On the first morning, before EDC began, I got an email letting me know that press was now allowed both backstage and in the artist lounge. I was beyond thrilled and so excited to have the opportunity to try and meet some of my favorite artists, and biggest idols.
Picking up my ticket at the Doubletree Hotel in Downtown Orlando was a breeze. They had a specific line for press passes and made it easy for those of us who had to pick up our tickets on the day of the festival. insomniac even had free parking for the first 30 minutes you were at the venue trying to get your ticket. I don’t think anyone that was press, like Leslie and I, had to wait more than that for their ticket.
After running home to put my day one outfit on, my friends and I headed to the festival around 3 o’clock. The first group of artists that we heard on our way into the festival was a ATLiens. They were playing the heavy sounds we needed to amp us all up for the beginning of our adventure at the first 3-day EDC Orlando to ever occur. When we first arrived we grabbed free water (that we are always thankful Insomniac is nice enough to provide us with) and checked out the festival grounds. After seeing the amazing Circuit Grounds stage, Corona Beach, Stereo Bloom and Neon Garden, brand new art installations and art cars, we headed to Habstrakt who played at 3:25pm on Kinetic Field for our first set of the day. He incorporated some of the best House bangers into his set, giving me just the right amount of energy and excitement to get through the next 9 hours of raving.
My friends and I headed to CRAY, who is one of the coolest and most interesting people I’ve ever had the pleasure to chat with, as she began her set at 4:25p.m. She played her own songs, heavy drops and popular songs for her fans that wanted to sing along! She kept the vibes flowing until she ended and we headed to Kaskade.
At Kaskade, I met up with Leslie, my fellow MyArea Network rep at the Insomniac Festival in Orlando. We checked out the VIP area and we’re lucky enough to see Kaskade from the pit in between the rail and the stage.
We saw beautiful dancers, fireworks, glowing lights, and even waterfalls as we danced to Kaskade under the electric sky. This was one of those moments that I felt so lucky to live in, I had always wanted to see Kinetic Field like this. I had always dreamed of living in this moment.
Leslie and I wanted to check out the Press Lounge and Artist Lounge, because that was another thing both of us had always wondered about: Where do my favorite artists hangout behind the scenes at a festival?
After entering the VIP area and next, the artist lounge, both Leslie and I felt a bit starstruck. You could get haircuts in the artist lounge and the artists you came to see stood behind a curtain in their own private suite. It was just as cool as we had imagined.
We headed out to the viewing area on the second floor of Camping World Stadium. When we were admiring the view two gentlemen asked us if we wanted to sit down and watch the show with them.
After bluntly asking them what their names were they responded,
“Matt”
“Adam”
So I asked what brought them to the festival and Matt said a photographer and Adam replied, “I’m DJing.”
Of course, I felt stupid. But Adam was nice enough to explain, “I’m Habstrakt.”
Both Leslie and I jumped up and exclaimed, “Whaaat?!”
I was apologetic. I love Habstrakt and I should’ve known it was him. But he explained, “Don’t worry about it. I like to be lowkey.”
Leslie and I got to chat with him about what it was like to play at Kinetic Field earlier in the day. He explained that he had also played EDC Vegas this year but he really enjoyed the energy in Orlando. He said that Florida was always fun to play and that he enjoyed the crowd interaction.
Leslie and I both got to talk to his photographer, who took a picture of both of us with Habstrakt. Check them out below.
Matt Cary, his photographer, was nice enough to send me these the next day! Thanks, Matt!
After meeting Habstrakt, we both went to hang out with our friends until halfway through Jauz at 10:20 when we would meet back at the VIP entrance so Leslie could try to meet her favorite artist.
After meeting my favorite artist, Alison Wonderland, at Sunset Music Festival, in May, I was really hoping Leslie would get to meet Jauz. There’s no better feeling than getting just a second of their precious time.
Next, I saw Yultron and he killed it on the Circuit Grounds stage. He included some of the best mixing, and somehow, it made you want to BOTH headbang and shuffle.
After that, we caught a bit of Yellow Claw and Steve Aoki on the main stage. Both sets had us dancing under the flickering lights, various totems and flags from all over the world.
When Jauz got on stage at Circuit Grounds, he told us that he had been sick for a week, but he saved up his energy to play for us on Friday night. As always, Jauz brought the energy and continued to impress the crowd.
Halfway through the set, Leslie and I headed back to VIP and then, backstage to try to meet Jauz.
I ran into a friend who was a dancer and spoke with her and fellow dancers until Jauz ended his set. When Leslie and I saw him walk off stage we were lucky enough to meet him and his super badass wife, Joann. Both of them were so sweet and we got the following pictures:
I was so excited when I was taking my photo with Sam and Joann! Yultron walked up and I asked him to get in too.
Jauz made a joke about how we were like a family of sharks, his trademark and logo. Earlier this year he created a mix of the Baby Shark song that took the world by storm when he debuted in at Coachella.
I was so happy that Leslie got to meet her favorite artist! It was such a cool moment to be a part of and I am beyond thankful that Insomniac allowed us that moment.
After meeting Jauz, Leslie and I fangirled for a minute and then headed back to our friends. We saw DJ Snake, who was the closer of Day 1 alongside Deadmau5. We stayed at Circuit Grounds for DJ Snake because neither one of us had ever seen him perform.
DJ Snake played everything I wanted him to and more. He played a ton of hits off of his record from earlier this year titled ‘Carte Blanche’. Because it had rained for a majority of the night, my friends and I were cold and decided to head out at 11:45p.m. We enjoyed DJ Snake on the way to the car and headed home, just to soon return.
For more information on EDM events happening in Orlando, join the EDM Community on 407area! It’s where we come together all in the name of P.L.U.R.
