4.5 Stars
Attended my first ever EDC and EDM fest ever and it was a great experience! So many good vibes, friendly people, and amazing music. My body is exhausted, but my soul is so happy.
The Rundown (from start to finish) --
- Preparation: There are tons of ticket options for various budgets and types of experiences. If you want to keep it simple with General Admission, you can, and if you wanna go all out, there are VIP and the Skydeck options. Their website is pretty clear on what's allowed and what's not. Rent your lockers beforehand!
- Communication: Insomniac was great at sending out informative newsletters (never got too overwhelming or annoying), BUT it was so hard to reach them if you had questions. We initially tried to email regarding upgrading our GA tickets to VIP, but literally couldn't get a response until a few weeks before the festival. There wasn't a number to call this year; so it was just difficult to figure out if our case was ever going to be handled or not.
- Parking: Highly recommend purchasing the Premier Parking. We paid $50/day and it was worth every penny to be located so close to the venue and have guaranteed parking. General Parking is $30 and limited. There are lots of local "residents" offering parking on nearby properties for $10-$30, but be forewarned that some of these vendors may be illegally selling parking spots on other people's property or lots. Heard some nightmare cases where these guys took over an empty lot without permits, charged $30/car, and packed as many cars as they could fit without giving the cars any space to leave; people had to band together to push parked cars out of the way so they could leave the lot.
- Security: It honestly depends on the person doing the searching. I saw some people get things confiscated, but none of my unsealed items (lip balm, hand sanitizer, etc.) were taken. Saw tons of police officers standing around certain points, so it's probably best to keep any illicit activities out of sight on the walkways; but honestly saw lots of people have a good time.
- Food & Drinks: Overpriced, but we knew that! Get ready to pay $17 for a small cocktail. Water is FREE, so take advantage and stay hydrated. It was lukewarm, but but still refreshing after dancing. We didn't eat too often, but our most satisfying meal was spiraled potatoes and wings; it was honestly just so nice to rest and eat some festival food while we waited for the next set to start. Saw a Dole Whip stand, but didn't have time to try it.
- Atmosphere: So amazing. So much effort was put into the sets, decor, performances, and activities -- it was honestly very thoughtfully planned out. People are mostly so friendly; I found that generally everyone reflects the energy you give to them. You can literally go at any age (as long as you're 18+); saw lots of older people dancing and bobbing away (literally saw two grandmas dancing at the front of Stereo Bloom). There were also so many places to explore and check out; three days just wasn't enough! We were only able to go on one of the rides since there were huge lines for all of them.
- THE MUSIC: FUCKING FANTASTIC. Friday and Saturday were the best nights for me -- so many great performers and amazing energy all around. There are different types of EDM for all preferences: chill, trance, dubstep, and more. The hardest part was honestly picking which sets we wanted to see. There were tons of big artists, but also some smaller ones too. The music literally kept me dancing for three days.
- The Sets: Literally, they were all pieces of art. Not even sure how they could possibly set up and take down these structures in record time. The architecture, screens, smoke, lasers, pyro, and fireworks literally just amp up the crowd so much. kineticField was gorgeous this year, but a little small. People definitely crowd here a bit more. circuitGrounds were my favorite -- so much space and the sound here was absolutely wild; lots of headbanging here.
- Cleanliness: The grounds were kept as clean as they possibly could have been. We saw staff walking around picking up trash throughout the event and the grounds were clean at the start of each day. Port-a-potties were pretty decent and were seemingly cleaned each day as well; they made the best out of an unpleasant experience. BUT I will note that the water and soaps in the sinks weren't refilled after the first day, which is disgusting. COVID-aside, it's just poor hygiene in general. Definitely carry around wet wipes and hand sanitizer. Heard the GA+ and VIP bathrooms were better, but still had bad lines.
All in all, a fantastic festival and I highly recommend it.
Pro-Tip: If you can, book a two-hour massage the day after or invest in a nice massage gun. read more