Review: Why festivals like EDC Orlando still matter – Creative Loafing Tampa

For the last time this year, Creative Loafing hit the road for yet another music festival.
Tying the bow on our 2017 festival season, we headed down I-4 for a chance to cover EDC Orlando and its unceasing bill of talent booked for this year’s two-day run.
After playing witness to the electric atmosphere and festivities at Orlando’s Tinker Field on Friday and Saturday, it got us to reflect on the overall impact of festivals like these.
Historically, the generally perception of these events have not been overwhelmingly positive, a fact that most Tampa natives can attest to. Acting as the home of electronic music’s Sunset Music Festival, we’re all too familiar with the negative connotations that festivals of this nature hold.
Two years ago public perception of music festivals in our area hit rock bottom when two deaths, 57 hospitalizations, and over 30 drug-related arrests seemed to validate the beliefs of many that festivals are known to “attract drugs.”
While SMF took major strides this year in order to bolster its reputation and improve public safety, these opinions still remain amongst those who view festivals as just another way for kids to get f***** up. After a year of traveling throughout the state as well as parts of Georgia and Alabama to cover a total of nine different festivals, it seemed necessary to make an attempt to dispel that notion and help pass along an opinion — music festivals aren’t as bad as they seem.
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In fact, they aren’t bad at all.
This past weekend at EDC Orlando provided yet another glimpse of just why that is.
For those who have yet to attend Orlando’s version of Electric Daisy Carnival, the globally renowned event has been hosted in the lot neighboring Camping World Stadium since 2011. Known for its over-the-top production and star-studded electronic lineups, it has assisted in boosting the EDC brand to become one of the largest music festivals of its kind across the globe.


The seventh edition of EDCO promised to make good on this reputation with an expanded festival blueprint, redesigned stages, new eye-popping art and light installations set up in abundance throughout the festival grounds.
A record 80,000 fans were treated to three intricately-designed main stages as well as a bevvy of LED-tattered carnival rides like the Dream Wheel (a giant, light adorned ferris wheel) and Skyhawks Swing.
Driving over the overpass of I-4 that overlooks Tinker Field, it was easy to see why this festival has garnered the reputation of illuminating an electric sky, as the luminous glow was visible throughout downtown Orlando.
While gates opened at 1 p.m., festivities truly kicked off around four o’clock on Friday with Party Favor and Rezz livening up kineticFIELD while Bleep Bloop and Dirty Audio played the noticeably louder circuitGROUNDS stage.


Christened the “bass stage” for its roaring sound system, the circuitGROUNDS stage was home to some of the more heavy and hard style acts of the weekend. Friday night was headlined by Zomboy and Excision, who played back to back on the festival's opening night. Second day acts were no slouches either, with Joyryde and Slander both churning out equally exhilarating performances. Kaskade, whose preference for trance and ambient electronic music might have warranted a spot at kineticFIELD, treated fans to a sunset performance Saturday evening.
The kineticFIELD main stage was also home to many noteworthy moments over the weekend. Whereas the circuitGROUNDS stage featured heavier bass and LED-visuals, kineticFIELD compensated with its massive and intricate stage design. Overlooking the bulk of the crowd was a towering statue of Gaia, the Greek Goddess of Mother Earth. With her arms spread 240 feet wide, she welcomed all to enjoy its unparalleled stage production. Over 400 lights accompanied dozens of lasers, flame cannons, water fountains, and stage performers to produce some of the most jaw-dropping visuals seen on the festival circuit.
The stage was graced by many well-known acts over the weekend. Friday night was closed out with performances from Seven Lions and Marshmello, with the former whipping out one of his heavier sets in recent memory while the helmet-wearing leader of the Mello Gang stuck with his more poppy, casual fan pleasing style.
Sandwiched between the two was the global debut of the Diplo B2B (back-to-back) A-Trak set.
Their set coincidently happened to fall on Diplo’s birthday. As one of the more high-profile stars in the electronic industry, his set drew one of the largest crowds of the weekend, who warmly sang “Happy Birthday” to the 39-year old mid-set.
Backstage, Suzanne Tag of Orlando, FL even got the chance to wish the DJ a happy birthday in person. Right before he was set to go on stage, she caught up with Diplo to give him a birthday card made by her art class.
The two even posed for a picture before he climbed on stage.It was backstage we also got to see some of the artists interacting. (see their photo in the photo gallery below.)
Right before he was set to perform Saturday night at the main stage, we got to meet Nghtmre. With him was Tampa native D3V, whom we highlighted in our EDC preview last week. It was a good look for our local DJ, who would later be spotted on stage with the LA-based producer at his after party hosted by Gilt nightclub alongside some of the most popular electronic acts out there today including Snails, Jauz, A-Trak, and Slander, among others.


