From the Inside Looking Out: Electric Daisy Carnival 2015

A message from Insomniac sends Headliners off with good wishes as the sun rises on the final day at EDC.

By Felicia Daniele

June 22, 2015, 9:02 a.m. My feet hit the concrete as I step off the Insomniac shuttle bus and the all-too familiar Las Vegas sun greets me with open arms. I turn to my friend, Jimmy who already has hands up over his eyes attempting to shield himself from the overwhelmingly bright light surrounding us. Cars are passing us left and right and there’s a soreness in my knees that slowly surfaces as we walk to our hotel room. We look at each other briefly and, without speaking, we understand we’re not in wonderland anymore.

For three nights from dusk to dawn, we immersed ourselves in a world of fantasy. Alice would be floored by the spectacle and with good reason, for after its nineteenth installment, the ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL could easily surpass any happiness or romance found in the golden afternoon. But it goes without saying that Insomniac Events, the electronic dance music festival maker and dance music industry heavyweight, understands both production and experience as this past EDC garnered the attention of 400,000+ attendees from all around the globe, creating an experience like no other. It is North America’s largest music festival.

This past Electric Daisy Carnival was my fourth experience, and out of all the raves, clubs, festivals and parties I’ve been to, this year’s EDC was my absolute favorite. Perhaps it was the energy I could feel from friends and strangers as we shared dances all through the night. Perhaps it was my own sense of being that felt transformed by the spiritual experiences that accompanied DJ sets. Either way, there was something electric in the air the moment I walked into that speedway.

It was an energy that moved me to tears, not because I was sad it was over (though part of me felt nostalgic even as the sun rose behind the stages on the last day) but because each and every moment was a celebration of life that was unmatched to any celebration I’ve ever experienced before. To be faced with the harshness of reality again on that Monday morning after was to be pulled abruptly from a dream that met every one of my desires and hopes of what the world ought to look like.

CircuitGROUNDS lights up for an early DJ set by Thomas Gold.

A few years ago, I read somewhere once that massive dance music festivals, especially the likes of EDC where P.L.U.R. (Peace, Love Unity & Respect) is consistently practiced by both festival promoter and festival participant, and where global energy can be cultivated and shared, are like massive “love-recharging stations.” You go, you have fun, and you have so much fun that you radiate that newfound love the remainder of the year, passing it on to anyone and everyone who needs it.

A memorial for recently deceased mother “Mama Irene” (mother to Insomniac CEO and founder Pasquale Rotella) hangs against the walls of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The memorial is adorned in flowers, letters and kandi pieces as created and preserved by Ravers, otherwise known as Mama Irene’s “Paradise Kids.” Mama Irene attended many of Rotella’s events and could be seen dancing on stage most of the night; she was known for her warm and uplifting spirit, and friendly, positive demeanor.

For me, EDC is a “life-recharging station,” where community is embodied in its purest form, where individuality soars and we are free to embrace whatever feeling or thought we’d like and no one will judge you for it but rather rejoice in your confidence and spirit. It’s a place where love is cultivated and all hearts become one yet we are all free. Where stories are told through music and art, and where both stimulation and exploration occur vigorously, whether intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, or physically, or as a combination of all four. Where you have so much fun that your experience is transformed into goodness, and that goodness transcends the event and stays with you the remainder of the year. Where a hope for humanity is catalyzed because you understand, through this experience, what the world ought to look like. And somehow someway, you know you can help make it look a little bit better.

An experience like EDC may feel like a temporary and fragmented time and space separate from the rest of reality, but the memories, the music, the energy, the potential for such goodness to be transformed and celebrated time after, remain long after the party is over. You can be sure that I’ll be back to recharge yet again.