Insomniac’s flagship festival, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, is a unique event. It’s hard to explain how life-changing it can be, especially if you've chosen the path of the lifetime raver. This year, Insomniac celebrated 25 years under the electric sky, and 10 years in Vegas. The festival took a year off due to COVID and was postponed from its original May date, so everyone was excited to return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for some all-night dancing. The fall date made for more predictable weather, but because of daylight savings, no epic sunrise sets. None of this seemed to deter the thousands of ravers that showed up to celebrate a return to the dancefloor and marvel at the larger-than-life production Insomniac always pulls out.
Those of us that sat this year out (for whatever reason) may have felt a more FOMO than previous years. For many, EDC is a pilgrimage, the rave super bowl if you will. It’s an event you look forward to each year with the world’s best DJs and the largest most detailed stages. It's a chance to let the inner raver run free and reunite with friends and (chosen) family.
Luckily the power of the internet kept the couch ravers connected. And even in the cell phone hell that EDC becomes every year, people still manage to post up to the minute reports of all the most epic moments. This year, for the first time, Insomniac streamed nearly every set from every stage live on YouTube. So stay-at-home ravers didn't have to miss any of the music, although that may have only served to increase the FOMO.
The upside to staying home? On Monday morning, I woke up refreshed and rested, while some will be recovering from the rave hangover for the next week and a half.
We scoured social media over the weekend—from our couches—and pulled together some of the most FOMO-inducing moments of EDC Vegas 2021. Read on if you’d like to either relive the glory or confirm that you will never miss another year under the electric sky.
The Drone Light Show
The nightly fireworks display is one of the best parts of EDC. The light show can be seen from every corner of the Speedway, and their sheer size makes a fireworks display at Disneyland seem cute in comparison.
This year Insomniac added a spectacular drone light show to the mix that beautifully paid homage to some of the stage designs of EDC past.
Dombresky’s Disco Day Party
Camp EDC has offered Insomniac the ability to keep the party going all day and night. And with so many DJs in one place at one time, that means bookings for multiple sets and often straying from the norm, and just having fun. Dombresky brought the vibe to the Campground on Saturday afternoon to soothe the souls of those recovering from day one. Watching thousands of ravers sing YMCA is bliss.
Alison Wonderland Will Fix it Herself
Equipment failure is a fact of life. Alison Wonderland handled a CDJ breaking mindset with grace and a bit of humor on Saturday night. It’s a hilarious and wonderfully human moment. This is the kind of thing that could happen anywhere, but when it’s happening on the world’s largest stage, you have to show some respect to not just her, but the quick-moving stage techs who got her all sorted out.
Casmalia’s Debut EDC Set
Shannon Camp
Watching San Diego-based producer, DJ, and vocalist rise has been exhilarating. The multi-talented artist does it all, and with style and grace. The classically trained musician’s thumping tech-house has seen release on In/Rotation, Mau5trap, and Space Yacht Records, but what’s most intriguing is her recent evolution. She’s fully embraced her years of vocal music training and incorporated her silky smooth voice into her productions and sets. And her debut at EDC on the StereoBLOOM stage was the world’s first look at how this dynamic and well-rounded artist plans to bring a scintillating layer of creativity and warmth to her DJ sets going forward.
Celebrity Sitings
EDC is one of the largest dance music events in the world, and with roots in LA is a magnet for celebrity types. It’s not uncommon to catch one roaming the grounds, (my wife still doesn’t believe I got the nod from Emma Stone grabbing a beer in the artist area in 2017) or see a special appearance during a DJ set. EDC 2021 was packed full of star visits, from Adam Sandler randomly roaming the festival to Pasquale showing Mike Tyson around. But the Diplo’s set at CosmicMEADOW brought out the big guns with an onstage appearance from none other than Lil Nas X who blazed through the Diplo remix of “Old Town Road” and “Industry Baby.”
Moore Kismet
On Friday night Moore Kismet became the youngest person to ever play at EDC. At just 16, the fast-rising icon’s emotive and complex bass beats have put them at the top of the list of ones to watch. Their much-anticipated set on Friday night went down as the festival got started. And because the floor was already full from the opening ceremony they had a packed house primed and ready for their mix of emotive hooks and grimy bass-heavy drops. It was so wholesome to hear them stop the music and let the crowd know how special it was for them to be there. And for some old-schoolers, it was touching to know that there is an entire generation of dance music fans, like MK, who grew up with EDC as the gold standard for raving.
Kaskade Drops Techno at KineticFIELD
Kaskade is an EDC mainstay, and famously one of Pasquale's favorite DJs. When he took to KineticFIELD on Sunday night, no one could have anticipated the left turn his set would take. Kaskade’s winding journey brought techno to the main stage with a splattering of some of his most iconic vocals blended into the mix. The towering and chill-inducing lyrics of “Disarm You” ringing out as Charlotte DeWitte and Enrique Sanguillano’s remix of “Age Of Love” swelled was just one of those moments that made you wish you were there. I’m not crying, you’re crying.