10 Things You Missed at the Surreal 2024 EDC Las Vegas Festival
Every year, hundreds of thousands plan their escapes to the illusory grounds of EDC Las Vegas. And every year, going home becomes more and more sad.
It's now the dreaded post-EDC Monday, which means the melancholia of an epic weekend's close is setting in, especially in that brutal southbound I-15 morning traffic. But it's obviously all worth it.
Another bioluminescent dreamscape unfolded over the weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, thanks to Insomniac Events. EDC continued to stand tall at the bleeding edge of festival culture in 2024, a year that came with the familiar thrills and astonishing surprises expected at one of the world's best electronic dance music festivals.
Insomniac not only recaptured its audacious creative energy within the Speedway's neon-drenched grounds, but also ascended to new heights on its stages, which served as technological tinderboxes. Igniting a bright future in stage design, the production at kineticFIELD, circuitGROUNDS and the other EDC stages was out of a storybook.
The FOMO was real, and so is the aftermath. For those who couldn't make it to this year's monumental festival, here's 10 things you missed at EDC Las Vegas.
Fred again.. stuns EDC crowd with surprise set
An unannounced "special guest" on Saturday's circuitGROUNDS lineup started out as an afterthought but quickly exploded in the social media realm when Fred again.. revealed himself to be in Vegas. Considering it was sandwiched on the schedule by Four Tet's performance, fans naturally thought the two were reuniting with Skrillex for another historic b3b set.
Alas, Fred ultimately performed solo. But who's complaining?
SURPRISE @fredagainagain1 🫶#EDCLV2024 is too good to be true. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/evnkItMMnv
— EDC Las Vegas (@EDC_LasVegas) May 19, 2024
deadmau5 caught a drone with a butterfly net
In a bizarre mid-set maneuver at EDC, deadmau5 went full entomologist and used a butterfly net to ensnare a wayward drone. Ironic since he wasn't performing under his TESTPILOT alias, but we digress.
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Ravers played Mario Kart in the crowd
One innovative attendee took Rainbow Road to the next level by virtue of the "Super Nintotem," an interactive totem on which ravers can play classic Nintendo games like Mario Kart.
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DJ Snake called out Tomorrowland
DJ Snake showed his fangs at the kineticFIELD stage on Saturday night, when he took the mic to criticize Tomorrowland seemingly unprovoked. "EDC is way better than Tomorrowland," he said. "For real. F*** Tomorrowland."
The derision has baffled fans, but many on social media have speculated it's due to the Tomorrowland crowd's tepid response to dubstep and bass music. Snake took his contempt a step further after his performance by doubling down on X, where he wrote, "EDC VEGAS > TOMORROWLAND."
"Fuck Tomorrowland" Oh My Love! Savage @djsnake 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/f5k0fPeKuO
— 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 (@VincentTweets4) May 19, 2024
A husband-and-wife dubstep set
Subtronics and LEVEL UP traded vows for bass as the husband-and-wife duo tore up EDC with their first-ever b2b set. Their blistering performance featured a slew of unreleased collaborations, so fans of the dubstep stars can look forward to official "LEVELTRONICS" releases in the near future.
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David Guetta paid tribute to Avicii by dropping "Levels"
You've danced to it, screamed to it and maybe even cried to it—"Levels" continues to inspire today's music community as Avicii watches from above. David Guetta paid tribute to the Swedish electronic music legend at EDC, where he dropped "Levels" for a crowd we're willing to bet shed more than a few tears.
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Love was in the air–and on the mainstage
Proposals are commonplace at EDC, where euphoria is the native language. A particularly aching one went down this year during the kineticFIELD performance of electronic music icon Benny Benassi, who invited a man to pop the question to his girlfriend onstage while their love-song "Cinema" played.
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Alison Wonderland played a surprise techno set on the Rynobus art car
Alison Wonderland, who headlined the EDC mainstage at 3am on Saturday night, also made a surprise appearance on the Rynobus art car. Perched atop the vehicle and its trippy refracting walls, she threw down a vicious techno set that had attendees converging from all sides.
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Zedd revealed the release date of his new album via drone
Zedd has been teasing his next album since as early as 2022, but we haven't had any clarity since. You'll get that pun in a moment.
As Zedd closed his Saturday night mainstage set with his generational dance anthem "Clarity," glittering drones in the sky formed the words "Z3 8/30," which revealed his third album and its release date. He formally announced the album, Telos, today.
Embracing clarity with open arms. 🤗 @Zedd #kineticFIELD pic.twitter.com/SpQNBAzA5C
— EDC Las Vegas (@EDC_LasVegas) May 19, 2024
John Summit and Mau P DJed Monday morning at 7am in Camp EDC
EDC Las Vegas veterans know the festival is a marathon, not a sprint. And those who drank enough electrolytes were rewarded Monday morning on the Mesa in Camp EDC, where two of dance music's most lovably reckless DJs threw down around 7am.
The sultry house rhythms of John Summit and Mau P ensured the party didn't end until it absolutely had to. Throw in an appearance from techno superstar Sara Landry, and you've got a once-in-a-lifetime set.
Follow EDC Las Vegas:
X: x.com/EDC_LasVegas
Instagram: instagram.com/edc_lasvegas
Facebook: facebook.com/electricdaisycarnival
