Just went to EDC with my friend Natascha who is a singer/performer. We got the hook up with industry passes and got to go backstage to watch Looney Tunes and other EDM artists perform. The festival was definitely an experience and something I always wanted to do. It wasn’t easy getting to the venue considering it is way out in the middle of nowhere. If you plan on going to EDC, here are a few tips I want to share with you!
What to Wear
It’s for sure going to be hot, since you’re dancing in the desert. I wore a one-piece suit with cutoff denim shorts and a fringe jacket. Some girls were all out with no shame just wearing bathing suit bottoms and nipple covers. I get that it’s hot, but definitely would not go for that look. Here’s some inspo for festival wear…
Keep Energy Levels High
We started the day at 6 pm and didn’t leave the concert until 3 am. And that was going soft considering some fans went at 2 and stayed till much later. We thought getting tickets would be quick, but we actually had to go really far through the Mandalay Bay to a back area to collect our passes. Luckily there wasn’t a line, but it took us about half an hour to get our passes. Then, we got on a special bus that shuttled us out to the desert. If you don’t have industry passes, there was another shuttle that cost $20 and came every hour. The line for this was pretty long, so if there was a set you were planning to see, I would give yourself at least an hour of travel time coming from the strip.
Once we got to the festival, there was a lot of security and scanning of wristbands to get in. There were 15 stages making the complete festival pretty massive. If you can hop on a golf cart, I would definitely recommend it. It was super hot this year, 111 degrees, so drinking water was so necessary to avoid passing out. The lights all over were pretty intense too. Even being sober, I got sensory overload at one point and had to put my head down to calm down with everything going on.
Good Music All Around
The energy is something I can’t fully describe. You have to be there to totally get it, but it’s positive, strong, and refreshing. I met fans from Europe, Canada, and Australia to name a few. It’s amazing how people from all over the world come to Vegas for EDC. For some, it was their first time in America. Can you imagine EDC being their first impression of how Americans are?
The music was amazing with bands like Looney Tunes, Marshmello, Yellow Claw, and DJ Khaled. There was a booklet passed around that mapped out all the performances with times and stage locations.
Oh, and about the whole DJ Khaled incident… Khaled came on late and his music wouldn’t play, but he stayed on stage. Then every song played 30 seconds and stopped, like right when you get into it. Then they told him to get off for the next set, but he said he was going stay to finish. The crowd wanted Yellow Claw and chanted Yellow Claw every time DJ asked for the crowd to say his name, Khaled. Smh. I love both DJ Khaled and Yellow Claw still!
Backstage at Looney Tunes was also crazy. The pyrotechnics and lights show were sick and the fans were going wild. This group definitely has a dedicated fan base. Post show, fans kept on coming up to the group to ask for autos and selfies. What I loved most about Jan and Mitchell was that they never hesitated and always stopped to talk to fans after the show.
