Kinetic Field at EDC Las Vegas. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS — The sheer number of fronts Insomniac and Live Nation fired on in this latest incarnation of the Electric Daisy Carnival showcased just how deeply this 20-year-old juggernaut of the electronic music scene has devoted itself to variety and its legions of followers.
The carnival rides, art installations, firework displays (scattered throughout each night, with one mainstay maxing out at five minutes each night), and eight stages were all pushed to new degrees of spectacular. And the music, which sparked the nova-esque energy that has reverberated in founder Pasquale Rotella’s vision every year since the rave scene found him in the 1990s, smashed expectations as well. Living legends like Eric Prydz shook the night alongside newcomers like The Chainsmokers from one end of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to the other.
Variety was especially key to this year’s EDC, according to Desiree Naranjo, communications manager at Insomniac Events.
“There are the heavy-hitters, but at the same time there’s so much more diversity than in past years,” Naranjo said, “and the set times are an hour and a half minimum, so you give a DJ time to create a story, as opposed to just the bangers and you’re out.”
Performers spread the joy at EDC Vegas. (VT Photo)
With the main focus of the event based on appealing to the attendees themselves, one cannot ignore the array of costumes the devoted fandom turned up to display. At turns stunningly gorgeous and hilarious, more than many earned the Headliner title Insomniac bestows on every attendee’s RFID bracelet.
A joy-filled air permeates the crowds as well. No one bumps into anyone else without an apology, and grins are in full-force as fans venture from one adventure to the next.
The stages (seven total, with 14 art cars playing music as well before they joined up for a parade Naranjo described as being “like a Disneyland parade in the middle of a music festival”) themselves embraced diversity as well. EDC featured underground house music stages designed to embrace the old school, as well as the arena-inspired Kinetic Field (which dazzled especially well with water fountains that could easily stand outside any Vegas hotel).
As wide of a scope EDC holds, the effort is not without challenges. With over 135,000 attendees each day of the event, issues of keeping traffic flowing and overlapping set times can be difficult to manage, according to Kelsi Ring, communications assistant at Insomniac.
“As a team, we were all very pleased with the way the layout was structured,” Ring said. “Pasquale had a vision that involved clear, creative paths within the Speedway, and it manifested itself in beautiful portals to each side of the festival. Rainbow Road, Daisy Lane, Electric Avenue, and Memory Lane not only gave Headliners accessible walkways to various stages but each were decorated with incredible lights, visuals, and larger than life art installations.”
As the crowds are given so much to be happy about (including newly featured beauty salons, oxygen bars and complimentary coconuts), it’s no surprise that love is in no short supply in this ravers’ paradise. Naranjo shared that while 71 weddings were carried out in 2015, 160 were booked for 2016. Naranjo shared that couples who first meet at EDC will sometimes return to get married there as well. Two employees at Insomniac were given the full-time job of booking and arranging the marriages at the event’s sanctioned chapel, with two ordained officials marrying everyone alongside a photographer and bouquets from Insomniac.
The venue itself could not avoid the charms of EDC either. Chris Powell, president and general manager of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, had great things to say about the continuing partnership between the venue, Insomniac and Live Nation at EDC.
“Pasquale Rotella and everyone at Insomniac and Live Nation do a fantastic job of staging it,” Powell said of EDC, which saw its sixth straight year at the facility. “The attendees clearly enjoy it immensely. It’s just a fantastic production, they’ve spared no expense in providing a tremendous experience for everyone who chooses to attend.”
Fans encourage a new way for America at the Cosmic Meadow stage at EDC Las Vegas. (VT Photo)
When asked about any challenges that came with the largest EDC yet, Powell did not spare any enthusiasm for what he saw as relationship and process that has only improved.
“Even though it was bigger than any one we’d ever had,” said Powell, “things went more smoothly than ever before, because each year those who oversee the production get better at what they’re doing. While there are plenty of challenges, just the setup time that it takes, the teardown time that it takes, as well as the three days of the event itself, they do an outstanding job of working with our people to see to it that the facility is returned to its prior condition. And they’ve bent over backwards from day one in that regard, and that’s one of the reasons we have such a good relationship with Pasquale Rotella and everyone in the Insomniac organization.”
On the subject of whether the partnership would continue into the future, Powell left no doubts with one word: “Absolutely.”
Interviewed for this article: Desiree Naranjo, (323) 874-7020; Chris Powell, (702) 644-4444; Kelsi Ring, (323) 874-7020