Project Glow is the Latest Step in Insomniacs East Coast Expansion

Throughout its 25-year history, Insomniac Events has hosted nearly 400 festivals and concerts throughout the US. They’ve even expanded into international markets like Mexico, Asia, Brazil, and the UK. Their mission to spread dance music culture as widely as possible is unstoppable. 

Insomniac recently announced that they acquired a majority stake in Baltimore’s beloved Moonrise Festival. With their inaugural Project GLOW festival in Washington, DC, this weekend, they are completing a monumental move into the Northeast. What started as underground warehouse parties in Los Angeles back in the 1990s is now the apex of the electronic dance music scene. Here’s how Insomniac evolved to become one of dance music’s dominating forces.

Insomniac is not your typical entertainment company. Armed with a strong emphasis on creative detail, they set the industry standard for hosting top-of-the-line events. Their mentality is rooted in providing authentic experiences enhanced by cutting-edge sound design, stimulating visual effects, pyrotechnics, massive art installations, and interactive street performers. They flawlessly execute every occasion while always upholding their core values that stretch beyond the dance floor. What separates Insomniac from the rest of the industry is making festival-goers, aka Headliners, their number one priority. They consistently aspire to present a liberating, inclusive environment for all Headliners to unite to celebrate love, life, and music. 

“Fueled by self-expression and the spirit of discovery, we respond to a calling to connect and form something bigger than ourselves. We strive to create safe and magical spaces fueled by relentless positivity.”

(https://www.insomniac.com/who-we-are/we-are-insomniac/)

The man behind Insomniac’s success is none other than Pasquale Rotella. Back in 1992, at only 17-years-old, he hosted his first party in Los Angeles called “Unity Groove,” featuring DJs Steve Loria and Sean Perry. The history of dance music was forever changed in October of the following year when they threw their first underground warehouse party in South Central LA, giving birth to Insomniac Events. And they have been running full-speed ahead ever since.

Insomniac’s remarkable journey began in 1995 when they hosted what’s currently their longest-running festival, Nocturnal Wonderland. Their other signature event Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), made its debut in 1997 at the Shrine Expo Hall. However, Insomniac did not branch out of the Los Angeles area until 2001, when they held the first-ever edition of EDC Texas. 

In 2009, they made their debut outside of the US with the launch of the premier EDC Puerto Rico. Two new festivals were born in 2011, Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan, and Escape From Wonderland, which is now known as Escape: Halloween. They presented their first international EDC festival in London a few years later at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. EDC made its initial appearance in Asia back in 2016, hosting thousands of festival-goers in Delhi, India. Insomniac achieved its greatest accolade yet in 2019 when EDC Las Vegas became the largest dance music festival globally, with almost half a million attendees over the three days. 

Although Insomniac has made appearances all over the United States, there’s no denying that the East Coast lacks a flourishing dance music scene that rivals the West Coast. EDC Orlando has remained the East Coast’s crown jewel festival for years, but with the help of Pasquale Rotella and the rest of Insomniac, the status of the East Coast will be rewritten. In November of 2020, they took the entire EDM community by surprise when they announced their objective to replenish the rave culture along the East Coast with the official launch of Insomniac East. Earlier that same month, Insomniac also obtained ownership of one of Washington, DC’s longest-running EDM promoters Club Glow, and its two acclaimed venues, Echostage, and Soundcheck. 

The agreement pairs two of the biggest powerhouses in the game, Club Glow’s CEO Pete Kalamoutsos with Insomniac’s Pasquale Rotella, and since combining forces, they’ve wasted no time. 

In January, they revealed their first major advancement in the effort to expand the EDM scene along the East Coast. Project GLOW, Insomniac’s newest festival, is set to occur in the nation’s capital on April 30th and May 1st. This two-day festival will serve as the first experience of its kind to be held in Washington, DC, and will set a precedent for what’s to come in the future of dance music. 

“Pete and the entire Club Glow team have been trailblazers for rave culture in our nation’s capital for over the last two decades," Rotella said about the partnership. "They put a high level of care into their vision for the experiences they create while also sharing the same passion and core values that we live by at Insomniac. We couldn’t be more excited for everyone to see what we have created together with Project GLOW”

Taking place in the city’s largest open-air venue, the RFK Festival Grounds, Project GLOW will bring two newly-designed stages, The Eternal Stage and The Pulse Stage. In typical Insomniac fashion, they will surely be jaw-dropping. Headliners will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in one of the most historic cities in the country while sampling its finest food and beverage vendors and, of course, vibing out to dance music’s most sought-after DJs. 

Check out the complete list of Insomniac East events here.