The Wobbleland massive EDM party returned to San Jose with a full lineup of DJs and producer, including Griz, Doctor P, Cookie Monsta and many more.

Photos by Metro photographer CJ Storm.

It’s just a few years old, but Wobbleland has already proven itself steady. As one of the most reliable and consistently well-produced large shows in the area, Wobbleland regularly draws crowds of dance fans. This year’s roster features dubstep, trap and bass with Griz, Doctor P, Cookie Monsta and a full lineup of DJs.

Since its inception in 2011, Wobbleland has gathered some of the biggest names in dubstep. The first Wobbleland featured now-superstars Skrillex and Nero, who packed San Francisco’s the Factory for one of the biggest dubstep shows of its time. After successes every subsequent year and a venue change to City National Civic, Wobbleland continues to draw a loyal following. The show comes to town Jan. 24 this year.

A few standouts to look out for this time:

Kill Paris
Boulder, Colo., seems to be a breeding ground for talented glitch-hop producers. Something about the beautiful landscapes and crisp weather must inspire artists like Pretty Lights and Kill Paris to infuse beautiful sample work and clean synth lines into their otherwise bass-driven music. While his drums are stellar on their own, where Kill Paris really shines is his ability to weave instruments together in interesting and meaningful ways. Each synth pushes and pulls perfectly with each bass instrument, resulting in accessible yet exciting productions.

John Beaver
After recovering from a recent bout with cancer, John Beaver is one of the most energetic DJs in the Bay Area scene. While his genre versatility as a DJ has long been held in high esteem among fans, Beaver’s most endearing quality is his stage presence. He’s one of the happiest DJs you’ll ever see, and that fact alone makes him a joy to watch.

Protohype
Protohype has long been on top of the American dubstep scene. His ability to seamlessly intertwine hugely different instruments is what set him apart originally, but I’m most excited about a live rip posted on his SoundCloud page just a few days ago. While many producers are stuck in the same cycle of formulaic buildups and drops, Protohype teased crowds with a new single (“Downfall”) that draws on classic U.K. grime sensibilities and downtempo drum work. He’s bringing a bit of subtlety to the monster that is American dubstep.

Minnesota vs. G Jones
Minnesota’s rise to stardom has been a joy to watch. While exploding in both the dubstep and glitch-hop scenes, he’s kept a humble attitude and a devotion to his fans. His productions, while heavy in the low-end, tend to focus more on melody and musicality than buildups and basslines. G Jones, after a monster year with releases from Robox Neotech and Team Supreme, varies between chilled-out hip-hop instrumentals and big, spacey, club-style trap hits. The two collaborated on a number of memorable tracks in 2013, resulting in an arsenal of experimental melodies in a trap context. Their combo of L.A. beat scene-style trap and hip-hop influences is a great addition for the lineup.

Funtcase
Funtcase, like many other heavy dubstep producers, calls the U.K. home. What’s different about Funtcase is his strong influences drawn from U.K. hip-hop. His collaborations with artists like Foreign Beggars provide an interesting subsection of dubstep in which lyrics intertwine with rolling bass lines and heavy kick snare patterns. While remixes of American rappers like Childish Gambino yield unique results, Funtcase shines when working with artists from his home turf.

Doctor P
Big room dubstep made a huge impact on mainstream crossover with dance music in recent years. At the forefront of this movement is Doctor P. His hit singles “Sweet Shop,” “Tetris” and “Big Boss” all made waves on the festival circuit the years they were released and now evoke nostalgic feelings in slightly more seasoned party-goers. Expect a monstrous amount of energy and a number of new releases during his set. Judging by his most recent collaboration with Method Man and Adam F, the English producer hasn’t slowed down since his debut in 2009.

Griz
While most of the Wobbleland 2014 lineup consists of heavy, bass-centric dubstep artists, Griz provides a breath of clean production in an otherwise grime-filled evening. It’s hard to classify his music into a single genre—it sits somewhere among glitch-hop, jazz, hip-hop, bass music and dubstep. This combination, brought together in a live show that features finger drumming and saxophone solos, makes for a unique performance that will stand out from a night of DJs and controllerists.

