EDC Week 2019 – Recap
A week of non-stop pool parties, club nights and in between the world’s largest electronic music festival.
As much as I love EDC, perhaps the thing that keeps bringing me back to Sin City has got to be EDC week. There is, in fact, more than enough going on outside of EDC itself that coming into town with the buzz that is EDC Week full of exclusive pool parties and club nights with the world’s biggest DJ’s can be even more satisfying to some.
It’s not for the faint-hearted with over 70 parties and 100 DJ’s playing during May 15-23 across almost every spectrum of EDM. Even though I arrived in Vegas on Tuesday before EDC week began, my yearly tradition has always been to kick it off with the Above & Beyond Pool Party on the Thursday (day before EDC) then to continue it on with a subsequent Armin van Buuren Pool Party (this year was actually on the Friday of EDC Day 1). In previous years both artists had exclusive residencies at the epic Wet Republic MGM Grand Pool location, however for the first time they graced the Kaos wetlands.
Both pool parties did not disappoint. As in true Anjuna style, the A&B pool party was a bit more chill and progressive, a perfect way to “ease” yourself into the mayhem of EDC week if there ever was such a thing. Armin on the other hand, delivered a full fire set super fitting for a Day 1 EDC Preparty, which lifted the punters higher into maximum readiness mode before EDC.
KAOS, Palms brand new Day (Pool Parties) and Nightclubs was one of the absolute highlights. It is a worthy addition to the list of premier pool party venues not just in Vegas but in the world. Kaos went for the big guns and their A-List residencies also include ARMIN VAN BUUREN, DEADMAU5, CHEAT CODES, SKRILLEX, KASKADE, JAUZ, MARSHMELLO, LOUIS THE CHILD & more.
Not to be outdone, if pool parties are not your cup of tea then perhaps super clubbing is more up your alley. In Vegas, long queues in club nights are the norm and you must dress to impress. Being Vegas you are more likely to get it if the female to male ratio is at least 1:1 or better and if you can put up with all of the above then you are guaranteed to be in a full house venue. Almost every club night during EDC Week is a full house so my tip is to get in early (well before opening time) and take advantage of the many promoters you will meet at the Vegas strip offering free guestlist entry (of course the catch again is to ensure you have the better female to male ratio).
EDC 2019 – DAY 1 was Spectacular
EDC is now the biggest electronic music festival in the world with a whopping 465k people in attendance.
Day 1 EDC is always special. I get goosebumps walking into this place every time. The sheer scale of this event, the amount of people attending and the expensive production has to be seen to be believed. No photos or videos can ever do it justice as epic as it looks, it’s just something else in person.
Protip: If you are commuting into the Speedway during EDC and you can afford the additional costs, Premier shuttles are the way to go!
After enduring multiple years of pain and suffering commuting to the Venue (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) via normal EDC Shuttles, I decided to bite the bullet and fork out the extra cash for Premier Shuttles based on positive feedback from friends and associates that took this option last year. In previous years, Day 1 was traditionally the worst day for commute averaging a good 2-3 hours travel into the venue and back to the hotel the other way. This year, premier shuttles did not disappoint one bit, Day 1, in particular, we only waited in the queue for about 20-30 mins then once on the bus was able to get to the Speedway within an hour. On the way home, we got onto a bus within 10 minutes and we stayed till the very last set finished. That is money well spent!!
Day 1 lineup featured the return of deadmau5 to EDC, something pundits never ever thought would happen again. Other heavy hitters include all-time legends in their respective genres – Eric Prydz, Above & Beyond, Gareth Emery, Andy C, Ben Nicky presXtreme, Angerfist, Aly & Fila andGentech (Mark Sherry & Scot Project) to name a few. We even had a special set by The Protector of Asgard himself Heimdall aka. Idris Elba the dual-threat Hollywood Superstar who played a B2B set with Solardo over at the Neon Garden. You can see more of Idris in the up and coming Hobbs and Shaw Fast n Furious Spinoff (yes shameless plug for that movie, they should pay me, jkz).
It’s impossible to list and attend every set at EDC but my tip is to go outside of your comfort zone and explore the entire speedway. This is where you will get the best experiences from EDC.
EDC 2019 – DAY 2 Malicious Winds Cause Havoc closing Down Kinetic Field and Quantum Valley
From Las Vegas heat to Antarctic Cold, the coldest EDC night in Vegas!
EDC Day 2 2019 will forever be remembered as the day the winterfell on EDC. I have never ever had to wear a jacket out of the many times I have been in Vegas during this time of the year, until this year. It was reported on record that Vegas was having one of its coldest periods in May since the ’70s. Needless to say, many people were extremely unprepared of what was to hit us this night.
