Electric Daisy Carnival Is ‘Our Generation’s Woodstock,’ Says DJ Kaskade

Scores of millennials flocked to North America’s largest dance music event, Electric Daisy Carnival, in Las Vegas over the weekend, as evidenced by the never-ending trails of cars splashed with neon window paint and filled to the brim with dancing, smiling music lovers. Destination: known.

However, the Vegas Strip and greater area seemed woefully unprepared for the massive crowds that descended upon the city, with an estimated 345,000 people attending the three-day event held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and boasting more than 150 electronic music producers and DJs including Pretty Lights, Afrojack, Tiësto, Major Lazer and Kaskade among many others.

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While there were some disappointed fans on day two of EDC when high winds shut down the event around 1 a.m., eliminating the special Steve Aoki and Blue Man Group performance, day three was in full swing from the start, with several surprises booked to make up for the unexpected circumstances, including most notably a set by Avicii, who filled the last half-hour of David Guetta’s scheduled slot and an abundance of pyrotechnics.

Grammy-winning producer Nick van de Wall, better known as Afrojack, delivered a bone-rattling set on night one of EDC, which included his remix of Rihanna‘s “We Found Love” and a brand-new remix of the track “This Is Love” by Will.i.am featuring Eva Simons.

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“This was the first song I ever produced that actually brought pop music to a dance track, taking pop influence to dance,” Afrojack told The Hollywood Reporter of his new remix. “Usually I take dance influence to pop, but I did it the other way around, and it worked.”

Indeed, young fans embraced the made-for-EDC remixes by dancing around enthusiastically in a variety of bedazzled clothes, daisy-embellished bras, neon frocks and glowing accessories.

Showgoers buzzed about the Grammy-nominated Serbian-Australian DJ Dirty South, aka Dragan Roganovic, who made a splash at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival in March and hit the massive kineticFIELD stage Sunday night for his EDC debut. 

EDM veteran Ryan Raddon, aka Kaskade, brought his blend of Chicago-style house to a sea of hungry fans and they devoured the 90-minute set, which included his take on the Neon Trees’ “Lessons In Love” remix and Kelly Clarkson‘s “Stronger.” It was Kaskade’s fourth time playing EDC but his first at the festival’s new Vegas home.

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“This is our generation’s Woodstock, this is our moment,” Kaskade told THR of the massive event that saw some 115,000 fans with mind-boggling stamina dance until the sun came up on the final night. Next up: EDC Puerto Rico on Aug. 18 — and judging from the enthusiasm of the exiting crowds, many repeat customers can be expected.

Twitter: @THRMusic