Penning a letter to the many Insomniac fans last night, Insomniac head Pasquale Rotella dropped details on their 2016 and 2017 festival plans. Major items include no EDC Puerto Rico this year nor Beyond Wonderland – Bay Area. EDC Japan is delayed with a new date hopefully announced soon. At the same time, events such as Dreamstate are growing with more event locations to be announced soon. Musically, one major point was the note that set times will in general be longer to ‘help bring back the true art of DJing’. We can’t but help be happy for this last item – while having 100+ djs on the bill for a festival is a great selling point, 2-3 hour sets from a few less djs would be preferred. Read his full post below:
When I think about what we set out to accomplish every year—from new festivals and stages to new performers and design concepts—everything comes down to one single mission: How do we make memories that last a lifetime and create the best possible experience for our Headliners?
Last year, Nocturnal celebrated its 20th anniversary. This year EDC turns 20, and we plan to make each show a very special experience for you: new stages, new carnival rides, new art, and of course, all your favorite music. EDC Las Vegas is nearly sold out, and I couldn’t be more excited to join you all Under the Electric Sky. We’re also kicking things up a notch with our EDMbiz Conference & Expo, which is moving from the Cosmo to its new home at Caesars Palace and will now include two areas of programming with more guest speakers.
This might bum some of you out, but we won’t be doing EDC Puerto Rico or bringing Beyond Wonderland to the Bay Area this year. This has nothing to do with attendance; it’s always a packed house, and you all bring amazing energy! Right now, we’ve decided to focus on exploring new cities and enhancing the experience at some of our other festivals.
I also want to send a special thank-you to all the Headliners who’ve expressed their excitement and helped spread the word about EDC Japan. While we are fully committed to bringing the festival to Asia, we have decided to hold off on our July launch date. So many factors go into creating a successful festival, and we want to make sure you have the best possible experience for our first-ever EDC Japan. Stay tuned, as we hope to announce our plans soon.
Since they were created, Nocturnal, Beyond and Escape have all taken on lives of their own. This year, we’re unifying the music, art and performers so that our vision for each show is unique. We just came off an amazing, sold-out Beyond Wonderland, and the team has already started planning for Nocturnal in September, where we’ll have more camping options. And don’t worry, Bay Area: We’ve still got BOO!, Audio on the Bay, and We Are NRG planned for you, plus a few other announcements on the horizon.
Another goal this year is to help bring back the true art of DJing. Part of what’s so magical about dance music is the ability for a DJ to take listeners on a journey. We want to give DJs the opportunity to do that, so you’ll definitely be seeing longer set times this year. And it’s full speed ahead with Bassrush, Basscon and Crush, as well as Dreamstate, which is growing faster than we ever expected and will be coming to new cities in 2016. We’re also relaunching Insomniac Records, so stay tuned for lots of new music from all the amazing artists we’ll be working with. Last but certainly not least, I’m excited to announce that we’re working on new US festivals, some with camping, that will take place in 2017!
Thank you for supporting us for so many years, and for being so passionate about this culture we all share. I feel more energized than ever before. We’re even making big changes at Insomniac HQ—healthy snacks, new office murals, team-building events—all to make sure the Insomniacs are in the right mindset to deliver for you. As always, I value your opinions and feedback, and I can’t wait to see all of you at our shows.
https://www.insomniac.com/media/journey-ahead-message-pasquale-rotella
