Electric Daisy Carnival returned for its 13th year with phenomenal turnout

Details: Parent Category: Other Festivals; Category: Music; Published on Saturday, 05 September 2009 12:02; Written by fftraveler staff

Never underestimate the power and popularity of electronic dance music in America, or the reputation of a successful annual event. On Friday, June 26th and Saturday, June 27th, 2009, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum & Exposition Park, Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), returned for its 13th year with a truly phenomenal turnout. Producer/Performer Paul Van Dyk

On Saturday, such world-renowned artists as Paul van Dyk, David Guetta, Benny Benassi, Groove Armada, Kaskade and James Zabiela performed to the largest audiences they ever had in America. A combination of stellar musical sets from these talents along with other top-tier electronic musicians from around the globe, spectacular art installments by Gerard Minakawa, Dan Das Mann, Patrick Shearn and Jason Krugman (all of whose works have also shown at Coachella and/or Burning Man) and an intensely surreal assortment of performers created a carnival for the eyes and ears unparalleled by any other music festival.

In its first year as a two-day event, Southern California’s leading electronic music festival drew over 135,000 attendees: 45,000 on Friday and a whopping 90,000 on Saturday. The latter figure ranks Electric Daisy Carnival as one of the largest single day attended music festivals in the U.S.

The event was marked by spectacular staging and production, with massive lighting displays throughout the Coliseum and beyond, plus non-stop firework displays each night and not to mention free carnival rides on the field in the stadium itself as well as throughout Exposition Park. The Olympic Cauldron was also ignited several times throughout the festival, an honor reserved only during USC football games and other special occasions (i.e., when the Olympics are being held in another city).

Founded by Pasquale Rotella of Insomniac Events in 1996, Electric Daisy Carnival has become a staple of West Coast electronic music culture. For the last 12 years, many major icons of the genre have performed at the event including Moby, Above & Beyond, Deep Dish, Hernan Cattaneo, Pendulum, Ferry Corsten, Junkie XL, Sandra Collins, Jurassic 5, Ozomatli, VHS or BETA, Armand Van Helden, Z-Trip, Rabbit In The Moon, BT and many more. Over the years, there have been many unique venues in Southern California that have played host to EDC including the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach, Lake Dolores Waterpark in Barstow and Hansen Dam in Los Angeles. Insomniac Events have also brought the festival to other states including Colorado and Texas. On Friday, August 14 the festival will travel to Puerto Rico.

The complete talent line up can be found at: http://www.electricdaisycarnival.com/