Rave Romances: How Headliners Found Love on the Dancefloor

Who can forget the second letter of PLUR? Not these Headliners. From chance encounters on the dancefloor to breakups that turned into makeups, these Headliners prove that the couple that raves together stays together.

Michael
Beyond Wonderland 2012

Ashley’s and my story almost ended in 2011 when we decided it was best to separate and raise our two-year-old son apart. It was without a doubt one of the hardest times in our lives to date. We weren’t happy, and with a two-year-old, we didn’t have an escape to have fun and let our hair down.

I had never listened to house music or even seen what a rave looked like, but nevertheless, I decided to go with my friends to EDC Las Vegas 2012. When I walked through those gates and down the bleachers for the first time, a weight felt like it was lifted off my shoulders. It was fear, it was hatred, it was hurt, and it was everything I had been holding onto. I immediately felt free and felt love all around me. I knew if I could get Ashley to just one rave, that we could bring our family back together.

That’s why when Beyond Wonderland Bay Area 2012 came, I convinced her to attend with me. What EDC Las Vegas did for me, Beyond Wonderland did for Ashley. We eat, sleep and breathe EDM as a family and got engaged at EDC Las Vegas 2014 this past year during Afrojack’s set. It was perfect!

EDM and Insomniac events gave us the escape we needed and the fire to live everyday with purpose. We will forever be grateful for what Insomniac events have done: giving me my life back and allowing us to continue our story.

Marvin
EDC Las Vegas 2014

We met on the final night of EDC Las Vegas 2014 during Calvin Harris’ set at circuitGROUNDS. She was on this podium dancing, while I was on the side of a fence not too far away. The moment we locked eyes, she reached out to me and helped me get onto the podium. She gave me one of her kandi bracelets, and we danced together afterward. Since she was from Orange County and I was from Las Vegas, I didn’t think anything would progress further. By the end of the set, I end up losing my friends, who had my phone, keys and wallet. She insisted that I join her and her friends for the time being. Using her phone, we found out that my friends left the venue and were in the parking lot. She came with me to find my friends, and we ended up walking almost a mile from the main entrance. We left EDC together and hung out for the remainder of what was left of the night.

We continued to talk after parting ways, and next thing you know, I found myself in Orange County, spending the Fourth of July with her. Despite the distance between us, we managed to spend almost every weekend together from then on, and eventually fell in love.

To this day, we commemorate the serendipity we felt that night and continue to by attending events such as Escape: All Hallows’ Eve and Countdown NYE. Up next, we will be attending Crush SoCal for Valentine’s Day to continue celebrating our love.

Christina
EDC Las Vegas 2014

My friend and I decided to meet up at EDC Las Vegas 2014 to trade the kandi we had made each other. We had only met each other once before, and due to miscommunication and terrible phone service, it was near impossible to meet up. During the last day of the festival at 2:30 am, however, we finally managed to meet up.

I became overwhelmed with excitement as the last set of fireworks went off. As we danced together at kineticFIELD, we decided to trade our cuffs. When I saw the cuff he made me, I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak. It had blue and white pony beads with sun and moon perlers attached, and the words “sun and moon” in alpha-bead letters. I looked up, and his face looked so confused as to why I was completely shocked.

I then proceeded to give him the cuff that I made. When he saw what it was, he finally understood the same shock that I felt. The kandi cuff that I made had blue, orange and yellow pony beads with a sun and a moon button attached to it. Without even telling one another, we made the same cuffs for each other. This moment was when I really acknowledged how similar we were. We ended EDC with Dash Berlin’s closing sunrise set, and within the few hours we spent together, I knew that it was going to be the start of something special.

Josue
EDC Las Vegas 2014

I found my rave buddy, soul mate and forever partner last year. I was at a rave waiting for my friends to get through the two-hour-long line. While I was waiting, I laid out all my kandi on the grass to get everything organized. During that time, a tall, handsome and enthusiastic raver boy came up to me. He introduced himself and asked if I had any kandi cuffs to trade. I really only had one to trade, so I said, “sure!” I gave him the cuff, and he immediately smiled and asked me what the perler on the cuff was. I told him it was a coffee mug. Sure enough, he worked at Starbucks. Weird coincidence! He gave me my cuff and told me he had made it years ago and was waiting for the right moment to trade it.

