Electric Daisy Carnival. 3 days, from dusk till dawn. Yes you read that right. The official gates open at 7 pm and close at 5:30 am the next morning. The festival solely thrives on moonlight. There is a reason that the word 'carnival' is used instead of festival. There are handfuls of extravagant side shows, amusement park rides and light shows. It is known as the largest electronic music festival in the world, wrangling in 400,000 people for the duration of the three days. The carnival happens annually, usually in June, but moved to May this upcoming year, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Currently there are three other locations: Orlando, Florida, Mexico City, Mexico and Tokyo, Japan. But EDC has traveled across the U.S., the U.K., India and Brazil.
From Billboard
Electric Daisy Carnival has a very well known and specific feel to it. Their motto pretty much says it all, "All are Welcome Here." On their website they explain that it is imperative that everyone, "Spread love, respect the space and others, ignite positivity, embrace the true you, be open, and keep dancing." They really want to show that they respect everyone from all walks of life despite their race, sexuality, identity, etc. The atmosphere is incredible, everyone is friends. EDC differs from other festivals because of how they operate. There are similar performers as there are at circuses, for example: aerialists, stilters, dancers and any type of performer your imagination can envision. There are also carnival rides! These rids are free to all attendees. The Electric Daisy Carnival official website has a great gallery of photos that perfectly depict what you'd see regarding the shows and the performers.
The 3-D art creates an atmosphere similar to Coachella. There are life-sized installations all over the venue. These different art installations illuminate the venue even more (if that's even possible.) Insomniac, the company in charge of EDC, said that they wouldn't have the event without these pieces of art because that is what they are known for and what they take pride in. The festival is primarily during dark hours so these installations are glow in the dark or even involve fire. It is incredible that these things can be created and incorporated into the venue (as you can see below). The actual shows, in addition to the performers and the art all combine to satisfy the eye; bright colors, fireworks, smoke, fire and flashing lights explode in the eyes of the viewers.
From Los Angeles Times
From Everfest
And, of course, the music! Its pretty easy to forget with everything else going on. The lineup for 2017 included: Afrojack, Borgore, Don Diablo, Freedom Fighters, Galantis, Major Lazer, Martin Garrix, RL Grime, Zedd, Alison Wonderland, Louis the Child, Porter Robinson, Tommy Trash, DJ Khaled, Excision, Flosstradamus, Flux Pavilion, G Jones, Gramatik, Griz, Marshmellow and Metro Boomin. This lineup is very similar to my last post on Ultra because both are EDM festivals. There are eight stages placed in a circular fashion because the festival is in a speedway; which is really unique because it'd make attendees lives a lot easier. Look at the map below for further clarification.
From Destination 360
The fashion, oh my god the outfits that these people create are bizarre but beautiful. A good comparison would be taking North Coast and Ultra fashion, meshing them then times that by ten. This festival is crazy unique so obviously the fashion will follow. This could stem from the very accepting environment that is created around the festival. LA Weekly put together a slideshow of the "Most Beautiful People of EDC Vegas 2017." For girls, a lot of these outfits are swimsuit type things with fishnets, jewels, glowing lights, and glitter. For guys, it is mostly shirtless outfits with some crazy shorts or props.
Electric Daisy Carnival is definitely one of a kind. Its environment is beautifully accepting and the shows are something that you will never forget.
Festival Tip: Give the carnival rides a go, they give you a great view of the entire venue!
If you are infatuated as much as I am, watch EDC's announcement video for 2018.
Burning Man. We're going to go a little off book for this one. This event is more than just a festival, it is a celebration and an experience. 99% of the time when you ask a person, "How was burning man?" they tend to just laugh and say it was great. They laugh because it is so difficult to depict how this experience went without actually being there. So for the duration of this blog I will do my best to explain other's experiences that I've heard and to simply cover the basics. According to Burning Man , the event happens at the end of August/beginning of September, so basically the week prior too and Labor Day weekend. The dates for 2018 event are August 26th to September 3rd. The event is built every year in Black Rock Desert which is around 120 miles away from Reno, Nevada. Usually the general population is 0 for the desert but once the event begins the population spikes to over 70,000 people. From YourEDM From USA Today The word 'built' ...
Bonnaroo. 4 sweaty days in the beginning of June. The grounds open at a fresh 7am Thursday morning and they do not close till Monday at noon. This festival takes place at Great Stage Park, in Tennessee. The park is like a farm and consists of about 650 acres. It wrangles in over 800,000 people over the course of the four days. Its about 65 miles away from Nashville. So it is possible for people to fly from other parts of the country and drive to The Farm; but a majority of the attendees are within a manageable driving distance. The festival definitely differs from the past few I have discussed. It has a lot more of a homier, family feel. Camping is a very large part of the festival because there is plenty of room for large campers. But if you aren't a big nature person, don't worry, there are plenty of hotels. And if you do decide to stay at a hotel, there are direct shuttles to and from The Farm and the hotel of your choice. From Billboard What makes Bonnaroo really di...
I love the pictures you used in your blog! They really helped bring your descriptions to life and keep me excited and intriguied while I read.
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