Photo: aLIVE for Insomniac
Bonnaroo? Coachella? Burning Man? What about Lollapalooza? No, the biggest music festival in the United States is the Electric Daisy Carnival. It takes place in Las Vegas every summer, but you won’t find a drummer or guitar player in sight.
Unless they’re hanging out in the audience.
EDC is a monstrous gathering of the biggest DJs in the world, pounding out electronic dance music for roughly 135,000 people each night over a three-day weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This year, the event takes place June 19-21 but keep in mind, EDC is more than just the world’s biggest nightclub. It features carnival rides, food, art, street performers, parades, girls in skimpy outfits and more neon colors than you can shake a glow stick at.
You’re either inside a circus from the future or a carnival on another planet. Take your choice. The event isn’t easy to describe and makes the wild parties and clubbing going on a few miles away on the Vegas Strip seem tame.
So what’s new this year?
Photo: Doug Van Sant for Insomniac
Brand New Stage Designs
EDC features eight stages and all of them will have brand new productions and designs. Owls will once again be prominently featured at the kinteticFIELD, the largest scenic stage in North America, but this time around, a figure known as the “Mayor of the Owl Community” will appear between acts and release crystals into the audience.
The Funk House is also being unveiled for the first time this year. The colorful 360-degree structure, built entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials, features a soundtrack of funk, disco, rare groove, soul and classic hip-hop, giving fans a taste of the past with a healthy dose of future funk.
Carnival Square
Think of it as the ideal meet-up spot, right in the middle of the festival grounds. Culture and community come together in a one-stop shop with easy access points that lead to food, drinks, seating and shopping along with meet-and-greets, lineup information and even a video confessional booth.
Marquee SkyDeck
EDC’s cabana space is going through some changes. The Marquee SkyDeck offers an exclusive view across the kineticFIELD, absorbing all of the action. The open-air nightclub and drinking area now has private tables in the formerly off-limits “front of the house” with a perfect view of the action. You can also customize your cabana with couches, tables and other decor as well as your own design theme.
Art
Among the new designs this year: Palace Blue by Gerard Minakawa. The piece is inspired by the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, with bamboo-forged columns and a vaulted roof that requires about 20 tons of material, including steel, wood, fabric and about 500 bamboo poles.
Food Trucks
There’s something for everybody at EDC, whether it’s festival classics like pizza and burgers or healthy choices like Maine lobster and organic dishes. New food trucks this year include Cousins Maine Lobster, 50 Shades of Green (organic food), Señor Blues (Tex-Mex), Baby’s Badass Burgers, Oming's Kitchen (Vietnamese), Bowl of Heaven (yogurt parfait) and Urban Pie (gourmet wood oven pizza).
The Terrace at kineticFIELD
EDC even has its own upscale restaurant. The Terrace of kineticFIELD (formerly known as the “Dining Deck”) has a new carefully curated menu from Chef Keven Alan Lee of My World on a Plate. Among the highlights in the 3-course seated dinner…
- The Spicy Tuna Electro Roll (a crusted, multi-color spicy tuna roll, sweet tamari glaze, summer greens and ginger dressing)
- Hypnotic Tacos (P-30 glazed chicken, cloud taco shells, rainbow vegetable slaw)
- THE BOMB S’mores (loaded and torched marshmallow, cookies, dripping chocolate and caramel atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream)
Chill Spots
EDC is tons of fun. But it can also be pretty exhausting. New “chill spots” can now be found throughout the festival grounds, with benches set up underneath LED trees and other visual elements. Just soak in the atmosphere and rest your feet while taking a break between sets.
iBeacons
Technology is your friend. iBeacons are small bluetooth devices that will let you know how close you are to important-in-the-moment destinations like water stations and bathrooms. They’ll also help you keep tabs on the lines at the entrance and clue you in on scavenger hunts.
New VIP Viewing Deck at cosmicMEADOW:
There’s yet another VIP viewing area. For the first time this year, you’ll be able soak in the sights and sounds at the cosmicMEADOW stage with an unobstructed view.
Photo: Maverick Helicopter
What’s amazing about EDC is the diverse audience it draws each year. It’s not just EDM fans or club kids. Much like Coachella these days or a Mayweather title fight, you’ll find Hollywood celebrities and corporate CEOs sprinkled throughout the audience. EDC is more than just big business. It’s a hot destination.
That’s why Cirrus Aviation is offering special deals for Las Vegas. Whether you’re flying out of Los Angeles, Miami or somewhere in between. Round up ten people and you could find a better deal (with tons more luxury and convenience) flying in on a private jet than on a commercial flight.
Helicopters can also be arranged to shuttle you and your friends in and out of the Speedway within about 15 minutes. Why worry about parking and all that traffic along Interstate 15 if you don’t have to.
EDC is a brand new experience this year. Book your flight with Cirrus Aviation now.
(702)-472-9714
