Why Submersion Is the Underground Festival You Can’t Miss In 2025
- Ava West
- Sep 24
- 3 min read
If you’re looking for a festival that puts music, community, and experience first, Submersion is where you need to be this year. In a landscape where corporate-run events keep recycling the same lineups, Submersion stands out as a true underground gathering. The festival has been carefully curated this year to give fans something fresh, rare, and unforgettable. This year’s lineup is one of its most ambitious yet, featuring a few US Artist debuts, some genre-bending performances from the likes of Lipphead, and a co-headline from BLAAP and G Jones b2b Eprom. Did we mention this is all set against a backdrop of upgraded stage production, immersive visuals, and a hand-picked marketplace full of amazing food and vendors. Submersion isn’t just a music festival. It’s a carefully crafted experience where every detail, from the artist curation to the food you eat, is designed with the attendees in mind. Whether you’re a die-hard basshead, a house & techno traveler, or someone who just wants to dance under the stars with good people, this is the weekend that will remind you why independent festivals matter.
Diving Deep w/ Submersion Music Festival Co-Founder
1. There’s been lots of pushback against corporate ran festival’s recently. You guys are one of the few non corporate festivals with a true steller underground lineup. Can you go into the importance of attendees supporting events like yourself and how that’s beneficial for the long run of your festivals success?
Ryan Karolyi: Supporting the underground and festivals like Submersion is the lifeline of how these events exist. We do our best to book outside the normal copy paste lineups that happen year after year and truly try and curate a unique experience for everyone involved.
2. If you can name three reasons why folks should not miss out on this years submersion lineup + event , what would they be and why?
Ryan Karolyi: First has to be the lineup. From US debuts with Monrroe and Buunshin, to unique sets like Lipphead, the debut of Hoodie Weather and the only 2025 set for Groovsauce to 2 different sets from Mystic State to the largest Memory Palace takeover to date, we have a little something for everyone.
Production. We are really stepping up the production this year and have some new additions and some special things up our sleeve. This is going to be the biggest year by far in terms of visual production.
Vendors this year are PRIME. We put just as much thought into selecting our food and marketplace vendors as we do the music. We have some amazing goods and some even better food with returning favorites and some new gems we've had our eye on for past years!
3. How did the Submersion project come about to be and what kind of impact are you looking to leave on the community?
Ryan Karolyi: First event I attended at Paradise Lakes was 11 years ago and knew at that moment with its close proximity to our homebase in Philly I'd be throwing an event there. We started as a one day event at the Armory in Philadelphia and finally moved to Paradise Lakes in year 2 after establishing the brand and festival in Philadelphia. We are looking to leave an impact most importantly of curating a tangible vibe and energy on-site that we care. We are constantly growing, changing and improving what we can year over year. We want people to know without a doubt after their festival experience that there is a mindfulness that happens behind the scenes and that we actually care about your experience as a ticket-buyer. Anyone willing to give their hard earned cash to Submersion to enjoy the weekend is the reason we keep doing this. We know you trust us and we think we'll deliver :)
