Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance musicfestival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest electronic dance music festival in North America as of 2024.[2]
The event features electronic dance producers and DJs, and incorporates a variety of electronic music, including house, techno, drum and bass, and dubstep.[3] In addition to the music, event goers experience three-dimensional superstructures, colorful glow-in-the-dark environments, and LED-lit flora and fauna.[4] There are also interactive art installations throughout EDC, free-roaming carnival performers, and carnival rides.[4]
Since its inception, other EDC events have been held in other states and abroad, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, the UK, Brazil, Japan and India. Currently, EDC is held annually in Orlando, China, and Mexico, along with the main Las Vegas event.[5] Sponsors of the most recent EDC events include Corona, Smirnoff, Uber and Tinder.[6]
In 2009, EDC became a two-day event, and in 2011, a three-day event. In 2024, it had a total attendance of 525,000 over three days.[7] In 2018, EDC Las Vegas expanded the festival to include an on-site camping experience. The festival has eight stages, each catering to different genres of EDM,[8] with the largest, Kinetic Field, being able to accommodate 70,000.[9] It also has 18 carnival rides, four ferris wheels, and a staff of more than 5,000 people.[10] In 2019, access to purchasing tickets to EDC was expanded to mobile phone apps for convenience. In 2017, EDC won the Festival of the Year award at the Electronic Music Awards.
The Electric Daisy Carnival had its roots in 1986, when Stephen Hauptfuhr first started throwing underground parties. He organised the first Electric Daisy Carnival in 1991 in Chino, California. It had an outdoor carnival and drew 3,000 to 3,500 people who were impressed by the carnival atmosphere. He subsequently organised the 1992 and 1995 editions as well.[11]
Philip Blaine—Pasquale's partner—made the deal to grant use of the name Electric Daisy Carnival in 1995 to Pasqualle Rotella CEO of Insomniac Events.[12]
Insomniac debuted their signature event, Electric Daisy Carnival, in 1997 at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California.[13]
In 2000, the Electric Daisy Carnival was held at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California, attracting 24,000 attendees as well as complaints about noise.[14] The International Agri-Center subsequently cancelled its contract to host subsequent editions of the Electric Daisy Carnival.[15]
In 2001, Electric Daisy Carnival was held at Hansen Dam in Southern California, expanding for the first time to multiple stages: the Merry Go Round, the Fun House, Clown Alley, the Confusin' & Amuzin' Mirror Maze, Bassrush Arena and Cosmic Healing Temple.[citation needed] In the same year, the first EDC Texas was held at the Thunderhill Raceway Park in Austin, Texas.[13]
EDC 2002 was held at Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach, California. A second edition was planned to be held at the Travis County Exposition Center in Austin, Texas, but the venue cancelled in the days before an event.[16] A make-up show with a different line-up was held a week later for anyone who did not just get a refund.[17]
In 2007, Electric Daisy Carnival was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles' Exposition Park.[18]
In 2008, The California event was held June 28 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Exposition Park.[citation needed] The EDC Colorado event took place on June 14 at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds in Aurora.[19]
At the Nocturnal Festival in 2008, EDC revealed its plan to host a two-day festival in California. The event was held on June 26–27. On Friday, approximately 55,000 attendees were present and Saturday saw a crowd of approximately 99,000.[20] EDC 2009 was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and used the entire southern half of Exposition Park.[citation needed] The Colorado event was held at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds in Aurora on June 13. It was headlined by Infected Mushroom, Paul Van Dyk, and several others.[citation needed] The first EDC Puerto Rico was held in 2009 at the Arena Fairgrounds in San Juan,[13] on August 14.[citation needed]
2010–2019
EDC Los Angeles, 2010.
