Ravey in Love: Couples Who Met at Fests

Whether or not we’d like to admit it, we all sort of secretly hope to have a more interesting backstory than “we both swiped right” when introducing our significant other. That’s what a steady diet of romcoms in one’s formative years will do to a person. As internet-based as our love lives seem to be these days, there are still actually people out there meeting the old-fashioned way: at music festivals.

We spoke with couples at Beyond Wonderland SoCal who’d made their love connection at a prior festival, and we asked them for tips on how the rest of us might find such good fortune.

Having linked up at Beyond last year, this couple of 20-year-olds from Orange, CA, was celebrating their one-year anniversary when I ran into them.

Marshall had seen Madi around at shows and parties before, and when their paths crossed at last year’s rave, he seized the opportunity to get to know the girl.

“After we went home that night, I just never left his side,” said Madi. “And if it wasn’t for him, I’d know nothing about all this,” she said, gesticulating to the scene around her. “This culture has become my life now.”

Originally from L.A. but now living together in Vegas, Tommy and Alex met at Dada Land in 2015. Tommy’s sister was friends with Alex’s friends, and when the group convened at the fest, sparks started flying between the two.

The couple took it slow, however. No smooches went down that first night, despite the tension, and the two kept their budding romance under wraps from everyone else until they were ready to make it official.

“We were kinda low-key when we first got together,” said Tommy. “Happy with how it turned out, though.”

Dressed as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from SpongeBob, Joanna and Sharon are both 20-year-old Angelenos. They discovered their shared love for dance music at EDC Vegas last year, when they bumped into each other at Datsik’s set, and they’ve been together ever since.

“Sharon was just so cute—and I know she hates being called that,” said Joanna. “But I just was feeling the vibe, and we hit it off, and next thing I know, we’re back in L.A. together.”

Sharon told me the main thing that drew her to Joanna was that “she offered me pizza—and I love pizza.”

Tired from their night of raucous partying, L.A. County residents Cassandra and Steven, 22 and 23 respectively, sleepily talked to me about how they met at Escape just last year.

“Our friends kinda introduced us,” said Cassandra. Ever the gentleman, Steven asked her to dance and, as he puts it, “the rest is history.”

“Out here,” he says, referencing the festival scene, “you can kind of express your feelings more openly than in most scenarios. There’s no limits.”

Nathan and Anika, 25 and 21 respectively, met through a mutual friend at a Dillstradamus show just three months ago. It’s been nothing but heart-eye emojis ever since.

Nathan admits he couldn’t help but make a move on Anika, but she assured me he was “fairly smooth in his approach.” From there, they went to Countdown for New Year’s and are planning to stay immersed in rave culture, hitting as many events together as they possibly can.

Jasmine and Danny—19- and 20-year-olds from L.A.—were pretty easy to pick out as a couple in their matching sweatshirts. Though having met only a few months back at OMFG on New Year’s Eve, the two have been inseparable ever since.

Danny told me that he’s buddies with one of Jasmine’s best guy friends, but “he never brought her around before.” When she finally made an appearance at OMFG, he couldn’t help but go in for the midnight kiss. As evidenced by their photo above, they haven’t unlocked lips since.