Recap: EDC Orlando 2022

Over 100,000 people from all over the world gathered at Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida for EDC Orlando on November 11-13 this past weekend. Now in its eleventh year, the event was bigger and better than ever. The venue was transformed into an adult playground with circus performers, carnival rides, art displays, entertainment areas, vendors, and elaborate stages providing an unforgettable soundtrack on the Kinetic Field, Circuit Grounds, Neon Garden, Stereo Bloom, and Rynobus stages. In the center of the stages was a beach-themed area, Corona Electric Beach, which had sand, palm trees, and show-cased guest sets from 4B, ARMNHMR, Prankstisci, and Truth x Lies.

Day One

After a short delay due to weather, it turned out to be beautiful Friday to kick off the festivities as some of the headliners on the first day included: Martin Garrix, Alison Wonderland, CamelPhat, Afrojack, and Zeds Dead, I arrived at the venue greeted with open arms by the performers and staff. The first stage I headed was the New Jersey native, 4B, who dropped an energetic set that would set the mood for the entire weekend. He played some Jersey Club, House, and my favorite part of his set was when he had the whole crowd singing to a remix of The Fray’s “How to Save a Life”.

As the sun was going down, many people headed towards the main stage to catch Kaskade’s sunset set. Having seen him live many times, I knew what to expect, as his sets are perfect for the sunset and Florida weather. He played everything from “Disarm You” to “Take Me High” to “Room for Happiness”.

Some artists use EDC as a steppingstone and one those artists was ACRAZE. I first saw him at EDC Orlando in 2018 when he was performing at the smaller stages and four years later, he is one of the headliners playing on the Kinetic Stage in front of his hometown. ACRAZE had his entire family on stage and had them and the crowd rocking to all of his tracks including “Do It To It” and “Believe”.

To close out day one, I ventured to the Circuit Grounds stage to see Zeds Dead. Zeds Dead put on a show like nobody else, they had the people rocking the rails and headbanging the entire show to their original tracks and some remixes of throwback tracks including “Say My Name”, “No Scrubs”, and “Hip-Hop-Hooray”. Following their set, I had the chance to briefly talk to them about their new music, the impact they’ve made on so many people, and what we can expect from them next year.

Day Two

The day started off a little cloudy, but it turned out to be a stunning day in the Sunshine State and we were excited to see some of day two’s headliners including Dom Dolla, John Summit, and Slander.

Kicking off the day on the Kinetic stage was Australia’s Dom Dolla doing a sunset set and he tone for the entire evening as House music ruled the entire night. Dom has come a long way as an artist and to see him light up the main stage crowd the way he did was a memorable experience. Some of my favorite tracks he dropped during his set were remixes of “A Milli” and “Riverside” and originals “San Frandisco” and “Take It”.

Following Dom Dolla, I ventured to see John Summit, a very talented producer from Chicago who can rock a crowd. I was so stoked when he started and about midway through it felt like 80% of EDC had joined us at Neon Garden as the crowd had filled the entire area and spilled into the fields of other stages. John’s set was one of the most memorable sets I’ve heard in a long time and the crowd energy showed as he had everyone jumping, shuffling, and dancing to his House tracks that included “In Chicago” and “Human”. The “intimate” atmosphere John created combined with the music, lights, and awesome crowd at the Neon Garden stage was one of the highlights of my EDC weekend.

To finish out day two, I set off to Circuit Grounds to see Slander. Slander has a huge fan base, and their songs have a special meaning to me, so I’m always stoked to see them perform. The lights, visuals, pyro, and their music all complemented each other very well and they had the perfect set to close the evening. Some of the tracks they played included “Love is Gone”, “Superhuman”, and “Walk on Water” and they had the entire crowd singing to all their songs, it was such a picturesque sight to see and hear.

Day Three
WOOLI! WOOLI! WOOLI! Those were the chants I was hearing when I entered the festival grounds, so loud you could hear it from the outside the gates. The talented DJ/producer, WOOLI had a wild set from start to beginning opening with “Name Drop” and playing some of my favorites such as “Jungle Juice” (Ganja White Night & Liquid Stranger), “Lockdown”, and even played “Sandstorm”. This was my first time seeing WOOLI live, and he made me an instant fan.

Another favorite DJ/Producer of mine is Wax Motif, an Australian native that can get crowd pumped. Wax Motif performed at the Stereo Bloom stage, opened with “La Candela Viva” and played “Bump, Bump, Bump, Bump”, “Wet”, and “Keep Raving”.

To close out the entire, I had to see my guy DJ Snake. DJ Snake always knows how to throwdown a set. With peaks and valleys in his set, the buildup for drops were unlike any other. When you think he’s going one way, he does the opposite which is something I admire. All of Kinetic Field felt like a giant house party and he dropped tracks including “SouthSide”, “Trust Nobody”, “Nightbird’, and closed with “Let Me Love You” as the fireworks and pyro shot into the air to close the weekend.

After attending EDC Orlando for the 11th consecutive year, it was by far my favorite. We met countless people who preferred EDC Orlando to Ultra or EDC Vegas, mainly due to the large crowds as they felt this was great alternative to those events, and it felt more intimate from start to finish. The atmosphere as soon as you enter the gates, to dancing the night away to your favorite track with fellow attendees, to the astounding special effects (lights, pyro) truly made EDC Orlando an experience to remember. We would like to thank Insomniac Events, Pasquale, Corona Electric Beach, Liquid Death, the staff, labels, and all the artists for doing an excellent job with the event. The Insomniac Events staff has always been some of the most professional, first-class, and caring team we have had the pleasure to work with.

Our favorite sets were John Summit, Zeds Dead, Slander, ACRAZE, Dom Dolla, 4B, Wax Motif, WOOLI, DJ Snake