The Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) delivered its 2018 lineup this week — literally.
Going “#oldschoolcool,” producer Insomniac and chief “Night Owl” Pasquale Rotella sent surprise Valentine’s Day care packages to select attendees. Inside, fans found custom candy hearts revealing the names of a few of the 250 electronic artists on the bill for the largest music festival in North America.
Encouraged to “Eat It or Tweet It,” fans then collaborated via social media to patch together some of the lineup. This brought new meaning to “trading kandi,” ravers’ tradition of impromptu exchanges of plastic bracelets between old friends, new friends and strangers.
Insomniac also included a tune-in alert to the company’s flagship radio show/podcast “Night Owl Radio” later that day, where Rotella revealed the entire lineup via a series of custom mixes.
Remember (like a month ago?) when dropping a festival lineup on Instagram without warning rang fresh? How about snail mail and radio?
This May’s three-night festival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway marks a milestone for Insomniac — it is the 25th anniversary of the company’s founding. “Wide Awake Since ’93” is the community’s tagline, and while the 18-and-over festival has a reputation for trending young, Rotella recently told The Party Report that the average age for EDC Las Vegas is 28.
The list of 250 artists — spanning all genres of electronic music and a few visitors (see: Khalid) — is too long to include here, so check out the full lineup by clicking on this photo below or clicking here.
Rotella attacked multiple fan pain points, starting with a significant schedule shift. EDC moves from the 100-degree heat of mid-June to the more mild climes of May. For the first time at EDC Las Vegas, there will be on-site camping, RV camping, a custom-built pool and water park, a militaristically-efficient new shuttle service, and afternoon “opening ceremonies” to alleviate traffic on the limited ground routes from the strip.
VIPs, talent and some fans old enough to have been around in ’93 may level up for the executive route in and out — Maverick Helicopters’ six-minute ride from the strip.
Notables on the bill (beyond the usual Vegas big club superstars) include Rezz and K?d (two artists Insomniac festivals helped break), Illenium, A-Trak, Eric Prydz, KSHMR, Alan Walker… and only four people with “DJ” in their name. Shocker.
The 22nd Electric Daisy Carnival takes place from dusk-’til-dawn May 18-20, 2018.
Three-day passes beginning at $439 are available here.