25 Memories From EDC Las Vegas 2015 We Won’t Soon Forget

For newbies, the first sight of EDC Las Vegas—as they walk down the stairwells of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway grandstands—is a moment forever burned into their memories. For EDC veterans, that overwhelming feeling of joy and euphoric bliss never goes away. Whether a first-timer or a returning raver, the three-day event provides a lifetime of memories and special moments unique to the EDC experience. More than a music festival, EDC Las Vegas is a celebration of life, love, creativity, and freedom of expression, and the memories created there are boundless.

We experienced our biggest and best EDC Las Vegas in 2015. Hosting record attendance numbers, pushing our creative forces to the max, and introducing a whole new Headliner experience, last year’s event proved to be one of the most memorable in EDC history. With the help of our beloved Headliners, we created everlasting memories that celebrated the world of EDC.

Here are 25 memories from EDC Las Vegas 2015 we won’t soon forget.

1. New Stage Designs

All eight stages this past year featured production and designs never before seen at EDC Las Vegas. The Crystal Village at kineticFIELD was the perfect answer to 2014’s kineticCATHEDRAL. We can’t wait to see what utopia our boss has planned for 2016.

**2. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston Joins Above & Beyond Onstage**

Above & Beyond are known for bringing special guests onstage to push the button during “Sun and Moon,” but the packed crowd at kineticFIELD got a massive surprise when Jono and Paavo brought none other than actor Bryan Cranston, of Breaking Bad fame, himself onstage to push the button during “Walter White.” Watch the video here.

3. A Military Raver Story

The EDC community is about as diverse a group as they come. We loved getting to meet Nelson Algarin, Jr., and hearing his story about life in the military as he prepared to attend his first EDC.

4. Hardwell and Dada Life Crashing the Mayan Art Car

Hardwell and Dada Life made unannounced appearances on the Mayan Warrior Art Car. Without any mainstage expectations, Hardwell dipped into an epic hip-hop and moombahton set that included DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here)” as Diplo, Dyro, and Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella stopped by to witness the fun. Next up was Dada Life, who transported the crowd back to the old-school with some epic rave tunes. It was quite the ride on the art car, and definitely a night we won’t forget.

5. All the Totems

Festival totems—we love ‘em! To see all the great ones we came across last year, check out this gallery.

6. Headliners Paying Tribute to Mama Irene

A tribute to Mama Irene took place by cosmicMEADOW near the bottom of one of the stairwells of the grandstands. It became perfectly clear that the brightest star in the Electric Sky would live on always and forever, as Headliners celebrated her life through love and dance. We miss and love you, Mama Irene.

7. Meeting Robbie Walter, the Headliner Who Handed out 200 Rave Pins

The 18-year-old from Colorado celebrated his first EDC in 2015 and was on a mission to bring smiles to random strangers by handing out 200 wooden clothespins emblazoned with handwritten messages of positivity and responsibility. We chilled with Robbie at the Buddha Garden at EDC to learn more about his PLUR journey.

8. The Fireworks

Fireworks are the one time every night that all of EDC halts for a few minutes. Whether you were getting down on the dancefloor, riding through the sky on a Ferris wheel, or working at the gates, everyone stopped and stared as glowing bursts lit up the Electric Sky—us included.

9. Seeing Familiar Faces

It’s amazing that you can walk around the enormous Las Vegas Motor Speedway with well over 100,000 people and still happen to come across so many familiar faces. We ran into people we met at EDC New York, some other folks from Beyond Wonderland, and this guy, Jose Perales. Insomniac Headliners are like one big family of friends.

10. Virgin Eyes

We met a lot of EDC first-timers this past year. Hearing the thrill in their voices and seeing their faces brighten upon first sight of the flashing lights and booming bass reminded us exactly why we love our jobs. Nothing beats that first time seeing the city of EDC. It’s like falling in love—a forever feeling you can never re-create.

11. The Electric Spinner

Most dancers have to remember their choreography. This guy also had to remember not to electrocute himself. The fact that we were watching his performance on Electric Avenue, Under the Electric Sky, was not lost on us. It’s nice to be reminded that sometimes the things we least prepare for at EDC are what we remember most.

12. Doing Golf Cart Confessions

It’s never a bad time when you get DJs to talk about their innermost secrets, but Vegas saw our music makers getting a little more loose than normal. Who would have thought driving DJs around in a golf cart could be so much fun?

