Seth Troxler and Ben Sterling had the unfashionable job of getting Head Trip started on Saturday. Before the enormous screen became the weekend’s main attraction, before the headliners and the weather alerts, they had to give an open field a reason to become a dance floor. Their back-to-back was a welcome opening argument for the festival’s format: house music could hold this much space without immediately reaching for a chorus everyone already knew.

Troxler’s roots run through Detroit record shops and the club culture that shaped his ear; Sterling, the British producer behind Planet X, has built his reputation around the overlap between house, electro, and acid. There is enough common ground there for a shared set to feel natural, with room for the records to introduce differences.

Iz & Diz’s “Love Vibe” appeared early, with DJ Garth & ETI’s “Simon’s Come-Unity Mix” also in the run. Those are records with their own club lives, arriving on a field now being asked to accommodate dance music at an different scale. Jamie Jones’ “Moan & Groan” brought another familiar house voice into the conversation.

That approach suited an opening slot. The music invited people to settle into a rhythm, and the back-to-back gave the afternoon movement without requiring a constant succession of resets. On a bill containing so many producers whose names are inseparable from particular hits, hearing DJs work through other records was welcome.

Saturday’s timetable had already been adjusted for the weather, which gives the opening a different meaning in hindsight. Troxler and Sterling completed their set before lightning brought the night to an early end during Under Construction. Their afternoon belonged to the portion of day one that actually got to unfold as music, rather than become another scheduling question.

Article & Photos by: Andrew Ameter

Seth Troxler & Ben Sterling Blow Minds at Head Trip 2026