The Best of EDC Puerto Rico

Most mainland Americans have a vague perception of Puerto Rico as the 51st state. In fact, in ways, it is a lot like home. If you’re coming from the United States, you don’t need your passport to enter the island. Local currency is the good old US dollar, and your cell phone will work just fine. Most everyone speaks English. Starbucks was easy to come by, and there was a Sizzler down the street from my hotel.

But let’s be clear: When you jet off from the mainland, fly over the dreamy, blue Caribbean waters, and touch down a thousand miles southeast of Miami in the San Juan airport, you have arrived in what may technically be part of the United States, but is an island paradise unto itself.

And what an excellent place for a party.

This past weekend, approximately 40,000 Headliners descended upon San Juan’s Sixto Escobar Stadium for the sixth annual EDC Puerto Rico. The two-day affair went down on the shores of the Caribbean and featured performances by artists including Kaskade, Fatboy Slim, Kidnap Kid, Lee Foss, Claude VonStroke, Tiga, and a crew of local Puerto Rican DJ/producers representing the island’s vibrant music scene. It was hot, and it was humid. Sea breezes blew through the palm trees as thousands of people danced under the sun and then the stars. Many wonderful things happened over the course of the weekend. Here are the highlights:

The People

Headliners converged upon the island from locales including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Chicago. They joined a strong contingent of local fans, who exemplified island hospitality with their great vibes, big smiles, welcoming attitudes, an unparalleled passion for the music, and big excitement over experiencing EDC on their home turf.

Lee Foss and Anabel Englund

Foss had neonGARDEN (which was set up right next to the beach) whipped up into a proper dance party during his Saturday evening set. Blue-haired singer and frequent Foss collaborator Englund stole the show as she prowled the stage performing Hot Natured tracks including “Emerald City” and “Reverse Skydiving,” which she sang while lying down on the stage with her legs up in the air. Hot.

Planetary Alignment

How does a special weekend get even more special? Rare celestial convergences! On Friday and Saturday, those who looked to the sky could see Mars, Venus and the crescent moon lined up in a way that they haven’t since 2008 and won’t again for years. Altogether, it was one more way that that EDC PR 2015 was a totes magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Well played, space.

Kaskade

I asked more than a dozen attendees whom they were most excited to see over the course of the weekend. Their answers? “Kaskade.” “Kaskade.” “Kaskade.” “Kaskade.” “Kaskade.” “Kaskade.” The legend made good on the anticipation with a huge set that peaked with bursts of confetti that the warm winds carried over the thrilled crowd. I personally don’t know that much of Kaskade’s music, but I assure you this set was altogether goosebump-inducing nonetheless.

The Fortress

The venue is home to an ancient stone fortress that juts out into the sea and was originally built to protect San Juan from ships that would attack from the water. For EDC, this space was transformed into a hangout area where those with the right wristband could enjoy complimentary drinks, grilled meat on skewers, a livestream of kineticFIELD, a top-notch view of the city, and warm sea breezes blowing in from the water below. It was a pretty rad location in which to chill, eat chicken on a stick, and point out various constellations in the night sky.

Oliver Heldens

A clear crowd favorite, and seriously, how adorable is this person?

This Owl

Located on the hill just above bassPOD, this giant wooden bird was an artistic centerpiece of the festival and provided an area at which Headliners could meet up, hang out, and enjoy the weekend’s pair of firework displays.

This Guy

This very special Headliner was spotted cruising through a mud pit in front of the production area on Sunday afternoon. Although he had lost his wristband, we let him stay and caught this snap just before he waddled off toward neonGARDEN. Rumor is that he played a b2b with a nurse shark near the porta-potties later in the night. I can only assume that’s true.

Scenic Beauty

Did I mention that EDC PR went down in a grassy park located on the beach of a tropical island? I’m just going to brag and say that this was also the view from our production office for the weekend. Win.

Fatboy Slim

The legendary Norman Cook brought the house down Sunday night with a set that sampled both Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Señor Cook was in good spirits, dancing, clapping his hands and singing along to most of the set, which included a visual tribute to recently deceased greats like Lou Reed, James Gandolfini and Frankie Knuckles. During the montage, Cook turned toward the image of Knuckles and waved his hands up and down in praise. Then all of us standing between the stage and the front row tossed giant, glowing beach balls into the legion of people, as a posse of fantastically dressed performers danced around, and the crowd went into a frenzy.

Sometimes, I get a feeling that I am in one of the most special places on earth at that given moment. This set was one of those moments.

This Guy

The dedication to good times exemplified by this guy, whom I spotted texting while staring down the nose of his unicorn mask, is truly commendable.

The Weather

Conditions were hot, humid and gorgeous on Saturday, and temperatures remained warm and breezy when the stars came out after sundown. While a pair of afternoon rainstorms passed through on Sunday afternoon and soaked areas of the park, revelers just happily danced in the mud. Easy.

Tiga

As a function of personal interest and professional responsibility, I have had the good fortune of being in attendance for quite a few truly transcendent DJ sets (Pretty Lights at Lightning in a Bottle 2011, Major Lazer at EDC Vegas 2013, some guy whose name I didn’t catch out in the middle of the desert last December, etc.). To this short list, I add Tiga’s weekend-closing show at neonGARDEN. The Canadian producer had the crowd dancing with total dedication (zero people had their cell phones out) from start to finish and seemed to up the ante on his hypnotically deep musical output with each transition. He closed with a killer remix of Caribou’s “Your Love Will Set You Free” and then came back onstage for one more when the crowd ceased to stop cheering. Our crew experienced it all from the raised deck at the back of the tent, where strangers became friends as we all danced hard, while a warm, strong wind blew at our backs. When the show was over, a young kid wearing a beanie with a single glowstick tucked into it hugged everyone in our crew and told us that he loved us. I have no doubt that he meant it. Paradise.

The After-Party

When EDC officially ended on Sunday night, staff, DJs, friends, and friends of friends just continued partying. UK-based producer Cassy, who wasn’t able to make her afternoon set after missing a flight, slayed on the decks, while happy staffers passed around a box of better-than-average pizza (because, as always, #pizzaovereverything). Datsik hung with his crew on the patio, the Blasterjaxx guys sat and enjoyed the music, Oliver Heldens sipped a cocktail, Kennedy Jones mixed and mingled, and local artist Caleb Calloway manned the decks until the party ended at 3am, at which point a few of us from the Insomniac crew took to the beach and celebrated a weekend well spent by jumping into the ocean.

It was a tremendous time—the kind of experience that, in retrospect, already seems like some fantastical fever dream that I just made up in my head. The proof, however, lay in the sand still between my toes when I touched back down in Los Angeles Monday night.

Puerto Rico, we thank you.

Katie Bain is just slightly sunburned. She’s on Twitter. 

 

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