EDC Las Vegas 2021: 10 Key Moments

In fact, after a 17 month hiatus due to the pandemic, EDC roared back to town with its booming bass, groovy trance, and many other varieties of dance and electronic music. The festival has come a long way since it first moved from Los Angeles to the desert in 2011 – with classic moments like the festival evacuating due to a storm in 2012 or the Red Bull Sky Dive team’s immersion in the festival or when Bryan Cranston appeared on the set of Above & Beyond in 2015 as his infamous character Walter White – who was commemorated throughout the weekend.

Of course, many new memories were also awakened. Here are 10 standout moments from the weekend.

A Zenner EDC

The theme for 2021 was kineticZEN, a great idea considering how many of us had 2020. This topic took place on the always huge kineticFIELD stage by EDC, the unveiling of which is a highlight of the event every year. For kineticZEN, the sleepless owl was embedded in a lotus flower on stage, which is guarded by two statue-like deities. Sky Deck marquee nightclub – a partnership with the Strips marquee nightclub which hosts many EDC VIPs – presents the theme with a Balinese design and a grotto for photo ops. Meanwhile one night drone demonstrate highlighted some of kineticFIELD’s stage designs from the past few years.

Marc Van der Aa *

EDC Las Vegas 2021

Well-known sponsors were back

While big brands may have shied away from EDC in the early days, everyone is now competing for naming rights. Allegiant Travel – the same company that bought the naming rights for the recently opened Allegiant Stadium in Vegas – had its name all over the Rave Terminal. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase claimed the “Pixel Forest” and Verizon had its own viewing platforms.

The reign of Alison Wonderland

In 2016, Alison Wonderland made history as one of the first two women to play a solo set on the EDC main stage. (Anna Lunoe also played solo on the same stage in 2016.) Five years later, Alison Wonderland remained a major force at EDC with one set that got the most talked about over the weekend. Her Friday night performance on the Circuit Ground stage was everything EDC is known for. Wonderland’s visuals featured movie-style clips with fan comments, and when the Australian producer’s mixer broke on the set, she fixed it herself and then continued playing. That night around 3 a.m., she also hopped on the Parliament’s art car for a home-only pop-up set.

Lots of celebrities

In addition to the 200+ DJs playing the show, EDC hosted a crowd of celebs, including Mike Tyson, who hung out with Insomniac founder and CEO Pasquale Rotella. Pauly Shore showed up on the Marquee Sky Deck, as did Drew Carey, while Brody Jenner arrived by helicopter and played guest bartenders and served his Hard Seltzer line of mamitas. And only in Las Vegas: The Tao Group, to which Marquee belongs, has used 200 models to distribute bento boxes to hungry ravers in the Tao restaurant.

October weather

While EDC hours are usually billed as “twilight until dawn,” that slogan was a little less accurate this year given the event’s postponement from May to October. This time, EDC’s standard opening hours – 6:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – meant the event started shortly after sunset and the sun didn’t fully rise each morning until about an hour after the show ended. The calendar shift also meant cooler temperatures, trading the event’s typically warm May nights for early morning temperatures that fell in the high 50s. That fall weather led the typically scantily clad EDC crowd (think pies, tutus, and not much else) to instead opt for faux fur coats and, with more DIY tailoring, emergency mylar thermal blankets worn as capes.

Courtesy Insomniac

EDC Las Vegas 2021

EDC in the COVID era

With EDC postponed from May to October due to the changing protocols related to the pandemic, safety came first given the large crowd. Attendees were advised to bring either a copy of their vaccination card, digital vaccination record, or negative test results, although a general entry report found that no one asked for this information from security personnel upon entry. (Limited on-site tests were available for not fully vaccinated participants.) However, a test result was requested upon entering the VIP Skydeck area. We saw very little masking either, ironically considering that masks are a typical fashion staple in any EDC.

Ten years of Tiësto

As the only artist who has played EDC Las Vegas every 10 years, the veteran of the dance scene entered the kineticFIELD stage on Saturday night to play hits like “Split” and “The Business”.

Camp EDC is rising again – with a few complaints

Camp EDC is the festival’s campsite in the Motor Speedway parking lot and has grown in popularity since its debut in 2018, offering amenities like goat yoga, kandi-making, a pool, and day parties. Divided into tents and mobile home areas, there were some complaints at the weekend, as the tents this year were not equipped with air conditioning as in previous years. Those who complained to Insomniac were informed that air conditioning was not offered as the cooler October temperatures made it unnecessary. On Thursday, a broken water pipe also caused some problems at Camp EDC, although the water supply was restored before the end of the day.

Courtesy Insomniac

EDC Las Vegas 2021

Surprises galore

This year Lil Nas X took the stage with Diplo to perform Industry Baby, Montero and Old Town Road while The Kid LAROI appeared on DJ Snake’s set for Stay. Diplo even played three times over the weekend, including an unannounced set appearance on the Forest House art car. Illenium, which wasn’t on the lineup at all, also showed up for a surprise set on the same Art Car.

Legal weed, or at least promoting it

While it is legal in Las Vegas to have up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use, the law states that cannabis use is only legal on private property. But while cannabis wasn’t legal at EDC, it didn’t stop its use or promotion, with a giant blunt art installation promoting Insomniac’s recently introduced cannabis strain, RNBW.