ABOUT FESTIVALS

Festivals

Pictured is an EDM festival in 2013 with over 100,000 attendees, exhibiting the large crowds and dramatic lighting systems common at such events since the early 2000s.

In the 1990s and 2000s, aspects of the underground rave culture of the 1980s and early 90's began to evolve into legitimized electronic music concerts and festivals. Major festivals often feature a large number of acts representing various genres of electronic music—ranging from top headlining acts to up and coming or local talent—spread across multiple stages. Festivals have placed a larger emphasis on visual spectacles as part of their overall experiences, including elaborate stage designs with complex lighting systems, laser shows, and pyrotechnics, along with the attire of their attendees. These commercial events are also differentiated from underground raves by their organized nature, often taking place at major venues, and having measures to ensure the health and safety of attendees.

Notable U.S. electronic music festivals include the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, New York City's Electric Zoo, and TomorrowWorld—a spin-off of Belgium's Tommorowland festival held outside of Atlanta. Rawley Bornstein, an MTV music and talent programmer, described electronic music as "the new rock and roll," as has Lollapalooza organizer Perry Ferrell. Ray Waddell, touring editor at Billboard magazine, noted that festival promoters have done an excellent job at branding.

The increasing mainstream prominence of electronic music has also led major multi-genre festivals, such as Lollapaloozaand Coachella, to add more electronic and dance acts to their lineups, along with dedicated, EDM-oriented stages. Even with these accommodations, some major electronic acts, such as Deadmau5 and Calvin Harris respectively, have made appearances on main stages during the final nights of Lollapalooza and Coachella respectively—spots traditionally reserved for prominent non-electronic genres, such as rock and alternative.

A growing number of deaths caused by drug usage—an element carried over from it—have occurred at major festivals in recent years. Following the death of a 15 year-old attendee from an MDMA overdose at EDC Los Angeles in 2010, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum refused to host EDC or any other Insomniac-organized electronic music events, forcing the festival to move to its current home of Las Vegas the following year. Festival founder Pasquale Rotella argued that the death was an isolated incident that did not reflect the experience had by the majority of attendees. In 2013, Electric Zoo's final day was cancelled outright after two attendees died from hyperthermia caused by an overdose of MDMA. In response to these and similar incidents, festivals have employed a larger health and security presence to ensure the safety of attendees, implemented zero tolerance policies, and have partnered with anti-drug advocacy groups.

Drug deaths and other incidents have forced local governments to evaluate whether the risks of hosting EDM events outweigh the economic impact that they can bring to a municipality and its surrounding area: the 2014 Ultra Music Festival brought 165,000 attendees—and over $223 million—to the Miami/South Florida region's economy. The inaugural TomorrowWorld brought $85.1 million to the Atlanta area — as much revenue as its hosting of the NCAA Final Four earlier in the year.

The following is an incomplete list of notable EDM festivals held worldwide, excluding festivals with only a large EDM stage:

Europe

• Love Parade (1989 - 2010) in Germany
• Mayday (1991–Present) in Dortmund, Germany.
• Street Parade (1992–Present) in Zurich, Switzerland
• Boom Festival (1997–Present) in Portugal
• Creamfields (1998–Present) in Daresbury, England, Europe
• Sensation White/Black (2000–Present) in the Netherlands
• Global Gathering (2001–Present) in Europe
• Bang Face (2003–Present) in the UK.
• Qlimax (2003–Present) in the Netherlands
• Tomorrowland (2005–present) in Boom, Belgium
• Electric Love (2013-Present) in Plainfeld, Austria.
• Ultra Europe (2013–present) in Hvar, Croatia
• Defqon.1 Festival (2003–Present) in the Netherlands
• Weekend Festival (2012–Present) in Helsinki, Finland
• Electric Castle Festival (2013–Present) in Romania
• Electric Love (2013-Present) in Austria

North America

• Shambhala Music Festival, Salmo, BC (1998–present)
• Nocturnal Wonderland, multiple cities (1994–present)
• Electric Daisy Carnival, multiple cities (1997–present)
• Ultra Music Festival, Miami (1999–present)
• Movement Festival, Detroit (2000–present)
• Lightning in a Bottle, California (2000–present)
• Decibel Festival, Seattle (2004–present)
• Moogfest, Asheville (2004-2008, 2010–present)
• San Francisco LovEvolution (2004–present)
• HARD, multiple cities (2007–present)
• Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury, Michigan (2008–present)
• Spring Awakening, Chicago (2008–present)
• Electric Zoo, New York City (2009–present)
• Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit, Asheville (2013)
• TomorrowWorld, Atlanta (2013–present)
• Paradiso Festival, The Gorge Amphitheater, WA (2012–present)

India

• Vh1 Supersonic.
• Sunburn
• World Together Festival(WTF!) (Yet to Start)