Festival Guide Pt. 2 - Insomniac Festivals

For my second festival guide, I’m going to talk about the various Insomniac festivals! In case you didn’t know, Insomniac is arguably the biggest event promoter in the electronic music industry. Under its umbrella, Insomniac also includes multiple genre-focused divisions like Bassrush (bass music), Basscon (hard dance), Dreamstate (trance), Audiotistic, and Factory 93, to only name a few. These festivals take place domestically and internationally. Separately, Insomniac also owns a growing-variety of clubs, including Exchange LA, Time Nightclub, Academy LA, Nova SD, among others.

The biggest, best-known Insomniac festivals are probably EDC and HARD Summer.

EDC

EDC, or the Electric Daisy Carnival, is one of the biggest dance music festivals worldwide. It takes place annually at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and brings carnival themes and attractions to a stage production that perfectly combines nature and technology. The festival grounds are covered with everything from mobile sound systems, carnival rides, crazy 3D “LED-infused flora and fauna” art structures, and character performers hanging around all night.

EDC Las Vegas is the largest dance music festival in North America, but there are also other EDC events annually, taking place in Orlando and Mexico City. This year’s EDC Orlando took place just this past weekend!

HARD Summer

HARD Summer is another wildly popular Insomniac festival. Now taking place at the NOS Event Center, HARD Summer has been a California staple since it started in 2007. While a “rave” in essence, HARD Summer stacks its lineup with a combination of both electronic and hip-hop music, and has played host to names as big as Snoop Dogg, Skrillex, Ice Cube, Major Lazer and more.

HARD is also its own subdivision, and includes a unique event called Holy Ship! Wrecked, a 4-day all-inclusive resort party taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Holy Ship! features 4 nights of music, beach/pool parties, theme nights, unlimited food and drinks, and even a full waterpark! This festival happens annually in December, making it a sunny, winter getaway.

NOS Event Center

Insomniac’s festivals also popularly take place in San Bernardino at the NOS Event Center. Some of the festivals that take place here annually include Beyond Wonderland, HARD Summer, Escape Halloween, Countdown NYE, and Dreamstate. These festivals are all mostly two-day events (with HARD Summer having just hosted its first three-day lineup this year!)

Beyond Wonderland takes the psychedelic world of Alice in Wonderland and turns it into a surreal two-day festival. This event is fully to theme, including stages like the Queen’s Domain and Mad Hatter’s Castle, interactive and otherworldly art, and an eccentric collection of character performers throughout the grounds.

Escape Halloween is a Halloween-themed festival (obviously). Think Knott’s Scary Farm/ Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but make it a rave. Escape has four stages, The Grimm, the Feeding Grounds, the Sanitarium, and the Sewer District. These stages are hosted by some of Insomniac’s divisions like Bassrush, Audiotistic, Basscon, Factory 93, and Night Trip.​

Countdown is an annual New Year’s Eve alien invasion. Expect to see signs of extraterrestrial life and intergalactic beings roaming the festival grounds. This year’s event is the Rize of the Ravebotz! Any and all online communications regarding this event are coming directly from the aliens themselves (or why else would their font be so funky?!)

The last two Insomniac festivals to note are Nocturnal Wonderland and Electric Forest.

​Nocturnal Wonderland is the oldest Insomniac festival, holding its inaugural edition in 1995, and is the longest-running electronic music festival in the United States. It is a two-day camping event held annually in September at the Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino. This is one of the only Insomniac festivals with no VIP tier, meaning everyone is invited to share an equal experience of oneness.

Electric Forest is another “one with nature” festival that takes place annually in Rothbury, Michigan. The heart of this festival is the Sherwood Forest, where fans spend their days hammocking between the trees and their nights in an electric wonderland. The Sherwood Forest has been described as “the most well produced and artistically inspires areas ever seen at a music festival”. Electric Forest also features a unique program called “Plug In”, an “open source” fan engagement platform which offers creative opportunities through things like contests and artistic projects.

While there are many more festivals promoted by Insomniac, these are the biggest and most notable of the bunch. Beyond festivals, Insomniac also hosts many one-off events, such as concerts or club shows. Check out their website to see what events are taking place year-round and beyond their festivals.