With 400,000 attendees over three evenings making it the largest EDM festival in North America, the sheer size and magnitude of Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas (EDC LV) is truly put into perspective by the sheer magnitude, size, and production value of each individual stage. This past year, all eight main stages were bigger and more stunning than any of the other past years at EDC LV. So as we remember the lights, the art installations, the pure joy that everyone felt, let’s give a fist pump to all of the engineers and technicians who put their time and effort into these amazing works of art. These are, the stages of EDC LV 2014.

kineticFIELD

The largest stage of any Insomniac production, ever. Nicknamed by Headliners as “the temple of happiness” and “The Cathedral of EDM,” at 440 feet wide, 80 feet tall, with 1,000 lighting fixtures, 30 lasers, and requiring 2.5 million watts of power, this is kineticFIELD. Kaskade, Tiesto, Alesso, Gareth Emery, Mat Zo, Above & Beyond, and other edm juggernauts graced this gigantic space. Words cannot possibly describe how all encompassing this house of the gods made you feel. Free, alive, and at peace: kineticFIELD was much more than just a stage. 

cosmicMEADOW

Laying in a field of grass, resting in the endless rows of grandstands, or getting an epic vertical on the paved track itself. No matter where you were, with five megatron visual panels, countless small ones,  and enough light fixtures to see from space, cosmicMEADOW always proves to be the most flexible stage at EDC. Whether you need a break, wanna gaze at the stars, or get down with the bassheads. Whether you are running from the shuttle to get inside, or heading back to your hotel to get ready for the next day’s pool party, cosmicMEADOW is the first and last thing that you see as you enter the speedway, and that’s exactly how it should be.

circuitGROUNDS

This year was the year for Insomniac to not only break it’s own record, but why not a world record as well? As if circuitGROUNDS in 2013 wasn’t large enough, this year it was almost doubled in length to 400 feet breaking the record to be the largest clear-span structure in the world. Flat out amazing. With over 10,500 square feet of video panels that moved from the domed ceiling to within 10 feet of the crowd throughout every set, along with 750 lighting fixtures, that included some of the most breathtaking laser shows anyone has ever seen, jaw-dropping is a good way to describe it.

neonGARDEN

With the influx of deep house at the neonGarden coming from the expected, such as Kaskade, and the unexpected, like Zeds Dead, attendees were blessed with a slew of amazing artists that included Claude VonStroke, Dubfire, Adam Beyer, Green Velvet, UMEK, Dusky, Maya Jane Coles, and John Digweed just to name a few. So much quality. neonGARDEN is always known for a more underground flavor and vibe, and this year was nothing less. Dawning a square rectangular pavilion, larger visuals and improved audio compared to last year, Headliners were focused on the music and vibes, with visuals and lights coming secondary when processing music that draws you in like no other does.

bassPOD

A pyramid of light. A ring of fire. More fire. So much fire. If you didn’t have any singed hair, then you weren’t there. Situated in the furthest corner of the speedway, this bassPOD was in a world of its own. Camo & Kooked, Crizzly, Datsik, Destroid, 12th Planet, and Pegboard Nerds in a row. And that was just the second half of the first night. In a field of dirt and gravel, people lost them selves as though it was 2540BC and it was the Great Pyramid of Khufu itself.

bassCON

It was an all fresh look this year for the traditionally “hardstyle stage” as it is dubbed every year. Completely changed from the past year’s design of a giant with a gas mask on, this year bassCON took on a huge ghastly cyclops. Having the DJ booth inside of the mouth, DJs such as Andrew Rayel, Astral Project, Orjan Nilsen, Headhunterz, Darren Styles, and many more, this year the stage shared all genres alike. With 26 graffiti-covered steel containers, crushed automobiles, and plumes of fire going everywhere, it didn’t matter if the world was ending or not, because it was a beautiful ending.

stage7

Along with 7UP and Insomniac partnering to offer the first EDC Curated, 7UP also had their own sponsored stage situated next door to kineticFIELD titled, appropriately titled, stage7. With a mix of trap from gLAdiator and LOUDPVCK, some nu disco from Le Youth, or going deep with Bixel Boys, stage7 showcased some amazing up-and-coming and breakthrough artists. With an elaborate matrix of steel pipes radiating green and a disco ball in tow overhead, this stage supplied a lot of unique visuals and a social environment to have an intimate encounter with each artist.

discoveryPROJECT

For up and coming artists, the Discovery Project is the way to get exposure. Every year, 15 artists are chosen to play at the discoveryPROJECT stage after submitting their work. You can check out all of the winners for this year here. This year’s stage was donned with a large white canopy stretched in all directions that allowed for all of the lasers, lights, and visuals from behind the artists to shine bright as though a tent rave. Not to mention that surrounding the tent rave was some amazing grub, one could live in this realm for all three days and find all of the artists that you’ll be hearing about in no time!

Insomniac year after year has pushed the limits of stages, art displays, and performances not with just EDC in multiple locations around the world, but also with Electric Forest, Beyond Wonderland, and many more. As new festivals continue to grow and grow, have faith that Insomniac will continue to innovate and keep the PLUR alive.

See you all next year at the speedway.

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