to-back building hype for Lake’s set. The bass beats were heavy, tempos fluctuated around 130 BPM, and an elusive, inflatable giraffe made its way to the middle of the GA crowd, floating ever so slightly.
What is it like to see Chris Lake live?
At exactly 7:27 p.m., Lake arrived with a subtle smile on his face as he put on his headphones and hit the first track that included the line “Excuse me, you dropped something … the bass.” The crowd boomed, cheers echoing throughout. Surprisingly, only some fans knew the sample actually came from a viral video where a fan said the exact same thing to Chris.
From there, the tempo never wavered, each song more bass-heavy than the last. Before we knew it, Lake’s ultra-famous track “Beggin’” sounded. Fans in every direction knew the lyrics, screaming, well, begging for the 43-year-old turntablist to keep playing. Hips swayed, somewhere out of the corner of my eye, I spotted smelling salts being passed around, and a couple kissed, swooning as the heavy drop hit.
He didn’t hesitate to give nods to other DJs either. Lake built a remix of Jello & Andrew Son’s “Bring ’Em Out” in with a drop that echoed hard and fast, with hands, fists and hips all pumping in the same direction.
Other IDs included a remix of Prospa and Cloonee’s “Free Your Mind” where Lake raised his arms in the air, grooving along as fans danced, swayed and felt the bass. My favorite moment had to be when Lake busted out ANOTR’s “Talk to You.” The subtle thrum filled the air as the sky turned pink. You could almost feel a palpable buzzing.
That is the thing Lake does so well: He can build a track around a heavy bassline, but it never feels like bass for bass’ sake. There are always little instrumental choices, vocal samples and melodic shifts that make the drop feel earned, not just loud.
Ahead of the show, Lake told The Post that while he can get technical, he never tries to make his sets feel fussy. For him, it comes down to one deceptively simple thing.
“At the end of the day, I just want to make sure I play the right beat at the right time and make people dance,” Lake said.
That is exactly what Sunday’s sunset set felt like: music that moved with the crowd, not around them.
The music continued to flow long after the sun went down, the drinks spilling, the giraffe still somehow grooving in the background. Lake kept moving through heavy, crowd-rattling drops, including “Psycho,” “La Noche,” “In the Yuma” and a Skrillex moment that sent the crowd up again.
The Skrillex nod made sense. When asked about contemporaries he likes to see live or work with, Lake claimed he has “loads,” adding that he is lucky because his “best mates are talented as f—.” He named Chris Lorenzo, Fisher and Skrillex saying they are “genuinely friends.”
“We hang out and create together,” Lake said. “It’s not work. It’s just hang around and hang out and f— around.”
And then “Turn Off the Lights” came on.
The crowd wailed in unison, screaming Lake’s signature lyrics back at him. There was no fancy production — just a few light panels and booming music. The crowd was so thick by now there was no space to move, and trust me, you wanted to be close to the speakers. Anywhere off to the side and the music sounded wonky. As the night got darker, phones provided the bulk of the illumination for the evening as shadows caught hidden kisses, two friends linking hands as they punched their fists in the air.
That’s how the night ended.
Now, unlike Friday night, no, we didn’t get to see the Knicks win Game 2 of the NBA Finals behind the screens where Chris DJed, or a set that somehow went until 12:30 as the mayor called Lake’s team to let them know they could keep playing because the Knicks won — now that would’ve been a moment to watch.
Instead, I got to stand there with the wind in my hair watching Lake “Turn Off the Lights” on the weekend.
Is seeing Chris Lake live worth it?
In all honesty, I did not know Lake’s set times changed. My non-EDM fan boyfriend asked “we’re really going to be out there till 10 and he doesn’t come on for four more hours?”
I felt bad but decided to make the most of it. We gave the second stage a chance, watching new DJs and when Lake came on, those hours of waiting all the more special.
“My feet are f—ing killing me, my lower back seizes up,” Lake said, describing what he hopes fans feel by the end. “But I just had the best two hours of my life.”
Even my boyfriend held his phone high, recording every moment and drop, and screaming, “I dig this! I dig this!” so loud I thought my eardrums would pop off.
And really, that’s the best review I can give: Lake’s set made the ultra-drunk early 20-somethings, packed crowd and lukewarm $7 canned water worth it.
I can’t wait till the lights turn low and I get a chance to see him again.
Where is Chris Lake performing next?
A complete calendar including all North American tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.
Who’s headlining at the festivals Chris Lake is performing at?
To make sure you’re in the loop, we found all the dates, venues and fellow
| Chris Lake festival dates |
|---|
| Electric Forest June 25-28 at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, MI ILLENIUM, Excision, KASKADE, GRiZ, LSDream |
| Badlands Music Festival July 2-12 at Badland’s Tent in Calgary, AB, CA Mau P, Disco Lines, Griz,Dom Dolla, Above & Beyond |
| Head Trip Oct. 10-11 at Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Fisher, Skrillex, Dom Dolla |
What did Chris Lake tell us about his debut album “Chemistry”?
Lake told The Post that he didn’t start thinking about “Chemistry” like a full-length project. Instead, he took the album song by song, collaboration by collaboration.
“I focused [more] on the collaborative process rather than my own solo kind of sound,” he shared. “I wasn’t focused on what I could get out of this. I was focused on what I could experience from this.”
Notable collaborators on the expansive record include Amber Mark, Black Lotus, Kelly Lee Owens, Bonobo and Abel Balder among others.
If you’d like to hear for yourself, you can find the 15-track “Chemistry” here.
Huge EDM artists on tour in 2026
Hoping to bliss out at shows all year long?
Honestly, same.
To make sure you’re in the loop, here are just five big time party-starters that you won’t want to miss when they swing into a venue near you these next few months.
Who else is on the road? Take a look at our list of all the biggest artists on tour in 2026 to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