After amazing phenomenal sets across a wide array of artists across multiple stages such as Claude Vonstroke, Charlotte De Witte, Darren Styles, and Dj Isaac. Dreamstate Quantum Valley was pumping with Bryan Kearney, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten presents System F, and the energy lifted again with Paul van Dyk up high in the rafters playing another supreme set. This is when the fun really started, as the winds got stronger the swirls seemed like they were starting off at Quantum, the warning bells hit when one of the back right speakers fell from the rafters but luckily it did not hit anyone and did so while being tangled still in the middle of the air. Luckily did not cause any injury as far as I can tell. However, about 10-15 minutes into his set, the music suddenly stopped. I could see the stage moving and the DJ decks and table and platform where PVD was up at swaying from side to side. Needless to say, this was very scary indeed. For those unaware, PVD had a life-threatening fall at A State of Trance Festival in the Netherlands a few years ago and luckily he did not suffer the same fate this time.
It was a little bit confusing as the signs and message from the MC asked us to evacuate the venue, however as we were calmly ushered out of Quantum Valley, I saw the other stages still jamming and pumping – alas we only needed to evacuate Quantum Valley it seemed. Still absolutely shattering for Trance fans as PVD was just beginning and it was now unlikely that John O’Callaghan, the Subculture boss and Trance King of the night was going to be able to perform.
Nevertheless, I looked at the positive side of things and proceeded to head into Kinetic Field mainstage to get a glimpse of Kaskade but as we approached Kinetic Field more than 500 meters away all we could see was a stream of tens of thousands of people walking out of Kinetic, some right out the venue while others scattered around the grounds. The beautiful Kinetic Field was no longer flashing lights, no longer firing any laser beams or fireworks, it was simply lit up with all lights on and stationary. There it is we could see it emptying out – due to strong winds Kinetic too was evacuated.
Onwards and upwards – after a confusing period, we managed to stay right up until the very end and I’m quite thankful for that because we got to witness amazing sets from Technoboy and Gunz For Hire at the Wasteland stage (which it seemed were all oblivious to everything else going around the grounds) and I even got out of my comfort zone and headbanged a bit at Basspod witnessing a very cool set from Nero, definitely surprising for me.
Quantum Valley also reopened and oh boy did the Trance Family come back in their droves for the all-time legends Infected Mushroom playing their brand of old school full throttle psytrance. That was the most packed Quantum Valley was all weekend!! All in all Day 2 was terrifying and disappointing for some (especially about 20% of the crowd that left the venue early from Kinetic Field due to confusion of the evacuation signs) but EDC did the right thing by putting the safety of the people first, although I can totally understand why there were many frustrated people afterward.
EDC 2019 – DAY 3 EDC Lights up the Electric Sky
The Disneyland of Electronic Music Festivals 23 years and counting stunning audiences.
After a torrential night with strong arctic winds, Insomniac made some stage amendments to Quantum and Kinetic Field and the show went on. With the weather wreaking havoc, Day 2, unfortunately, had limited fireworks display, which was extremely unfortunate as perhaps the key stand out and what sets EDC apart from all other events is the sheer scale of their fireworks show. It’s not exaggerating to say that it rivals even some of the best New Year’s displays (if not even better) across the world.
Luckily the weather gods were kinder and EDC came back with all of its glory and then some on Day 3. The closing and final day saw killer sets across the grounds from the likes of Tritonal, Timmy Trumpet, Chris Lake, Cash Cash, Illenium, Adam Beyer, Andrew Bayer, LNY TNZ, Tuneboy, and Brennan Heart. Over at the Dreamstate Quantum Valley, Andrew Rayel hosted the night with his Find Your Harmony brand taking over with guests smashing out blissful sets from Andrew Bayer, Cosmic Gate, Ruben De Ronde, and MaRLo. Overall day 3 delivered the goods with key standout sets from Armin van Buuren at Kinetic Field restoring the majestic mainstage in all its glory followed up by the amazing fireworks show. Amelie Lens closed out the event in style with a day 3 sunrise closing set over at the Neon Garden.
Walking out of the arena at the end of EDC Day 3, it is always filled with mixed with emotions. After a long few days of partying beginning with the start of EDC Week, it’s relieving that the event has finally finished but at the same time sad that the past 3 days have gone by so quick. All in all, despite the new challenges everyone faced at EDC this year with the cold weather winds, it was still another A-Class event by the Insomniac Team. Thank you, Pasquale, for having us and we will see you next year.
Mark your calendars, as it makes its way to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 15,16 & 17 May next year. So get ready for yet another amazing edition of the electronic music wonderland in the sin city!
Stay tuned as they reveal ticket sale & EDC Camping details.
EDC 2019 Review for EDMLI by: Hanz Van Rayos
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