Awesome People We Met on Day 1 of EDC Las Vegas 2015

It was just after 7pm last night when all of us working at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway heard an announcement nearly a year in the making: “All staff,” the voice coming over all our radios stated, “the gates of EDC Las Vegas 2015 are now open.” With that, thousands of Headliners began streaming down the steps of the Speedway, screaming, dancing, smiling, crying tears of joy, and wearing a truly stunning array of festival wear. It was immediately apparent how much energy, effort and enthusiasm everyone in attendance had put into prepping for the show, and how excited all y’all were to finally arrive. We were similarly stoked that the grandest of our grand fiestas was finally underway.

These are some of the awesome people we met on the first day of EDC Las Vegas 2015.

Name: Janaie
Age: 22
Hometown: Olympia, WA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? It was a long car ride—about 18 hours with stops. It wasn’t the most fun, but it was worth it. I listened to a lot of music, ate a lot of snacks, and took a few naps.
What are you most excited about? I’m dying to see Adventure Club. They were one of the first groups I got into.

Name: April and Richard
Age: 30 and 32
Hometown: Originally from El Paso, TX; currently living Chaparral, NM
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: 2
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? Last year literally changed our lives; everyone here is so loving, happy and peaceful—and no fights ever happen. As soon as EDC let out last year, we started making our plans. We drove 10 hours to get here and have been preparing for 12 months. We came out this year with 16 friends, but we all came in our own cars and got our own hotel rooms. We’re going to meet up later and dance it off.
What are you most excited about? Today, I’m most looking forward to Fatboy Slim—we owe that guy a massive homage. I’ve been a fan since high school, ever since I first watched his video for “Weapon of Choice.” Man, that was a badass video; it changed my taste in music.

Name: John
Age: 25
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? I’ve been preparing since last November; as soon as Thanksgiving was over, I started my diet and gym routine. I got into town at three in the morning. It was a long drive, but we got here; we made it.
What are you most excited about? Everything. Seeing all my favorite headliners, the good vibes, the memories, reuniting with old friends—I have a lot of friends coming this weekend from all over California. They’ve all been doing this for years, and this is the first time I get to join them for EDC.

Name: Kelsey
Age: 25
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? Long, hot, very warm and very exciting.
What are you most excited about? Besides wearing this dress? I’m excited about meeting people, getting to know them, and sharing the vibe.

Name: Andy
Age: 23
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: This is my third.
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? We got here on Wednesday to get some rest before the weekend. We’ve been preparing for this year ever since EDC ended last year. On our last day, we were literally making plans to do this and this and this. I’m so glad we got here earlier this year.
What are you most excited about? Just seeing everyone, the music, and being with all my friends—my best friend is also my boyfriend. Plus, I’m celebrating my birthday; I’m going to be 24 on Wednesday.

Name: Enrique, Michelle, Victor Perez
Age: 36 (all three)
Hometowns: Bay Area, Las Vegas and San Jose, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: 3, 3 and 2
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? We planned ahead of time, hopped on a plane and were good to go. The countdown to go was a month or two too long. The month before is definitely the longest month.
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Enrique: Being around people who love what you love, who love the music, and who love everything about it. I have been raving since I was young—since the ‘90s—so for me, it’s the people.
Michelle: It’s cool seeing the new generation love what you love.

Name: Kiki and Cereal
Age: 21, 19
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First (both)
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like?
Kiki: It was chill, but it was kinda exhausting getting here through the desert. We had a lot of stops, but I’m glad we made it.
What are you most excited about?
Kiki: I’m most excited about seeing all the stages and getting on the rides. I’m definitely looking forward to that.
Cereal: I’m excited for any hardstyle that is out there, ‘cause I’m ready to shuffle. I’m wearing these platforms, but goddangit, I am going to shuffle tonight.

Name: John
Age: 29
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? It was great. I drove down this afternoon—5.5 hours—not bad.
What are you most excited about? Just being here, and the people. I’m thrilled about the music, but mostly the people.

Name: Chris
Age: 22
Hometown: Simi Valley, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? Pretty exhausting. I could not sleep for the past week since Monday, and I stayed up making kandi the night before. We left at three in the morning, so I took a catnap before in the car. It was just the excitement, the thrill of coming to EDC, uniting with people from all over the world, from every aspect of life. That’s why I love coming to these events—because I could just be myself, and no one could tell me otherwise. Coming down the stairs, I was in complete awe because this is like heaven on earth. I’ve never seen something this big and this amazing before. It’s just awesome how everybody’s costumes, they put time and effort into it. It’s just simply beautiful. Everybody’s beautiful here.
What are you most excited about? I’m most excited about checking out new music I’ve never heard before, hanging out with friends, meeting new friends, trading the kandi that I made, and getting lost Under the Electric Sky.

Name: Julio
Age: 27
Hometown: Oregon
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: 2
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? Lots of preparation, lots of stress. Once we got on the road, we drove from our home to San Francisco and picked up two people. We drove from San Francisco and got here Wednesday and met 12 of our other friends. It took me about 75 hours to make my totem. I saw how much people appreciated our one from last year, and it was much simpler. It’s a way to express ourselves, and mainly to find each other, but I kinda wanted to go all-out this year.
What are you most excited about? We might get to meet Chuckie. One of our friends’ brothers knows him personally, so we’re hoping to meet him. Just hanging out with our friends and all these people here.

Names: Shane, Christopher and Jacqueline
Ages: 21, 23, 23
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: First (all)
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? Christopher: It was just long—not necessarily the drive here, but waiting for it during the last six months.
What are you most excited about?
Jacqueline: I’m so happy to be here. I’m just ready to be with friends and family.
Shane: We’re definitely at home here.

Name: Marlon
Age: 28
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC Las Vegas: 4
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? It was interesting. I lost my ticket due to some credit card fraud. I was in a bad spot, and then Ticketmaster came through for me, and I got me a new ticket. I had to pay a little bit more for the VIP ticket, but they still helped me figure out that the problem was fraud. I freaked out when it happened; it was only five weeks ago, but I made it.
What are you most excited about? Just being around the people. It’s energizing. If you look around when the lights go down, you don’t see individual people; everyone is here as one. People have gone through divorces, financial issues, and people’s cars have broken down on the side of the road, but once you get here, nothing matters. Everyone is a friend. There’s no evil going on, and the effects of EDC last for a week after you leave.

Name: Jorge (purple suit), Albert (green suit)
Age: 25 (both)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Number of times you’ve been to EDC: 7 and 5
What was your journey to EDC Las Vegas like? We’ve known each other for years and took a week off from work to come here together. It’s a matter of exiting life to join another life and to have fun and be ourselves. It’s not something that we normally get to do in real life.
What are you most looking forward to: Having a good time! Getting away from the city and celebrating Albert’s birthday.

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