EDC Los Angeles had an attendance of about 185,000 people.[13] Though tickets were starting at $60, some attendees paid over $100 per ticket.[21] It drew criticism from local authorities and promoters after people under the required age of 16 gained entrance, and more than 100 ravers were hospitalized after a crowd stampede. A 15-year-old attendee, Sasha Rodriguez, died after taking MDMA, a psychoactive drug.[22] The city of Los Angeles placed a suspension on all remaining events scheduled for 2010 and for future events, pending the outcome of the new security and safety provisions. The new provisions included the hiring of on-site doctors, and stated attendees must be over 18 years of age.[citation needed] An EDC Colorado event was held on June 12 at the Arapahoe County Fairground in Aurora.[citation needed] EDC Dallas was held on June 19 at Fair Park in Dallas. 11,000 people were in attendance.[citation needed] EDC Puerto Rico was held on August 28, 2010, at the Estadio Sixto Escobar at Puerta de Tierra, San Juan.[citation needed]
In 2011, due to the previous controversy of EDC's former residence in Los Angeles, EDC moved its flagship festival to Las Vegas, Nevada.[23] The event was held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from June 24–26. Reportedly 230,000 people had attended the 3 day festival.[24] EDC Orlando 2011 was held on May 27–28 at Tinker Field, and the grounds adjacent to the Florida Citrus Bowl.[25] EDC Orlando 2011 had approximately 12,000 on Friday and 20,000 on Saturday.[26] EDC Colorado the same year was held at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds in Aurora on June 11.[citation needed] Electric Daisy Carnival Dallas was held June 18 at Fair Park with an estimated 25,000 attendees. Temperatures above 110 degrees led to dozens of hospitalizations and at least one death, which made it the last EDC held in Dallas. EDC Puerto Rico took place in San Juan at the Estadio Sixto Escobar on August 27[27]
In 2012, the three-day EDC in Vegas (June 8–10) saw attendance increase by 30%, to a total of 320,000 attendees.[28] A 31-year-old male from Florida died after being struck by a truck as he left EDC at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 11. Friends reported that he had been drinking and smoking.[29] The second night had to shut down early at 1 a.m. due to high winds, of up to 30 MPH that started around 8 p.m.[30] 90,000 fans were directed to the speedway's bleachers. DJs Markus Schulz and Steve Aoki, who were both scheduled to play that night, performed impromptu sets on the Insomniac Wide Awake art car, a much smaller, mobile stage, for a short period,[31] before officials ordered it to close as potentially dangerous winds were expected until 5 a.m.[32] In order to make up for the cancellation, Insomniac allowed those with Saturday passes to return on Sunday.[33] EDC Orlando was held at Tinker Field on November 9–10. This coincided with the annual Dayglow event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, called "Dancegiving" held the weekend after Thanksgiving.[citation needed] EDC New York was held May 18–20 at the MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[34] Although the venue was located in New Jersey, the festival was coined Electric Daisy Carnival New York due to the proximity to New York City.[35] The event drew 45,000 attendees per day.[36]
In 2013, EDC Las Vegas was held June 21–23. EDC was held in London for the first time, along with events in Chicago, New York, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Orlando, Florida.[citation needed]
In 2014, EDC was held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 20–22, 2014. Insomniac Events announced that all 345,000 tickets to the three-day festival had been sold by June 18, 2014.[37] At the conclusion of the 2014 event, the massive three-day festival drew in roughly 134,000 per day.[38] The setup at the event also led Insomniac to set the record for the largest structural stage in North America.[39] EDC events were also held in Milton Keynes, England, San Juan, Orlando, Florida, and New York.[citation needed] The first EDC Mexico was held on March 15–16, 2014.[40] A documentary film called Under the Electric Sky about the festival premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.[41]
EDC Las Vegas 2015 was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 19, 20 & 21. Its stage featured a blinking owl as background theme.[42] EDC Las Vegas 2015 was met with unwanted publicity for the death of a UC Irvine graduate on the second night of the festival. Death was ruled as related to MDMA, which has side effects of dehydration and increase in body temperature.[43][citation needed] EDC was also held at Orlando, Florida at Tinker Field on November 6 & 7, and East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium on May 23 & 24.[44][45] Internationally, EDC was held at Estadio Sixto Escobar in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the sixth time on February 21 & 22,[46]Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil for the first time December 4 & 5,[47]Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico for the second time on February 28 – March 1,[48] and the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, UK for the third time on July 17.[49]
In 2017, EDC returned to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from June, with over 135,000 attendees on opening night.[50] Heat-related health incidents saw a significant increase, with double the medical-related calls on opening night year-over-year. A 34-year-old man died after taking MDMA and TFMPP, a drug similar to MDMA, with heat exposure as a contributing factor.[51][52] EDC was held for the fourth time in Mexico City at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez from 25 to 26 February.[53] EDC UK 2017, due to be held at Milton Keynes, England in July 2017, was cancelled.[54] EDC Orlando 2017 was held at Tinker Field on November 10–11, 2017.[55]
Marshmello playing the main stage of EDC Mexico City 2018.
