EDC or Electric Daisy Carnival, specifically the Las Vegas edition is known as “the Tomorrowland of North America”. The famous Las Vegas edition of this dance music festival is an immersive experience of arts, lights, music and shows taking place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the festival features a stacked lineup, an incredible light and pyrotechnics show and a plethora of unannounced special guests showing up throughout the incredible weekend. EDC Las Vegas caters to all fans of electronic music, whether you are an old school veteran going for the underground or self-admitted newbie who’s there for the grandiose show, the big names, and legendary times.
EDC is the biggest festival in the USA with shows going all night long, featuring talent from different ends of the electronic dance music spectrum, a mega-level production and jaw-dropping stage designs. The event sells out to 400,000 + attendees every year! Need more? You can enjoy art installations and theatrics as well!
From the PLUR vibe, to the sensory overload from the music, light shows and fireworks, the festival is made to blow your mind even if you’re sober and no matter your age.
“I’m a single dad and I took my son to EDC Vegas for his 18th birthday. First time either one of us was at an electronic music festival, so why not start with the best one, right? All I can say is that it was one of those rare times that the hype lives up to the event. My co-workers and friends think it’s crazy for a 45 year old guy to be doing this, but oh well. Needless to say we’re going again this year!!”
EDC’s production company has been putting in the work to make every year’s event an unforgettable experience no matter your age, gender, or country of origin. Let’s take a closer look at why we (and so many others) think that Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas is one of the biggest festivals in North America.
EDC Las Vegas is celebrating it’s 25th year in 2021, CLICK HERE to check out our article and learn more about it.
Read on to learn in more details why EDC Las Vegas is the biggest music festival in the United States.
Photo Credit: DiegoVigueras (under CC BY-SA 4.0 license)
It’s Not Only About Music
As mentioned on their website and around the web, EDC was created with the purpose of utilizing music and art to inspire individuals. In addition to the music, individuals experience three-dimensional superstructures, colorful glow-in-the-dark environments, and LED-infused flora and fauna. A major part of the experience and what makes this festival quite different than the others are the interactive art installations scattered throughout EDC, the various carnival performers that walk around the crowds, and a variety of both thrilling and relaxing carnival rides. The goal is ultimately for EDC to be a place where people can connect, on and off the dance floor.
So many unique elements come together to bring a unique world to life and to such a large audience. The creators invite everyone to wander, explore, interact, and connect. Imagination and positive energy are the currency of this place.
Incredible Stage Design & Production
The main stage only seems to get better and better every year and with every passing edition, EDC seem to not only outdo themselves but also even Tomorrowland’s main stage! The main stage every year is designed differently, following the theme chosen, for example, one edition had a main stage designed as a backdrop of a giant cathedral complete with stain-glassed windows which were actually giant LED panels. The production team even added giant water fountains on each side of the stage. You can also find resources mentioning 1000 square meters of video screen being used at main stage al0ne! We could go on about how massively epic the stage designs are but you can always check out the incredible images of previous editions and picture yourself in that moment on the dance floor. It would be indeed truly indescribable.
In addition to the main stage, EDC Las Vegas also features a lot more themed stages and areas for specific types of music and audiences. In the massive 25th edition happening in 2021, festival goers can expect the following stages:
kineticFIELD (movement, love & energy)
quantumVALLEY (from ethereal melodies to complex psychedelic strains)
circuitGROUNDS (LED walls & plumes of fire light up the positive energy)
cosmicMEADOW (Opening ceremony will happen there)
bassPOD (uniting lovers of dubstep, bass house, drum & bass, and trap)
neonGARDEN (subliminal deep house and techno)
wasteLAND (feel the energy of hard dance, hardcore, and all forms of hardstyle)
stereoBLOOM (sounds from known artists and up-and-comers curated by the Insomniac team)
skyLAB (EDC Las Vegas’s newest stage, dedicated to house music)
Art Cars (explore with these mobile sound systems, roaming the Speedway & playing all kinds of dance music)
Each of these stages and ares will have their own stage design, screen and backdrop setup, special pyrotechnics, visuals, light designs and more!
Photo Credit: Calder Wilson for Insomniac Events
This unique experience and the production team’s attention to every detail, makes the experience of EDC Las Vegas one that will leave you in awe! Insomniac founder and CEO Pasquale Rotella always wants to put the fans at the forefront of every decision and experience relating to the EDM festival, by calling them “Headliners”. This mindset and business decision cemented the festival as one of the leading experiences in the history of Dance Music Festivals and a must for every dance music fan to experience at least once in their life. The team, with Rotella’s leadership, always go above and beyond to bring a unique and unexpected element to the shows every year. For example, in 2019, Rotella teamed with TV icon Billy Nye, yes the Science Guy, to create the theme for the year’s EDC, kineticENERGY. This all goes back to the idea of putting a show, for the people, like nothing they’ve experienced before and helped make EDC the biggest festival in the USA.
