Insomniac’s Wonderland Festivals Move To Vegas

In a surprising series of posts on Instagram, Insomniac Events CEO Pasquale Rotella has announced the Beyond, Nocturnal, and Escape From Wonderland festivals will move to Las Vegas in 2014. The events previously took place at the San Manuel Amphitheater, a venue which Pasquale believes now presents too many logistical issues for the growing festivals.

Insomniac has yet to lock down the venues for the festivals. Pasquale also announced San Manuel will now host smaller, camping-centric festivals which should evade many of the logistical problems found in the Wonderland events. A South California native, Rotella clearly wishes to uphold the now massive rave culture in the area, one which he helped foster and grow.

Pasquale also teased an announcement from HARD Summer. HARD Summer’s facebook teased an announcement for 10 AM PST, so keep your eyes peeled.

Pasquale’s statement below:

Being transparent with you, the headliners, is very important to me. You have all been asking about Beyond SoCal. Thx to those of you who have been patient and expressed so much interest in whether it’s happening. Here are your answers. San Manuel is a beautiful location, but it’s clear that it cannot handle our larger Insomniac festivals right now, including Beyond. We always want to deliver a high quality experience, even after the music ends, and while we tried our best to accommodate the large crowds and handle the traffic issues, it’s just not working yet. Instead, I’m excited to announce that we are creating new, smaller all-campout events specifically tailored for San Manuel, which will mean better traffic and less logistical issues. We’re always looking for new venues and we are actively negotiating new homes for Beyond, Nocturnal and Escape. As soon as we secure the perfect locations, we will announce the event dates. I hoped that I would not have to write this – and part of the reason I have waited to answer your questions – was because we have identified possible locations. I want to experience this event with you as much as you all want to be a part of it, but until we have the right venue, we are not going to have Beyond Wonderland in SoCal.

There’s also been chatter about Beyond SoCal moving to Las Vegas. For me, a festival held in another state is not a substitute for our SoCal events. I started in SoCal, and shows like Nocturnal and EDC have deep roots here. Southern California dance culture has been vibrant for more than two decades, and it’s an important place for us to be because it’s Insomniac’s home and home to so many of you. We have an amazing new venue to announce in Las Vegas (EDC is staying at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway), but anything that takes place in this new venue will be in addition to—not in place of—anything that happens in SoCal. We are going to launch a Beyond and a Nocturnal Wonderland in Vegas. Of course we hope you can join us at all our shows, and as always, we’ll continue to bring magical and memorable experiences to each and every venue! We have an exciting announcement about our brother festival, Hard Summer, tomorrow so stay tuned.

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