[FESTIVAL REVIEW] Insomniac Events Celebrates 30 Years of Success at EDC Las Vegas 2023

Paije Kantor | May 29, 2023

Over the course of an extremely memorable weekend, Insomniac Events celebrated its 30th anniversary with the globally-renowned EDC Las Vegas festival. This year’s collection of EDC LV events garnered a massive exodus of over 500,000 dance music fans to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to enjoy an unrivaled experience, filled with top-tier DJ sets, unique attractions, and lots of fireworks.

Check out iEDM’s official EDC Las Vegas 2023 review below.

Although EDC LV tends to remain consistent in its attractions and layout throughout its history, Insomniac is constantly making minor adjustments that often have radiating effects across the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Most notably, the VIP experience was significantly expanded at virtually every stage, allowing for more attractions, vendors, and space for elevated ticket holders.

The Kinetic Field VIP section included its own Ferris wheel, exclusive dining options and bars, lounge areas, barbershop and Volta beauty bar, an elevated viewing deck, upgraded bathrooms, and more. These features throughout the speedway made for the much more comfortable and efficient experience that comes along with the considerably higher ticket price.

The VIP additions were fantastic to explore, however, these expansions caused a subsequent elimination of major general entrances and exits to Kinetic Field and Circuit Grounds. Because of this, there were some issues with traffic flow and uneven crowding in the GA sections of the larger stages. According to Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella’s post-EDC Instagram post, the EDC LV production team is working on minor adjustments to mitigate the aforementioned issues ahead of EDC LV 2024.

Complementing the enhanced VIP areas, Insomniac joined forces with harm-reduction coalition END OVERDOSE. Together, they established a location inside Camp EDC and the festival where attendees could receive education, naloxone, and training to promote widespread safety among the rave community. This is a massive step forward for the dance music scene, and has the potential to make a momentous impact on the growing overdose epidemic.

Insomniac presented a stacked lineup showcasing powerhouses of all genres of dance music, and they did not disappoint. Every set was filled with the unbridled energy that the Electric Daisy Carnival demands, and each artist was determined to leave a lasting impression on their audience.

Special guest John Summit teamed up with the preceding Subtronics at Circuit Grounds to deliver a highly sought-after Subjohnics b2b set. The unlikely duo blew the overflowing crowd away with dozens of unreleased collaborations and edits that made for a fan-favorite set.

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Aside from the John Summit surprise appearance, several b2b sets were prolific highlights of the weekend. Zeds Dead b2b Chase & Status, Chris Lake b2b FISHER, GRiZtronics, Marshmello b2b SVDDEN DEATH, Netsky b2b Imanu (to replace LUUDE), and Gammer b2b Tweekacore each stunned attendees with their ability to form a cohesive and exhilarating flow between some unexpected artists.

Dance music monoliths Martin Garrix, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Tiësto, Kaskade, Afrojack, Zedd, and more delivered the high-production sets they are known for without a hitch. Earlier favorites included Kill Script, Reaper, Hamdi, Disco Lines, OG Nixin, and HVDES, who each established themselves as new but formidable forces within their genres.

Overall, drum & bass became the overarching theme of EDC LV 2023’s set-lists, making appearances in almost every performance, as well as having many more deserving DnB artists included in the lineup.

Insomniac’s ability to execute events of such large scale is overwhelmingly accredited to their consistently accurate estimation of their customers’ basic needs, and EDC LV 2023 was no different. There were plenty of restrooms, free water stations, entrances and exits, many medical facilities, and several places for attendees to comfortably rest. This allowed for short lines and efficient check-ins, which attests to the festival’s prestige.