In 2018, EDC Orlando was held at Tinker Field from November 9–10. EDC Las Vegas was held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from May 18–20; the festival was moved from its traditional June scheduling so that it will be held in relatively cooler conditions. The festival also introduced on-site camping (including rentable campers and RV parking) and earlier opening times in order to reduce traffic congestion.[56][57] An estimated 411,400 people attended the festival over the three days.[58] EDC Mexico in Mexico City was planned for February 24–25 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.[59] EDC Japan was held in Chiba, Japan May 12 & 13 at Zozo Marine Stadium and Makuhari Beach Park. Heavy Rains caused equipment issues.[60] EDC China in Shanghai, April 29 & 30, debut at Shanghai International Music Park.[citation needed]
In 2019, EDC Las Vegas returned to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for May 17–19. On the second day, high winds forced stage closures. Due to wording of the message displayed on screens, and the played audio message instructing them to "take cover in your car", some attendees were led to believe that the entire festival was being shut down for the night and subsequently left the speedway. Upon learning at the exit that only certain areas were closed for safety precautions some people tried to re-enter the grounds but were not allowed back in due to the event's strict no-reentry policy.[61] Las Vegas police announced 65 arrests during the festival, including 2 DUIs and 51 felony or gross misdemeanor arrests.[62] EDC Mexico in Mexico City returned to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for February 23–24, 2019.[63] EDC Orlando is now held for 3 days, instead of the normal 2 days. It will remain at Tinker Field, outside of Camping World Stadium. EDC Japan was held in Chiba on May 11 & 12, 2019 at ZOZO Marine Stadium & Makuhari Beach Park.[64] EDC Korea was held on 31 August & 1 September at Seoul Land, Gwacheon, South Korea.[citation needed]
2020–present
In 2020, EDC Mexico in Mexico City was held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for February 28–March 2. It was announced that the 2020 festival would utilize more of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway grounds, with Rotella pointing out that the speedway had removed a large number of RV hookups that had made certain areas of the grounds unusable.[65] The festival was originally scheduled to take place from May 15–17, but was postponed to October 2–4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[66] A virtual festival, streamed live on Twitch and YouTube, took place during the original scheduled dates.[67] However, in August 2020, the October date was announced as cancelled.[68]
Kinetic Bloom Mainstage EDC Mexico, 2023.
In 2021, EDC Las Vegas was originally scheduled to be held from May 21–23. However. Clark County on April 20 passed a reopening plan that requires 60% of their residents to be vaccinated before restrictions over large scale gatherings such as EDC can be lifted.[69] In a statement released on social media, Insomniac Events CEO Pasquale Rotella stated, "Unfortunately, the rate at which people get vaccinated before EDC is out of our control. It might happen in time, it might not. Either way, we can't take that risk."[70] The event instead took place from October 22–24.[71]
In 2024, EDC has decided to move a few stages to make room for larger dance floors and better crowd flow. [72] In June of 2024, the EDC Orlando lineup was revealed, featuring a mix of well-known and emerging artists in the electronic dance music scene. [73]
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, North Las Vegas, Nevada[96]
Planned
Charity
For every flagship festival held, Insomniac Care donates a percentage of ticket sales to national charities and community organizations. In the past, EDC Las Vegas has partnered with Surreal, a fundraising platform, to raise money from festival goers who enter in sweepstakes for helicopter rides and other activities with popular DJs.[97] Since 2011, over two million dollars have been donated to groups. Some organizations are named below.[98]
No award ceremony was held in 2017. In 2018 winners were chosen by the Winter Music Conference themselves. 2019 marks the first year of public voting since the Winter Music Conference's restructure.[106]
A rave is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, trance, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines.
Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by DJs who create seamless selections of tracks, called a DJ mix, by segueing from one recording to another. EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. Since its inception EDM has expanded to include a wide range of subgenres.
The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings together professionals such as artists, DJs, record label representatives (A&R), producers, promoters, radio and the media for seminars and panel discussions. Each year the WMC draws thousands of attendees from around the world.
Kelly Melissa Sweet, known professionally as Haliene, is an American singer of electropop and electronic dance music. She is known for her vocal collaborations with EDM artists Armin van Buuren, Seven Lions, ATB, Ferry Corsten, Aly & Fila, Da Tweekaz, and her song with Gareth Emery and Standerwick, "Saving Light", which won the A State of Trance award for "Tune of the Year"..
Electric Daisy Carnival is a 2000 trance album by Los Angeles-based DJ Doran. The album shares the same name of an electronic music festival held yearly in Las Vegas, though formally in Southern California.
Hard is an American music festival, music cruise and concert brand founded in 2007. The event line-ups consist of alternative and electronic acts and emerging talents. The first Hard Music Festival was held on December 31, 2007 in Downtown Los Angeles and featured Justice, Peaches and 2 Live Crew. Hard is best known for the Hard Summer Music Festival and Hard Haunted Mansion, though also runs several smaller events and one-off shows. Hard is sometimes called "Hardfest" by fans, based on the event's website and social media shortcuts. Additional Hard brands include the Hard Summer, Hard Red Rocks, Hard at Electric Daisy Carnival, and the Holy Ship! electronic music cruise, and former events include Hard Day of The Dead, Hard 13, Turkey Soup and Hard Miami. Live Nation Entertainment acquired Hard in 2012. In 2013, Live Nation handed control over to Insomniac Events in their merger.
