Ready to switch up the house and techno sets I'd been bumping to for hours (and after a brief river cleanse), I reset for Handsome Tiger. An afternoon melter at the Cantina stage, the set was custom-built for bottom heavy moves — I donned my purple zebra print scarf under my rhinestone hat and headed over to the open air feels of the Cantina.
The shaded structure rippling in the valley winds and the sounds of Indigenous chants (an ode to the artist's Anishinaabe, Métis and Libyan roots) pulsing from Handsome Tiger's set were more than enough motivation to push through the crowds. I arrived to the dance floor and was surrounded by orange and camo, plus a couple Palestine flags, the whole crowd thriving and standing in solidarity. Handsome Tiger has been hot on his festival circuit, having just returned from Two Rivers Remix Festival in T'kemlups (otherwise known as "Kamloops") and with Wicked Woods on the summer horizon, I know he would have a stack of Bass Coast treats to share on the decks.
As the crowd began to pop off, there was a steady stream of memorable vocal patches heard through blends of dancehall, reggaeton, bass and international sounds. Handsome Tiger let it be known he's firmly team Kendrick, and I'm pretty sure I heard the sultry voice of Moonchild Sanelly bumping through. We were taken to the early 2000's with some Gaza Slim and Vybez Kartel "One Man" mixed in such a fresh way, plus some bass and reggaeton niche style in a remixed "Pica" by French-based producer King Dou Dou. It was clear there was a boutique sound with all of these overlapping gems, and the set was really polished off when Handsome Tiger dropped a handful of unreleased music to take the crowd up another level.