Review: DJ Snake, Machine Gun Kelly, Pendulum, Big Shaq and more at Bay Dreams 2018, Mount Maunganui

DJ Snake was definitely a crowd favourite at Bay Dreams 2018. Photo/Kristin Macfarlane

What: Bay Dreams 2018
Where: ASB Stadium, Mount Maunganui
When: January 2
Who: Main Stadium, various artists

Good vibes, great music, amped up crowds and performers who were - that's how I'd sum up Tauranga's first major music event for 2018, Bay Dreams.

Tens of thousands of people packed into ASB Baypark at Mount Maunganui yesterday for Bay Dreams 2018, to enjoy a day of music over four stages and more. Weather conditions were dry and the vibes were positive - key ingredients for a good day.

The Main Stage was where the biggest artists of the day performed including DJ Snake, Pendulum, Machine Gun Kelly, Big Shaq, Kehlani, Foster the People, Flatbush Zombies, Ocean Alley, Sons of Zion, P-Money and T1R.

Foster the People ended their set with the song everyone was waiting for, Pumped Up Kicks, which definitely hyped up the energy.

Once Kehlani hit the Main Stage at 6pm, the crowds started to flock, and they grew as the night went on.

R&B singer Kehlani brought a slightly more chilled down, but ultra sexy vibe to the stage and even though some of her crew could not join her on stage due to food poisoning, she did not disappoint.

Hearing my favourite Kehlani songs I Wanna Be and Distraction, live, with dance moves for visuals was the highlight of my day. Seeing someone invited on stage to dance with Kehlani but not delivering was probably my anti-climax.

Big Shaq drew the crowds too but it was his track Man's Not Hot that got everyone pumping.

Machine Gun Kelly was probably my favourite performer of the day giving a high energy performance and interactive with the crowd. He told his audience this was his first time in New Zealand but everyone there "made this feel like home", and would be back later this year.

He also paid tribute to the late Chester Bennington from Linkin Park singing Numb.

Pendulum did a DJ set and incorporated some classic Kiwi music into their set through Slice of Heaven.

DJ Snake was an obvious crowd favourite. His set was the final of the night and despite having a bit of a technical problem when his laptop cut out, the crowd didn't get impatient waiting for things to get sorted.

Instead, they danced, the kissed, they stood and watched and enjoyed themselves.

Bay Dreams was a good time and I'm already looking forward to the next one!