Electric Zoo was an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City on Randall's Island. The festival represents all genres of electronic music, bringing top international DJs and live acts from multiple countries to four stages.
Beyond Wonderland is an electronic dance festival organized by Insomniac Events. The event has been held in various locations across the west coast including Seattle, San Bernardino, and Mountain View spanning either one or two days. As the festival continued to grow from its earlier roots, it has branched into two festivals: Beyond Socal and Beyond Norcal/Bay Area, catering to the growing audience. However, this expansion of the Beyond series lasted for only four years before founder Pasquale Rotella announced that he would no longer continue having both Beyond Socal and Norcal to pursue expansion and creation of other festivals of the Insomniac brand.
Audiotistic Music Festival is a music festival that occurs annually in Northern California at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Audiotistic is known for sporting a diverse assortment of genres, ranging from rap and hip hop to electronic genres drum & bass and dubstep. Previously, it was held in Southern California, US, from 1997 to 2003 and from 2009 to 2011, in various venues such as the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, the L.A. Sports Arena, and the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. However, on July 15, 2017, the festival returned but this time to the Bay Area with two main stages. The festival would continue to expanding by adding an additional day in 2018.
Nathaniel "Nate" Rathbun, better known under his stage name Audien, is an American DJ and electronic music producer. Audien has released many singles and remixes for electronic record labels including Enhanced, Perceptive, Armada, Black Hole, and Nervous. His tracks have appeared on Corsten's Countdown, Tiësto's Club Life, Above & Beyond'sTrance Around The World, and Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance compilations.
Insomniac is an American electronic music event promoter and music distributor. Founded by Pasquale Rotella, it is the organizer of various music festivals, including its flagship electronic music festival Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas.
Justin David Blau, better known by his stage name 3lau, is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer. Raised in New York and Las Vegas, 3lau left Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied finance. He has produced original tracks including "How You Love Me", "Is It Love", "Fire", "On My Mind", and "Hot Water", as well as remixes for Rihanna, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, and Ariana Grande and collaborations with gamer Ninja and HYO of Girls' Generation. 3lau has also appeared at festivals such as Electric Zoo, EDC Vegas, Lollapalooza, and Life Is Beautiful, and tours extensively internationally.
Nicole Moudaber is a Lebanese/British event promoter, record label founder, radio personality, and DJ/producer. She is the head of her own imprint MOOD Records and runs an award-winning weekly radio show, In The MOOD.
EDC 2013: Under the Electric Sky is an American musical documentary film co-directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. The film also features Pasquale Rotella, producer of the Electric Daisy Carnival.
Radiate is a mobile app that connects people going to the same events as one another.
Nervo are an Australian DJ duo comprising twin sisters Olivia and Miriam Nervo. After signing with Sony/ATV Music Publishing at 18 years of age, the sisters pursued careers as songwriting partners. In 2008, they signed with Fredrik Olsson and his Swedish music publishing company Razor Boy Music Publishing, which led to co-writing the Grammy Award-winning single, "When Love Takes Over", performed by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland.
Disco Donnie Presents (DDP) is an electronic dance music event production company, founded by James "Disco Donnie" Estopinal. Since the company's inception in 1994, DDP has sold over 16 million tickets producing over 16,000 live events, arena shows, and outdoor festivals in over 100 markets around the world including the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Latin America. Annually, DDP is responsible for organizing and promoting nearly 1,000 club events across the U.S. ranging from Portland, Philadelphia, Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Dallas, and St. Louis to name only a few; plus major festivals such as Ubbi Dubbi, Sunset Music Festival, Freaky Deaky, Sun City Music Festival, The Day After, and Ultimate Music Experience.
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Richard Cook Mears IV, better known as Nitti Gritti is a Miami based record producer, DJ and vocalist. His collaboration with Party Favor as Sidepiece, a music duo group, was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 under Best Dance Recording segment for their 2019 single "On My Mind" featuring Diplo. He is known for collaborating and working with Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, DJ Snake, Shaquille O'Neal, Tiesto, Diplo, Ookay, Jimmy Levy, Shndō, etc. In 2019, His single "200 MPH" with Diplo won a Latin Grammy, which was on Bad Bunny's album X 100PRE.
1 2 Scilippa, Phil (November 7, 2019). "Lineup Announced for EDC Mexico 2020". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
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