My Favorite EDC: Orlando

There’s no denying EDC Vegas is the biggest, most bad, most monolithic dance music festival in the United States of America. Anyone who has attended knows it’s the kind of festival that changes you.

I’ve been there. I’ve done that. It was incredibly epic, and yet I’m about to say something that might sound insane, implausible, and inconceivable to you Vegas fanatics. Honestly, of all the EDCs in this great, wide rave world, I have to admit: EDC Orlando is my fave.

I can already hear your rampant protestations. “But Kat,” you cry, “It hardly compares in size and scope to the big daddy original. It’s got, like, one Ferris wheel, compared to five. It’s a regular day thing, and Vegas goes all night long. It’s so unique, it can’t be compared to anything else ever until the end of time!”

Calm down, dude. You don’t know what it’s like to live your whole life in Florida —unless, of course, you do, and then you understand when I say we’re always the bridesmaid, never the bride. We live in paradise, but it’s our curse to travel hours to get anywhere. I live in Miami, and that means at least eight hours of driving if I want to get to Georgia. In that regard, a festival in my own backyard is a really exciting venture.

EDC Orlando also benefits from Florida’s near-perfect weather. I went to my first EDC Vegas this year, and I have to say I was completely blown away. The production level is absolutely unparalleled. The art installations from Burning Man are a huge plus. But man, Vegas feels like standing in the middle of an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I was stifled. And standing hungover in the morning sun waiting to smush yourself in a sweat box for the hour drive back to your hotel? No thanks. In Orlando, it may be humid, but it’s nothing a comfortable festie outfit can’t fix.

Real Floridians know the Sunshine State often rains, and when I attended the inaugural EDC Orlando in 2011, a few sets were canceled and rescheduled due to a sudden downpour. In a strange way, however, that only made the experience more magical. People huddled under coverings and spent the time making friends. When the sun returned some 40 minutes later, we’d all grown closer having experienced a true Floridian moment together, and the music sounded sweeter for it.

It’s crazy to think back to those humble beginnings. EDC Orlando has grown so much through the years. In 2014, the crew brought the massive kineticCATHEDRAL stage, complete with giant stained-glass windows and more pyrotechnics than Orlando has seen outside the Magic Kingdom. This year, the Crystal Village will make its Orlando debut, wide-eyed giant owl and all. It will be quite the spectacle, and, of course, there will be tons of performers and carnival rides.

Orlando also brings a Florida-friendly lineup, which is to say it’s all about that bass. We invented Miami bass. We gave the world Florida breaks. And when drum & bass was king, we were the hardest-hitting corner in the nation. Maybe that’s why everyone from Andy C to Carnage, Alison Wonderland, Snails, Flux Pavilion, Excision, and Amine Edge & Dance are gracing the fest’s three stages. Don’t worry, house and trance fans, there will be plenty of pretty moments for you to enjoy, but those of us who like our beats fast and our register low are in for a real treat.

Maybe I’m biased, but it just seems EDC Orlando is the EDC for me. Don’t take my word for it. Come on out here and enjoy it for yourself. We do things a little differently in Florida—we rage a little harder, dance a little sexier—and we certainly know how to make it a night you’ll never forget. Add EDC to the equation, and it’s obvious this is as good as it gets.