Each year around turkey time, the Give Thanks festival rolls into town with a lineup of high-profile electronic acts. This time around they’ve put together a tight trio of shows featuring Swedish progressive house producer Alesso (headlining on Nov. 21), moombahton master Dillon Francis (playing Nov. 23) and Canadian dubstep act Excision (closing out the festival on Nov. 24). With each show situated on either side of Thanksgiving, a three-day pass should punch up any EDM fan’s long weekend. Not to mention, seeing Francis in a smaller sized venue like the Civic is bound to be dope.

Give Thanks
Wed, Fri, Sat, 8pm, $54+
City National Civic, San Jose

The Give Thanks festival lays claim to being the largest Thanksgiving weekend electronic dance music event in Northern California. The three-day festival begins Wednesday with the Parisian DJ duo of Tchami and Malaa. Their latest single, “The Sermon” comes from their upcoming collab EP, No Redemption. Malaa’s old-school style blends with Tchami’s new-school tone synergistically, putting a distinctly modern twist on breakbeat-driven ’90s house. The Las Vegas-based American producer 3LAU headlines the Friday-night show with his maximalist laser-beam beats, while the Mad Decent-signed L.A. duo Slander close out Saturday with their signature “heaven trap” sound.

Give Thanks
Wed, 9pm, $30+
City National Civic, San Jose

The days are getting shorter, the meals are getting heartier and people all over Silicon Valley are getting ready to settle in for a long winter’s nap. While food and booze will certainly help send you off to slumberland, most physicians these days say vigorous exercise is the best way to ensure a night of restful sleep.

Why not get all three?

Eat, drink and get merry on the dance floor this Wednesday and Friday at the 11th annual Give Thanks electronic dance music festival. This year’s party will feature some of the biggest names ever to rock the Give Thanks stage.

Wednesday night’s lineup is headed by Australian electro house and dubstep duo Knife Party, while Friday’s bill is topped by British trance veteran Oakenfold.

Initially formed as a side project, Knife Party eventually became the full-time venture of producers Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, who first began playing music together in the drum and bass trio Pendulum.

The Knife Party moniker—taken from a Deftones song of the same name—hints at the group’s preferred sonic palate. Swire and McGrillen straddle the line between EDM party starters and heavy metal shredders with rapid-fire distorted synths and heavy drops. Recently, the pair collaborated with pioneering guitarist and Rage Against The Machine co-founder Tom Morello on “Battle Sirens”—a stomping, electric guitar-infused one-off single.

If day one of Give Thanks looks to a pair of EDM upstarts, the second day of the festival looks back to rave royalty. Oakenfold began his career in the late 1970s, spinning soul records in bars around London.

Over time he migrated from simply playing music on two turntables, to remixing the music of popular hip-hop, dance and alternative rock artists. From there he began producing his own music and in 2002 released his debut studio album, Bunkka. To date, the record has moved over a million units and is recognized for pioneering the melding of trance textures with pop songwriting conventions.

Give Thanks
Nov 23 & 25, 9pm, $35-$60
City National Civic, San Jose

While masses of shoppers were pillaging local shopping malls, gangs of drug-crazed kids stripped down to candy bracelets and funny masks—at least that’s what mainstream media would like you to think—for an EDM Massive at San Jose Civic Auditorium. The party was, in fact, pretty typical for big DJ events these days, with no major incidents as some of the top international touring DJs performed in San Jose.

Metro photographer C.J. survived the bass assault and returned with these photos: