Awesome People We Met on Day 1 of EDC Orlando

The sun, the fun, the lake, the grass, the zip line, the art, and of course, all the beautiful Headliners—we’re so looking forward to experiencing it all again today. Much wow. Orlando, you all know what’s up. Here are some of the standout Headliners we chatted up as we cruised around Tinker Field on day one.

Name: Mia
Age: 29
Hometown: Missouri, but I live here in Orlando.
Number of EDCs: Four
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? I wish they knew that Orlando is a great town to come to. We have a lot of PLUR here. We have a lot of love to give.
What does your outfit say about you? I worked on it all summer. I used over 2,000 LEGOs to build my costume. It’s just a party; this is my image. It’s just to have fun.
What are you most excited about this weekend? Bassnectar, because I’ve never seen him!

Name: Sade
Age: 25
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Number of EDCs: Two
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That it’s a big community and a loving environment that is just about being yourself and no judgment.
What does your outfit say about you? I’m a PLUR fairy. I’m here to spread the love between everybody.
What are you most excited about this weekend? I’m most excited about Calvin Harris. I love Calvin Harris!

Name: Nathaniel
Age: 19
From: Orlando, FL; originally from Chicago
Number of EDCs: Two
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? It’s a great place to meet really cool people. Everybody here is chill, the environment is awesome—this is like the rave of raves, ya know.
What does your outfit say about you? Well, I love Star Wars. If I’m being honest, half of it is that I saw this costume in a store, and I was like, “Oh, ok, well I know what I’m going to be this year.” So I bought it, and here I am—a Stormtrooper for EDC. My favorite Star Wars episode is probably number two, mostly for the ending; I love the whole clones vs. droids thing.
What are you most excited about this weekend? Calvin Harris, Kaskade, Seven Lions, Excision and Flux Pavilion. I’ve seen Seven Lions and Excision before, but I haven’t seen the other guys live yet.

Name: Luis
Age: 21
From: Orlando, FL
Number of EDCs: One
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That this is a no-judgment zone. Everyone can just be themselves—whoever that is.
What does your outfit say about you? I like to be wild.
What are you most excited about this weekend? I basically came to see Calvin Harris.

Name: Victoria
Age: 28
Hometown: Atlanta, GA, but I live in Orlando.
Number of EDCs: One
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? I don’t think I expected it to be this colorful or to have so many different things all around. It’s cool that you’re not stuck in one place, that you can walk around. There are so many different stages and so much different music to listen to.
What does your outfit say about you? Freedom of expression. I just came to have a good time and be who I am, and this outfit is just rocking out.
What are you most excited about this weekend? I found out I was pregnant this weekend, so I’m most excited about that!

Name: Matthew
Age: 23
Hometown: From Virginia, currently living in Denver, CO
Number of EDCs: Two (My first EDC was in Vegas this year)
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That Insomniac is the best music production company. Insomniac brings a great group of people together, the nicest, where you can dress how you want and express yourself freely. I have met so many amazing people from all over the world at Insomniac events. It makes me want to go to every Insomniac event my bank account can afford.
What does your outfit say about you? I’m kinky, and I love leather—kinky rave attire.
What are you most excited about this weekend? Seven Lions. When I saw them in Vegas for the first time, they blew my mind, and I can’t wait to see them again.

Name: Elise
Age: 29
From: All over Florida, really, but I just came from Tampa.
Number of EDCs: One
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That it’s so not intimidating, and how fun and nice everyone is. I have not run into one asshole at this show—everyone has been beyond nice. And that it’s not all about drugs. I’m not on drugs; I’m not really even drinking. Well, I’ve had one drink today, but lots of water. I’m having the best time ever!
What does your outfit say about you? I was trying to go for Cheshire Cat–meets–Hello Kitty. They’re two of my favorite things in this world; I’m a big cat person. So I just had fun with it, and I think it worked out.
What are you most excited about this weekend? Probably Bassnectar. I love bass music; it makes me feel good. I’ve never seen him before. I’ve never seen any DJ live before. I’m brand-new to this.

Name: Ramu
Age: 24
From: Originally Kentucky, currently living in Gainesville, FL
Number of EDCs: One. This is my first rave ever!
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? The energy here is so high—through the roof. Everywhere I look, people are smiling and have just been so nice.
What does your outfit say about you? That I’m a free spirit, I wear what I want, and I always have a good time.
What are you most excited about this weekend? I’ll probably have to go with Bro Safari and LOUDPVCK.

Name: Matthew
Age: 22
From: Bronx, NY, currently living in Orlando, FL
Number of EDCs: One (but I already purchased my ticket to Vegas next year)
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That it’s such a loving environment, and that PLUR really does exist. Yes, there are some bad apples in the group, but the majority of the people are about peace, love and respect.
What does your outfit say about you? I’m wearing Andrew Christian; I’m a very provocative person. I just like to push the envelope, so to speak.
What are you most excited about this weekend? I’m hoping DJ Snake still plays tonight. I heard he had a little accident. Also, Tiësto—he’s my man right now.

Name: Cesar
Age: 26
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Number of EDCs: Nine
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That it’s about PLUR, to not forget about that. I feel that PLUR has died; more PLUR energy.
What does your outfit say about you? Every year, my friends tell me to wear fluffies and wings, and I never do. I usually wear little booty shorts, but today I said, “I’m gonna go for it all the way.”
What are you most excited about this weekend? To connect with people and dance and wear crazy stuff, and everyone just have a great time.

Name: Jimmy, Jean, Lindsey
Age: Jimmy (31), Jean (25), Lindsey (26)
Hometown: Jimmy (Chicago), Jean (Kentucky), Lindsey (Indiana)
Number of EDCs: Jimmy (2), Jean (3), Lindsey (2)
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC?
Jimmy: I wish everybody knew that outside the glowsticks and the kandi, it’s really a lot of love and a lot of family representation between everybody. We’re all here for the same thing: for good vibes, for good times, and music. This is what we’re here for. We’re about this scene; it’s a culture.
Jean: I wish everybody just knew about this Peace Love Unity and Respect. You come in here, and it’s not about getting crazy. It’s about loving each other and supporting that unity and respect.
Lindsey: I just want to let people know that the staff gets involved. These girls right here, they’re just so into it, and they get everybody involved in the love and everything, the feels.
What does your outfit say about you?
Jimmy: We wanted to go Egyptian this year. Lots of people will go in all kinds of stuff, and a lot of people tend to do the same things over and over and over. This is one you don’t really see all the time, so we wanted to step it up and go a little bit overboard with it and make it look good.
What are you most excited about this weekend?
Jimmy: I’m excited to see Kidnap Kid tomorrow, and the house all day long, especially closing out with Get Real.
Jean: Same, I’m pumped for all the house music tomorrow. Get Real tomorrow night is gonna throw down.
Lindsey: I’m excited for Excision tonight. That’s gonna be intense. I also love house and trance, too, so that’ll be fun tomorrow; but tonight is definitely gonna be some dubstep.

Name: Bryan and Weezy
Age: Bryan (No comment), Weezy (50)
Hometown: NY
Number of EDCs: Four
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC?
Weezy: The people are so nice. When you come, you don’t know anybody, but you make a lot of friends afterward. It’s really cool.
Bryan: People are very friendly. If you go to any other festival, people just want to keep to themselves. Over here, people are more inviting and more interactive. It’s really nice.
What does your outfit say about you?
Bryan: That I’m crazy. You gotta be crazy to wear this.
Weezy: Just expressionism. Try something fun, something not everybody else does, just so everybody comes together to have a good time.
What are you most excited about this weekend?
Bryan: Seeing the DJs, have a good time and let loose.
Weezy: Meeting old friends I haven’t seen in different cities. They come together; it’s one of the great excuses to come here.

Name: Loren
Age: 21
From: Orlando, FL, originally from Destin, FL
Number of EDCs: Five
What do you wish everyone knew about EDC? That everyone here is like family. I’ve never had a bad experience at an Insomniac event—the environment is so loving. It’s always a great time.
What does your outfit say about you? That I’m fun and spunky.
What are you most excited about this weekend? Just being with my friends, hanging out and having a good time.

All photos by Skyler Greene.