The Best of EDC Las Vegas 2015: Day 3

These are some of the best memories we experienced on the final day of EDC 2015, and already we can’t wait to be back next year.

Get Real

Claude Vonstroke and Green Velvet’s Monday morning b2b set in the neonGARDEN was one of the weekend’s most anticipated shows (a statement based purely on how many people I spoke with who were excited to see it), and the show was as epically funky as one might expect from two of dance music’s quirkiest legends. Wearing matching “Get Real” t-shirts, Velvet and Vonstroke took turns on the decks, weaving their signature brands of house and techno for a packed (but not too packed) crowd that was dancing hard enough to bring the temperature inside the tent up a few degrees. Despite the heat, it was indeed very cool. –Katie Bain

The Weather

Between temperatures that hovered around 115 degrees and a strong wind blowing in off the desert, walking around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon felt something like moving through a breezy oven with two blow dryers pointed directly at my eyes. As the sun went down, however, the wind subsided and temperatures shifted from horrifyingly melty to perfectly balmy. Paired with a bright crescent moon and a clear view of Venus, the no jacket required nighttime weather was ideal. –Katie Bain

Like a Kid in a Kandi Store

I can’t imagine attending a ravestival (yes, that’s what I call a rave-fest) without the act of trading kandi. Since I foolishly forgot mine back at home, hitting the on-site kandi shop was definitely a must. The friendly faces working the booths were more than courteous as they helped me pick out a special set of green-colored beads to complete the perfect bracelet. I’m pretty sure one of the handy helpers was tripping out when I said I love candy and pretended to put a green, furry piece in my mouth. True story. –Sam Yu

Napping at cosmicMEADOW

As we mentioned before, day three is the toughest of all EDC. I was tired. I was sunburned. I was sleepy. Luckily, I found the perfect napping spot at the grassy field of cosmicMEADOW. In-between Jack Beats and Seven Lions, I joined some fellow Headliners in a much-needed snooze fest. Soon enough, other Headliners followed suit and thus cosmicMEADOW became Nap City. I was amazed at how much 10 minutes of rest can do for the body. And then the party continued immediately after through the morning sun. –John Ochoa

The Sustained Enthusiasm

Between journeying to Vegas, day partying, the heat, the dancing, and the weekend’s nocturnal schedule, it’s easy to feel physically depleted by day three of EDC. It was thus especially impressive to stand at the entrance on Sunday evening and watch Headliners stream down the stairs of the Speedway with as much enthusiasm and unbridled joy (there were tears) as I witnessed in the crowd on Friday evening when everyone was presumably fresher and better rested. The energy was infectious, and nothing short of inspiring. –Katie Bain

The Dancing

It’s a no brainer to say that there a massive amount of dancing throughout the weekend, what with EDC being a dance music festival and all, but I as I walked around the show I couldn’t help but be impressed with the way that people were really letting going and shaking their shit with no apparent concern about how they looked or who was watching. When one considers that dancing is an ancient practice folded into nearly all cultures and civilizations, EDC becomes more than just a music festival; it becomes part of an ancient tradition of achieving elevation by getting down. There’s so much to love about EDC, but seeing all of you being your beautiful, weird selves out there was easily the best part about my weekend. –Katie Bain

Surprise Guests Take the Night

There was no better way to close out the final night of EDC than all the special surprise guest spread throughout the stages. Dirtyphonics dominated bassPOD with some of the heaviest dubstep and bass music we’ve ever heard. Hot Since 82 closed out neonGARDEN with his unique blend of techno and deep house. But it was Dillon Francis closing out cosmicMEADOW with his sunrise set that brought one of the most massive crowds of the weekend. The sheer size of the audience was unreal, almost the size of a mini-festival itself. Even as EDC was coming to a close, Dillon kept the energy and vigor of the festival alive and well as the final bass drops rang loud. The crowd wasn’t ready to leave, and we can thank Dillon Francis for that. –John Ochoa

