EDC Music Festival Moves Forward With May Dates, It’s Complicated

The EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) music festival officially announced the event will move forward with its May 21-23, 2021 dates.

That sound you hear is thousands of people shrieking. Some with glee, some with dismay, but it’s happening.

The startling news came just one day after authorities rejected EDC’s safety plan.

Interestingly, EDC is older than most of its attendees.

The eleventh hour decision to proceed with holding the massive event in May was a nail-biter. Previously, multiple sources shared the event would be postponed to October, but organizers had other plans.

EDC’s CEO Pasqual Rotella announced the big news in an Instagram post. Naturally. Because news releases are drenched in weaksauce.

Rotella, which also happens to be one of our favorite pastas, said, “Electric Daisy Carnival is finally on the horizon. There were times during the pandemic when many of us lost hope. We were challenged to learn and listen to our hearts and trust that the storm would eventually pass, making way for a bright and sunny future for those in our community and around the world.”

Let’s just say Rotella knows his target demo.

He continued, “With the world being shut down for over a year, I’m happy to announce we’re on our way to being able to celebrate in person. Book your flights, hotels and shuttles—EDC Las Vegas is on for May 21+22+23!”

While EDC’s original safety plan wasn’t approved, we trust a variation thereof will be.

The 12-page plan (see it in .pdf format) includes all the things you’d expect, like masks, but two elements stand out.

First, there could be COVID-sniffing dogs, which we didn’t even know what a thing before now. That’s right, rona dogs!

The plan even included an area dubbed the COVID Detection Canine Corral.

We aren’t a music festival person, but we damn well are a canine corral person.

EDC’s proposed plan also relies heavily on Health Pass, an app we predicted would be the next big thing in Las Vegas back in Dec. 2020. Our crystal ball comes in handy, not that we have to make everything about us.

The Health Pass mobile app basically connects I.D. verification, lab results and ticketing, so venues can say those entering have been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID.

Sounds like fun!

Health Pass
Before you get all indignant, use of apps and attendance at music festivals are both voluntary.

Given EDC’s plan was rejected by authorities, we honestly have no clue how organizers decided to move forward.

It could be organizers go the O.K. to proceed with adjustments to its plan, or they decided, “Thank you for your input, but we’re holding our rave, anyway.”

Given this is an outdoor event, and there’s relatively little serious risk for younger people (the vast majority of EDC attendees), we say full steam ahead, EDC.

This huge gathering (EDC expects 200,000 people to attend), held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is likely to do just what EDC says it will: It will be the first major live concert event in a year, and will symbolically “kick-start the event and hospitality industries” in Las Vegas and beyond.

EDC says the event contributes $300 million to the Las Vegas economy, and those dollars will be welcome in a tourism-based town especially hard hit by the pandemic.

There’s been some glorious drama behind the scenes with EDC, and we can’t wait to see how the saga unfolds.

Update (4/20/21): EDC organizers have reversed course, announcing EDC will, indeed, be postponed until Oct. 2021. Told you it’s complicated.