Beyond the pulsating bass and hypnotic beats, however, festivals such as EDC Orlando provide an opportunity for the average fan to experience so much more than virtually unsupervised partying set to lights and a dynamic array of music.
Weekends such as these provide people the opportunity to escape the confines of our lives. If only for a few days, people can get away from the tediousness of work, school, and family responsibilities that bog down our everyday. 
Throughout the weekend, messages of love and community were preached throughout the crowd and by the DJs themselves.
California’s Getter, who recently was scrutinized for a Halloween joke gone wrong, was one of many who helped further the call for positivity and unity. “Love each other and take care of each other,” he yelled before conceding the stage to one of the weekend’s many headliners, Zedd.
Shortly after Zedd took the circuitGROUNDS stage, I was asked to move by a man in a wheelchair making his way through the crowd by himself. As he passed me, the woman standing next to me crouched down to face him. They locked hands and engaged in the PLUR kandi handshake. For my non-ravers, the PLUR acronym is derived from Peace, Love, Unity and Respect, and is one of the many positive movements that drive these festivals.
Partners in the handshake make a peace sign, a heart, flatten their palms against one another, and then lock hands. The lady then slung some of her kandi — colorfully beaded bracelets rampantly worn at raves — onto the man’s wrist. The two then emotionally embraced for some time, exchanging a few words before the man continued his way through the sea of people.
Another uplifting movement from this year’s festival was the various charities and philanthropies that were on site. EDC Orlando, like many other festivals, hosts a variety of charities and funds that you could donate to throughout the weekend. To Write Love On Her Arms, a charity that provides support for those suffering from crippling depression and anxiety, gave fans a chance to exchange encouraging notes and inspirational quotes with one another while Project #OpenTalk was on site providing attendees with substance abuse counseling and education.
But demonstrations like these are par for the course for music festivals like EDC Orlando. Festivals cultivate community among those in attendance and are bent on bringing people together not just for good music, but culturing positive vibes and good times. While public perception of drugs and partying will persist amongst those who judge from home, those in attendance know better.
The moments mentioned above, however, do very little justice to describe the sense of community that is bred at these shows. This past weekend I witnessed countless amounts of strangers embracing, high fiving, passing out water to those in need and sharing stories about each other’s lives —genuinely taking interest in one another whereas they would never think to while passing each other on the street.

That's one of the reasons the festival industry, despite declining physical musical sales, are seeing such a boom. As one study shows, people are beginning to understand the value and uniqueness of these shared experiences, with 72% of millennials  opting for experiences like these over physical purchases (finally us millennials are doing something right.)
In a world where nearly every breaking news update is a tragedy and our president tweets disses to foreign leaders like a middle schooler, it’s refreshing to get away from the noise — and that’s just why people do it.
EDC Orlando, like festivals all around the globe, provide a forum for people to let go, have some fun and express themselves with the masses unlike anywhere else.
People all of ages, races, and backgrounds partake in the festivities. Whether it’s covering your body in paint and glitter, dressing up in costume or just having the freedom to dance to your own beat, it’s refreshing to see people expressing themselves in an environment that is free of judgment and criticism.

Music festivals are one of the last great opportunities in this world for people to experience the awe and wonder that you experienced as a child; and it’s the opinion of this author that everyone should get the opportunity to reconnect with this adolescent urge to explore and discover.

 
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