Animal Hour at EDC Town

The folks from the Imagine Nation, the peeps who built EDC Town and funkHOUSE, are a bunch of creative loonies. And that’s a compliment! It takes a certain type of dreamer to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary; that’s what Imagine Nation specializes in. On Sunday night, the crew of visionaries dressed up as majestic creatures and hosted the wild animal hour at EDC Town. In full animal masks, they tripped out Headliners visiting their saloon-styled building, the Niner. The performers, led into the Niner via rope, ran amok at the kombucha bar and served healthy shots of kombucha. They redefined the term party animal quite literally and figuratively. –John Ochoa

Live Art

If you were rushing from set to set trying to catch your favorite acts, you most likely missed out on EDC’s hidden surprises, like the live painting going on in between stage7 and the funkHOUSE. It was here, amidst all the carnival chaos, that I met live painter So Youn. A recent transplant from South Korea to Irvine, California, So Youn came to her first EDC as part of the JustKids Official art collective. “I believe that everything that you believe in can be transformed into art. EDC to me is all about self-expression through art, music and people. It’s about all about the freedom to be you,” she says. Her painting featured cartoon-like characters in soft pastel hues lost amongst the clouds. Not dissimilar to the Headliners at EDC, if you ask me. –Anum Khan

Burning Man Memories

In-between the Wide Awake and Mayan Warrior art cars, the ePOD and Lost Tea Party art installations, and the roaming El Pulpo Mecanico, we were whisked away to the land known as Burning Man. The spirit of creativity and personal expression is a permanent fixture at both EDC and Burning Man, which is why you’ll meet many Bravers (Burners + Ravers) in Vegas. I first saw a lot of these extravagant attractions at my first Burning Man last year. Seeing them again in person brought back all the memories of the Playa. I could almost taste the dust in my mouth. –John Ochoa

Fireworks

It was on day three that I realized the fireworks are the one time every night that all of EDC halts for a few minutes. Whether you were getting down to some dubstep at bassPOD, riding through the sky on a Ferris Wheel, or working at the gates, everyone stopped and stared as glowing bursts lit up the sky. Day three’s fireworks also spelled out “EDC,” not once but twice! While they marked our last night at the festival, the fireworks were an important reminder of the commonalities that join us all, connecting hundreds of thousands of people together Under the Electric Sky. –Anum Khan

Weddings

June 21, 2015 marks the day that I got rave married to my friend Annie (more to come on that later). As we were waiting to take our vows, a girl started excitedly speaking to us. “I just got married!” she exclaimed. While some couples came with entire entourages of friends to mark their special day, others came solo. Whatever the size of their party, each and every pair who took their vows in the chapel or under the arches added to the love that was in the air. The weddings taking place in EDC town were perhaps the most symbolic reflection of what EDC means to people, making them one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend. –Anum Khan

In Memory of Mama Irene

At the edge of the racetrack, a tribute to Mama Irene took place by the cosmicMEADOW near the bottom of one of the stairwells of the grandstands. Those whose lives were affected by Mama’s big heart took the time to sign a giant banner, leave a flower or place a special piece of Kandi as a token of remembrance. It became perfectly clear that the brightest star in the Electric Sky will live on always and forever as Headliners celebrate her life through love and dance. We miss and love you, Mama Irene. –Sam Yu

VIP Ball Pit

We stumbled upon this hidden gem at the VIP area near kineticFIELD. Jumping into the pool of colorful balls headfirst reminded me of all the times I spent in ball pits as a kid. Backed by the bangers Bingo Players dropped onstage, the energy in the ball pit was hyped up to the max. It was like a rave Chuck E. Cheese’s for grownups. It’s reason enough to upgrade to VIP alone; you’ll never want to leave. –John Ochoa

