4/20 Levitate Festival Will Feature Rusko, DJ Shadow & More At 1stBank

RUSKO
with DJ Shadow, Paper Diamond, and Pictureplane

Friday, Apr 20, 2012
1stBank Center
On sale: 2/18/2012 10AM
Tickets: ADV $35.00-$42.50, DoS $50.00
PURCHASE HERE

Levitate Festival is Colorado’s number one “elevated” music experience. The festival is curated by Elm & Oak which is a Colorado based creative firm, record label, fashion boutique and art gallery. Leviate will feature performances by Dubstep pioneer Rusko, legendary producer DJ Shadow, Elm and Oak festival curator Paper Diamond, and Denver native Pictureplane. Building on the success of last year’s event at the Boulder Theater, Elm & Oak has partnered with AEG Live to bring Levitate to new heights at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO.

Christopher Mercer, aka Rusko was born in Leeds in 1985 to a musical family. From day one Rusko was surrounded by music. Whether it be his family’s pianos, guitars, banjos and saxophones… or the heavy reggae and dub sound systems of later years in Leeds, music has always been an integral part of Rusko’s life.

After graduating from Leeds university with a degree in musical performance, Rusko discovered the world of dubstep through Sub Dub and a debut appearance from the Digital Mystikz. Having spent the past 10 years making future dub alongside Leeds very own Iration Steppas, Rusko connected with the sound and moved down to London to further advance his musical opportunities with Sub Soldiers label mate Caspa.

Veering away from the dark, serious side of the sound Rusko brought a highly driven energy and fun approach to the dubstep massive and quickly coined his own take on the genre and turned the scene upside down. His sound appealed to many people outside of the dubstep world as his productions became more adventurous in formula, sound and energy. His huge hit Cockney Thug has been played by everyone from Pete Tong, Switch, Diplo and Santogold, and has been remixed by Buraka Som Sistema, Diplo, Caspa, Drop the Lime and the Scratch Perverts.

Now at 25, Rusko is only in first gear, with collaborations on the table with the likes of Switch, Diplo , Yo Majesty and Wiley, the future sure is looking bright. Already setting the radio airwaves alight with his own productions and remixes of artists like Adele and A-Trak featuring Kid Sister, Rusko is headed in the right directions.