This Is A Long Event
If you’d like to know a what time the event starts & ends each day we’ve got the breakdown for you right here:
For the 2021 edition, the festival will be held on Friday, May 21, Saturday, May 22 & Sunday, May 23 with the opening ceremony happening at 5:00pm till 7:00pm, and the full grounds open from 7:00pm till 5:30am daily. Yes, you read that right, you will be able to party till dawn and there will only be some “down time” between 5:30am till 7:00pm but do note that there are a ton of activities to do and things to check out, you will probably not have much “down time” after all, enjoying every aspect of the festival, meeting new people and making new friends will keep you busy for sure.
The Talent
From the mainstream to the underground, all types of talent are represented. An open mind is all you need to enjoy everything from the artistic installations to the DJ music sets. Every top producer from all over the globe aims to play at EDC Las Vegas, Insomniac clearly will never run out of great talent to showcase on their grounds every year and with their extensive experience of over 25 years, they’re the best at choosing the top of the crop!
As EDC Las Vegas puts it:
“We groove to the same universal beat and, together, create beautiful experiences that will never be forgotten.”
The Crowds
In 2009, due to it’s increasing popularity, EDC became a two-day event, and in 2011, a three-day event that drew 230,000 people. In 2015, it drew more than 400,000 over three days (134,000 per day). In 2018, EDC Las Vegas expanded the festival to include an on-site camping experience. To have this many like minded people all in one place at one time is something that must be experienced.
Recent iterations of the festival have featured eight stages, each with a unique set and specific genre of EDM, 18 carnival rides, 4 ferris wheels, and a staff of more than 5,000 people make up the event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2019 access to purchasing tickets to EDC was also expanded to mobile phone apps for convenience.
In 2017, EDC won the Festival of the Year award at the Electronic Music Awards.
In 2020, due to the Coronavirus (COVID19) Pandemic, EDC Las Vegas was first rescheduled and later fully cancelled. A virtual festival, streamed live on Twitch and YouTube, took place during the original scheduled dates. And as of August the event has been completely canceled for the first time since its creation.
It is also interesting to note that the festival featured over 70 legal weddings. Whether or not this was real love or just the spur-of-the-moment decision influenced by the experience of EDC, it was definitely some sort of love, and we think it’s pretty cool.
Image Credit: Demian Becerra for Insomniac Events
Carnival Rides And Art
What’s a carnival without rides? EDC’s landscape is an oversize playground with all your favorite full-size thrills. From relaxing to exhilarating, you’ll enjoy EDC from a whole new perspective!
When it comes to arts, EDC Las Vegas invites you into a world of three-dimensional superstructures, colorful, glow-in-the-dark environments, and all manner of LED-infused flora and fauna. A vital part of the experience, the interactive art installations scattered throughout EDC are bridges the producers and teams construct between nature and technology, there to inspire all who come in contact with them.
On another hand, EDC also features merry bands of what they call the “Funkdafied Freaks”. They are the famous dancers, stilters, aerialists, circus performers, and other whimsical characters of EDC! Decked out in over-the-top costumes crafted specially for Insomniac (the production company behind the festival), this diverse crew will enchant you, astound you, and play with you all night long.
There’s Also A Theatre!
You read that right! EDC Las Vegas features themed bars and an open-air theater You can even take the stage yourself at the Tokyo-style karaoke bar!
The production team also put in some gorgeous chapels for those who’d like to tie the knot at the festival grounds. Too much? no problem, you can pledge your love to your bestie at the free Commitment Deck. Then dance in the dark or with headphones on at the Headlight Disco or the Silent Disco. That’s Downtown EDC Las Vegas for you!
As we come to the end of this journey into EDC Las Vegas, we’d like to acknowledge how all these pieces come together with so much focus on the attendees, the headliners and providing them with the best immersive experience. This dedication has lifted this festival to become the leader in the USA and one of the most sought-after and unique experiences in the dance music world across the globe. The production team at Insomniac and their CEO Pasquale Rotella are bound by deep passion—not only for the music we all love, but for the community that surrounds it. That community is why they are here. People are the heart of EDC and people are the reason it rose to the top.