El Pulpo Mechanico

Major props to Duane Flatmo and Jerry Kunkle for creating an absolutely jaw-dropping piece of art. This fire-breathing steampunk octopus not only wowed Headliners with its size and stature, but whoever was working the propane controls was perfectly in tune with every stage El Pulpo rolled by, creating well-choreographed ballets of fire that warmed up everything within a 50-foot radius. Factor in a steady diet of 200 gallons of propane every three hours and you’ve got more heat than Lil Wayne’s latest mixtape…and speaking of mixtapes. –Rich Thomas

The EDC Las Vegas Mixtape Series

Fun fact: Since Beyond Wonderland Bay Area 2014, we’ve been producing and distributing limited edition cassette mixtapes at many of our major festivals; think of it as a nod to classic rave days gone by, where mixtapes (and later mix CDs) were the only way to keep up with what your favorite DJ was doing. Each mix is exclusive to us, and we only print up 200 copies of each tape, so they double as a nice festival keepsake. For EDC Vegas, we produced not one, not two, not three, but FIVE limited edition tapes, which were distributed by hand and at our merch booths: Carl Cox and John Digweed, Tiësto and Martin Garrix, Jason Bentley and Dimitri from Paris, Ferry Corsten and Andrew Rayel, and Mark Knight and Chus & Ceballos. Each artist created a 45-minute mix for their side, so if you managed to snag all five tapes, you’re the proud owner of 450 minutes of exclusive auditory goodness from some of the best DJs on the planet. Who’s the big winner? You are, my friend. You are. –Rich Thomas

Seeing Familiar Faces

It’s amazing that you can walk around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with well over 100K people and still happen to come across so many familiar faces. I ran into people I met at EDC NY, some other folks from Beyond Wonderland—and this guy, Jose Perales, who I met at EDC Vegas 2014. Insomniac Headliners are like one big family of friends. –Boojie Baker

Boombox was Booming

Chilling on the art cars is hand-downs one of my favorite parts of EDC. I’m not trying to knock the main-stages, but something about frolicking in the desert on these mobile masterpieces takes me back to Burning Man. You never know what these mutant vehicles have in store, but you’re always guaranteed a good Fing time. One of the highlights of my weekend was catching Eelrack as he threw down a nasty set on the Cats & Boots-hosted Boombox. The Brooklyn-via-Los Angeles tech house head has a way with commanding a crowd, which is evidenced by their reaction when he dropped his own joint “Life” to cap his performance. I was gigging so hard that it actually hurt. –Sam Yu

One of the last performances of Art Department as a Duo

My boy Shahar and I shared a moment with Art Department a couple of years back when the deep house duo dropped a left-field tune that neither of us ever expected to hear at a festival: Pachanga Boys’ “Time.” It left a huge imprint on the two of us and created an inseparable bond that can only be actualized in a festival setting. So when news broke that they were splitting up, I knew nothing would stop the two of us from missing their neonGARDEN set. I’m not ashamed to admit I was a bit choked up when it hit me that this would be the last time I would ever be a witness to Kenny Glasgow and Jonny White sharing the same stage as a two-man team. But I just left it there on the dancefloor, as any festival freak would have done. –Sam Yu

High-Fiving Strangers

On my way to Galantis’ closing set at kineticFIELD, I stretched my hand out far and wide to extend my final high fives of the weekend. I could see the exhaustion in the faces of Headliners; their eyes begged for rest. But once our hands embraced, a spark of joy and élan brightened their demeanor. It felt like I passed my energy onto their crashing bodies. PS High fives are a fantastic way to make friends at EDC. –John Ochoa

Closing Ceremony

As the final beat of EDC came to a close, the Insomniac Team shared an Owl’s eye view of kineticFIELD from the Skydeck. I’m not one to celebrate a show in such fashion, but being there in the moment really struck a chord with me. It was here, I was able to appreciate the size and scope of EDC and its growth since the first one I attended at the NOS Events center. As we raised our glasses to a job well done, it dawned on me that none of this would be at all possible without the love and support from both veteran and new-to-the-scene Headliners alike. But my heart really melted when an image of Mama Irene flickered above the DJ booth, as she threw up her heart hands beneath the glow of sparklers and fireworks for the last time. –Sam Yu