Feature Photo Credit: Christopher Pearce for Insomniac Events
Last Thursday, in what has become a tradition of sorts, ravers all over the world tuned into Night Owl Radio as the man himself, Pasquale Rotella, unleashed a stage by stage megamix, revealing the artists who are slated to play this year’s Electric Daisy Carnival, taking place May 15-17 at the Las Vegas Speedway. Eager fans lit up the Facebook live stream chat with their predictions and even artists like i_o and Spag Heddy popped up in the feed, adding to the absolutely agonizing anticipation. But the laundry list of DJs appearing at the Speedway wasn’t the only news Papa Pasquale had up his sleeve.
The Lineup
As the broadcast took listeners on a journey around the Speedway from the thumping beats of bassPOD to the soaring melodies of kineticFIELD, some fan predictions were confirmed while others were disproven. The legendary Carl Cox makes his return to EDC Las Vegas much to the delight of techno faithful. Seven Lions, an artist who was sorely missed by many last year, is officially listed as performing both as himself and as Abraxis, his psytrance project alongside Dimibo. Lil Texas brings his special brand of hardcore back to Wasteland along with hardstyle heavy hitters Coone and Wildstylez. Also heavily represented, the hard to define, addictive sounds of Noizu, Omnom, Weiss and Dom Dolla. While a lineup of this magnitude could never be overstated, there was some attention being paid to the artists left off this year’s festivities. EDC mainstays like Kaskade, Armin van Buuren and Above & Beyond were not announced, with Kaskade’s absence provoking the most ire from loyal fans after high winds cancelled his set in 2019. On a more positive note, the plethora of high power B2B’s got the attention of fans, each genre getting their own set of dynamic duos. 2 = 1 featuring Timmy Trumpet & W&W, Jauz B2B Oliver Heldens and SAYMYNAME B2B 12th Planet are just a few of the inventive combinations that await under the electric sky.
The Lay of the Land
Pasquale had previously announced on social media that for the first time ever thanks to the removal of some pesky RV hookups, EDC Las Vegas would utilize the entire footprint of the Speedway, creating more room for fans at neonGARDEN, quantumVALLEY and more space for the popular LED oasis, pixelFOREST. Further proof that voicing your opinion pays off, (exhibit A) neonGARDEN is set to return to an enclosed stage design, music to Also announced during the hour long broadcast was an entirely new stage, skyLAB, where house music gets a place to call home.
The Mysteries That Remain
Who will be standing atop the visually stunning art cars that roam the venue still remains to be seen, with those bookings coming out much closer to the actual event, as well as details on what this year’s opening ceremony might hold. Last year, science aficionado and 90s icon Bill Nye held court at Cosmic Meadow to kick off the 3 day event.
Cruel but true, EDC Las Vegas is completely sold out but this doesn’t mean there’s no way to be a part of the party. Join the waitlist and if a ticket becomes available your credit card is automatically charged and just like that you will be on the road to EDC.