Ticket buyers will likely never guess that Santa Cruz-born Lorin Ashton, better known as Bassnectar, grew up influenced by rock heavyweights like Megadeth and Metallica and grunge pioneers Nirvana. An interest in ambient acts like Orbital may be less surprising. The electronic music guru—both a DJ and a producer—now delivers electrifying, bass-heavy concerts (hence the name) that typically feature creative remixed tributes like "Seek and Destroy (Bassnectar Remix)" alongside laser light shows that awe tour and festival attendees. Many Bassnectar creations also meld socio-political statements from personalities like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Noam Chomsky into the electronic grooves.
Though he's made more than? a dozen free downloadable mixtapes available at his website since 1999, Bassnectar has also unleashed several full-length albums, including a couple more recent releases on his own label, Amorphous Music. The 2012 release "Vava Voom" features a collaboration with Lupe Fiasco on the title track, as well as "Pennywise Tribute," a remix of Pennywise's own single, "Bro Hymn (Tribute)."