Wobbleland arrives at City National Civic on January 24. More info.

Silicon Valley hosts a strong lineup of fall concerts with some of the biggest names in pop, indie rock and electronic music and the debut of SVSX.

Wobbleland
Aug. 31, 7pm; San Jose Civic; $50-$70. Some fans of Wobbleland have expressed disappointment that this year’s lineup isn’t loaded with the same dubstep star power as one that took San Francisco by storm in 2011. But they’re missing the point—nobody on that bill was famous yet outside of the electronic underground. Wobbleland is an underground party designed to let thousands of scantily clad fans get their spines rocked by these artists before they become phenoms. This year’s rave will pump untold decibels of bass into the San Jose Civic courtesy of headliner Flux Pavilion. Flux is best known for his Bassnectar-type dubstep anthem “Bass Cannon,” but fans of Kanye and Jay-Z are more likely to recognize his track “I Can’t Stop,” which was sampled on their “Who Gon Stop Me” album last year. The rest of the Wobbleland roster, aside from maybe Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs, comes straight from the underground: Zomboy, Barenoize, Bare, Grizzly, NastyNasty, Megalodon and more.

VivaFest!
Sept. 8-16; downtown San Jose; Sept. 16 HP Pavilion show, 7pm, $30 and up. Creative director of VivaFest!, Dan Guerrero, has brought an epic vision and a flair for spectacle to what started out a couple of decades ago as a folksy tribute to the well-known but poorly understood Mexican mariachi tradition. Guerrero is the kind of producer who believes that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing bigger, so it’s no surprise that the centerpiece of his show this year has Gigante in the title. I mean, the organizers of any festival celebrating Mexican culture would be beside themselves to have Latin music star Lila Downs; Chicano Cali favorites Ozomatli; Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, which was responsible for popularizing mariachi internationally in the 1980s; and legendary cantina chanteuse Paquita la del Barrio. But Guerrero has wrapped all four of them into one show at HP Pavilion on Sept. 16, “Domingo Gigante: A Night of Stars.” The festival will also feature their yearly free Outdoor Feria del Mariachi the same day on HP’s arena green. Besides the Super Sunday extravaganza, there will be a film series, historical walks, mariachi and dance workshops, and more.

SVSX
Sept. 22; downtown San Jose
The South Bay music scene thrives off the intersection of underground culture and high-tech empire. It’s no surprise that in the land of start-ups, the music revolution of the last few years has been born in the garages and on the laptops of a new generation of talent. The Silicon Valley Sound eXperience—SVSX—is a showcase for that revolution, supporting the local music scene with stages on which to make the next advance. This debut year will feature the first SVSX music awards and a club crawl brimming with the best and brightest on the South Bay scene. Artists like Will Sprott, whose unique songwriting and arrangements with the Mumlers opened the floodgates to the wave of eclectic and sometimes unclassifiable bands that have risen up here in the last few years. Like Anya and the Get Down, whose mash-up of rock, reggae and dubstep threatens to break big at any moment. Like Careless Hearts, the Shitkickers and the other bands scheduled to perform. They are all the sound of the Silicon Valley experience.

Harmony by the Bay
Sept. 29, 2pm; Shoreline, Mountain View; $49.50-$79. The Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa was known for a weird mix of performers; last year’s bill featured the Flaming Lips, Primus and breakbeat master Chango B, along with bluegrass and Afrobeat. In March, organizers announced that, after 33 years, money woes had done in the three-day festival, at least for the time being—and then surprised everyone with the debut of this South Bay spin-off festival, a joint venture among Harmony’s organizers, KFOG and Live Nation. Pared down to a one-day, two-stage setup, HBTB attempts to carry over the eclecticism of its namesake, with alt headliners Kimbra, the Shins, Tegan and Sara, plus reggae-rockers the Dirty Heads, bluegrass fixture Alison Krauss, electro-tribal strangesters Beats Antique and reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.