13. The VIP Viewing Deck at cosmicMEADOW

Simply put, this was the ultimate vantage point at cosmicMEADOW.

14. Insomniac Consciousness Group

Conceived at EDC Las Vegas 2014 with the help of Patt Ochoa, the Insomniac Consciousness Group provides Headliners with a place of support or just simply a location to chill. Of all the things we do in this world, we’re particularly proud of being able to offer our Headliners this place of sanctuary.

15. Putting Together the Locals’ Guide to Las Vegas

Electric Daisy Carnival is the reason Headliners come to Vegas, but it’s not the only thing to do once you’re in the city. There’s gambling, of course, but we dug up some options off the beaten Strip to help you discover the best of pre- and post-EDC Las Vegas experiences.

16. Insomniac’s #WeAreWideAwake Initiative

This past EDC, we introduced the #WeAreWideAwake initiative to raise awareness about maintaining health and safety at festivals and events. It was fun to put together.

17. Discovering the Art of LifeBeats

If you’ve ever wanted to rave underwater, among the Egyptian pyramids, or in outer space, now you can. Meet the guy that takes epic EDC shots to a whole new level.

18. The funkHOUSE with Z-Trip

Turntablist Z-Trip is all about delivering sonic curveballs to keep fans on their toes and give them those “hell yeah” moments. He did all that and more at the funkHOUSE.

19. Watching the Parade

If you’ve never had the chance to see the parade, do yourself a favor and make it a point to catch it in 2016. We’re not going to lie: Watching the procession make its way down Rainbow Road gave us the same feeling of amazement and excitement we used to get as a kid watching parades as Disneyland. After all, EDC is the happiest place on earth.

20. The Dancing

Sure, we get our dance on all year long, but there’s something extra special about the way people let go and shake their shit at EDC, with no apparent concern about how they look or who’s watching.

21. The Mainstage Waterfalls

The waterfalls at kineticFIELD were simply epic, like something out of Legends of the Hidden Temple. This game-changing new element brought the festival’s biggest stage to new heights.

22. Interviewing Armin van Buuren in His Trailer

So yes, Armin van Buuren is a busy man—especially on this particular night, having just arrived at EDC Las Vegas via helicopter. His trailer was packed with people, but we crammed in and fired off a few questions right before he took the stage.

23. Meeting the Caregivers of EDC

Moving among the crowds and operating behind the scenes are artists of a different sort—ones skilled in an alternate field of expertise. They are the caregivers of EDC. From doctors and nurses to EMTs and law enforcement officials, dozens of health and safety personnel work together to create harmony among guests and staff, and their responsibilities are orchestrated in part by two extremely capable human beings. We got to chat up the both of them.

24. Donating $105,000 Via Our Charitable Giving Initiative

Love, togetherness and, above all else, community. Since 400,000 of you came out over the three-day weekend, we here at Insomniac were able to donate $105,000 via our Charitable Giving Initiative to help out local charity organizations in the Las Vegas area. This was because of you—don’t forget it! We won’t.

25. All the Awesome Headliners We Got to Meet

One of our favorites things about each and every EDC show night is hearing the official voices over our radios stating, “All staff, the gates of EDC Las Vegas 2015 are now open.” For us, that means it’s time to watch thousands of you Headliners stream down the steps of the Speedway, screaming, dancing, smiling, crying tears of joy, and wearing a truly stunning array of festival wear. Plus, we get to meet a bunch of you, like these Headliners right here:

April and Richard

“Last year literally changed our lives; everyone here is so loving, happy and peaceful, and no fights ever happen. As soon as EDC let out last year, we started making our plans. We drove 10 hours to get here and have been preparing for 12 months. We came out this year with 16 friends, but we all came in our own cars and got our own hotel rooms. We’re going to meet up later and dance it off.”

Chris

“I could not sleep for the past week, and I stayed up making kandi the night before. It was just the excitement, the thrill of coming to EDC, uniting with people from all over the world, from every aspect of life. I’ve never seen something this big and this amazing before. Everybody’s beautiful here.”

Luka and Marikka

“I would describe EDC as a world where there’s no judgment. You can come in peace, and you just realize that you don’t need to be stressing the different things of the world. The world that you create is your own reality.”

Dana

“I come by myself, but I’m not alone. I never feel like there’s anything but love everywhere around me.”

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