But as quickly as we had met, we had to say goodbye without exchanging any contact information. However, Cupid had other plans in mind. I managed to find him on Instagram just a few days later, and we eventually planned to hang out at EDC Las Vegas, where we fell in love! Everything came together at that festival; it was perfect. We have been raving together ever since, and Dada Land, Nocturnal Wonderland, Escape: All Hallows’ Eve and Countdown all have provided the perfect soundtrack to our love story.

We have loved every minute together, getting nothing but love, acceptance and respect from every raver we meet, and knowing we met thanks to the beautiful raver world makes our relationship so much more special. 

Crystal
EDC Las Vegas 2014

My boyfriend and I met on Instagram. We followed each other, and one day he commented on one of my pictures, saying that we should meet up at EDC Las Vegas. I told him that I was down, but that it would be impossible to meet up because of how big the event and venue is. Despite this, we exchanged numbers and started talking and instantly knew we had a connection going on.

We found out that Dash Berlin had a show at the Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan the night before EDC Las Vegas and decided to meet there for the first time. The moment we saw each other, it was like we had known each other forever. The chemistry we had was undeniable, and we spent that whole night and all three days of EDC Las Vegas together.

After EDC Las Vegas, we knew it had to end and we had to go back home. But before we did that, he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said, “I would love to be”—even though he lives in San Jose, California, and I reside in San Bernardino, California (which are six hours away from each other).

We never doubted our relationship, because we knew what we are capable of. We visit each other quite often by taking each other to both NorCal and SoCal events. We spent New Year’s at OMFG NYE San Diego, which was beyond amazing, and the next time we will see each other will be February 14 for Crush SoCal. We have been together for more than six months now and going strong, all thanks to EDC Las Vegas and Insomniac Events!

Ashley
OMFG NYE 2014

I’m from Long Beach, California, and my partner Kyle is from Modesto, California; we met at OMFG NYE 2014 in the beautiful city of San Diego. Let’s just say I caught his attention while I was dancing away (read: twerking) to Diplo.

We originally met through Instagram. I was just looking for some last-minute tickets, when I stumbled across Kyle’s page. Besides the cute pictures of him and his dog that caught my attention, I didn’t really think anything of it.

So what do friendly rave people say to strangers? We say, “If you see me around, say hello and let’s rage” (at least I do). When I found Michael by the Budweiser stand at OMFG NYE, I grabbed his hand and took him to the dancefloor. It’s been an amazing journey ever since.

I sometimes ask myself: If I ever have kids with this man, how would I tell them about how we met? Then I realize it doesn’t matter. Our story shows that two souls can come together as one anywhere (even while twerking at a Diplo set). I never thought I was going to find love at a rave, but I did. Kyle is my partner, festie bestie and BFF, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.

Anny
Deadmau5 2010

I met Kaiden at a deadmau5 concert in 2010. We were both juniors in high school, and he was definitely too hot for me then (or at least he thought so until he saw me at another rave a few months later). As of June 5, 2013, I have been blessed enough to call him my husband. We found the loves of our lives somewhere unconventional, but doing something we both love. We celebrated our anniversary at Mysteryland together last year and are a prime example that the couple that raves together stays together!

Richard
POP the Dream 2014

I was excited to see my favorite DJ, Sander van Doorn, at POP the Dream 2014. The energy was ecstatic, and the music was breathtaking, and all I wanted to do was rage the night away and make it a memorable one.

During Andrew Rayel’s set, I noticed a really beautiful girl who seemed like she was having a blast. We eventually locked eyes, and I gave her a friendly smile. She replied with a gorgeous smile and motioned me over. I found out her name was Fion and asked her if she wanted to dance with me, to which she cheerfully replied, “Sure!” We danced and laughed until Sander van Doorn was about to come on. I was extremely excited, and what made it better was that Fion was a big fan of Sander van Doorn as well.

He played our favorites, like “Gold Skies,” “Nothing Inside” and even “Slap the Pitch!” We sang and laughed and grew closer to each other with every minute. When he finished his set, I was filled with burning energy. I looked at Fion, feeling truly at home with her. I conjured up the confidence and went in for a kiss. At first I thought to myself, “Oh no, she might not want this!”; but surprisingly, she embraced it.

We have continued to hang out and gotten to know each other a lot better ever since that night. We are currently dating and owe it all to that memorable night and Sander van Doorn! Hopefully, one day we can see him again, as he was the spark that began our entire relationship.

If you have a story you’d like to share, email [email protected]. Single? Try your luck finding love at a rave at our upcoming Crush events in SoCal, San Francisco and Arizona. For tickets and lineup information, head to the Crush website.

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