EDC UK Review
A festival stretching all the way across the Atlantic containing some of the biggest names in the EDM industry? When Licklist offered me the free press pass, I practically bit their arms off. After seeing their previous show stoppers in Vegas and Mexico, I was excited to say the least.
After parking, I followed the crowds to the ticketing stalls, full of signage and staff on hand to direct everyone. I soon picked up my wristband and was ready to experience all that was on offer. Although listening intently to the woman explaining how to get to the press tent, it didn’t seem to stick and I found myself exploring the entire site instead. Initially I heard Alison Wonderland playing and her enthusiasm on the main stage was infectious and soon attracted more people into the crowds to start dancing, making for a great choice of starting act. The stage itself was really well designed. It had a fire and water theme with a dragon on the right and a waterfall on the left. In the middle, above the acts was the signature owl that the festival is famous for. An hour later of exploring the kinetic field and the surrounding food stalls, I found my way to the press tent where I met who I needed to meet, acquired myself a timetable and headed back out to enjoy the festival.
The Kinetic Field was a highlight, just because all the main acts were exceptional in involving the crowd, those around you were all friendly and even though the occasional mosh pit occurred, if anyone dropped something, everyone would stop and help look. There was this instant camaraderie among everyone that just appreciated each person was there just to have a good time. Despite the fear of missing out on leaving the main stage being greater than the curiosity of what might be on the other side I eventually ventured out of the masses and over to the other side to be pleasantly surprised by the spread of unique structures and a setup of three tents each with their own highly appealing tunes from Markus Schulz, Noisia and Galantis. I hung about in Schulz’s tent for a while before eventually happily wandering around the site some more and watching people fly above my heads as the assortment of high rise fair rides were scattered all over.
I headed back to the main stage for Axwell /\ Ingrosso, chilled out for a bit, ran to Duke Dumont in the Neon Garden and then back to the Kinetic Field in time for the last fifteen minutes of Avicii. As it was his last tour before he retires, it was obvious that he was the highlight of the closing ceremony, which was an extensive and impressive collaboration between lights, music and fireworks. All the best acts were on later, meaning you didn’t have to watch one act and walk around for hours waiting for the next one, take note fellow festivals, we like this!
The whole day was a non-stop adventure, always something to do or hear and felt like although you experience so much, there was still a lot that you could have also done. It wouldn’t have been a far-fetched idea if that decided to spread the event over two days instead of just one. But, still, I can safely say that EDC UK is already in my 2017 diary.
Wulfric Willis