To say that 2019 was a banner year for Illenium is an understatement. The electronic producer and performer was already playing to sold out large venues but his current album, ‘Ascend’, lived up to the hype and brought him to another level. Born Nick Miller, Illenium had mainstream success this year with the radio single, “Good Things Fall Apart” that exposed his music and influence to a wide array of music fans and industry peers. He sold out three shows in his hometown of San Francisco, with night two at 20,000 person capacity newly built Chase Center. Based on fan reactions after the show, it was one of his best performances, and also the last on his ‘Ascend’ tour.
Emerging onto the stage with a guitar in hand, Illenium proceeded into “Blood”, his collaboration with Foy Vance on vocals. On an elevated platform that doubled as his workstation setup equipped with laptop and mixer, Illenium walked around getting the crowd going with his guitar work while his full band consisting of Said The Sky, Dabin and Day accompanied him. Early in the set, Annika Wells joined Illenium for their collaboration, “Crawl Outta Love”, which drew overwhelming cheers of approval as the singalongs were strong from those right up front. It wasn’t long until the pyrotechnics were initiated and flames shot up during “All Together”, “In Your Arms” and throughout the evening. Mixing things up with a mix of “ULTIMA” by Pixel Terror and his remix of “Without Me” by Halsey, the accompanying visuals, pyro and lasers kept the show moving. At no point was there a feeling of repetitiveness that some shows could easily fall into. Performing at a sold-out capacity show in his hometown was not lost on Illenium, as he expressed his gratitude a few times throughout the set and even before and after his final song, the aforementioned “Good Things Fall Apart”. Without a doubt, Illenium has risen to the top of his craft and there’s an eager anticipation for what he has in store for the next phase of his evolution.
