

EDC Las Vegas 2023: The Most Memorable Moments and Performances
From the massive production to amazing DJ sets to magical moments that will be remembered forever, EDC Las Vegas 2023 was one for the books.
Each year, thousands of headliners head out to the Mojave Desert to be under the electric sky, and EDC Las Vegas 2023 was no different. From May 19-21, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway became home to the dance community with over 520,000 people attending this year, the largest footprint yet in the festival’s history. Festival attendees from all across the United States and around the world danced the night away from dusk ‘til dawn to the tunes of their favorite DJs, hopping from stage to stage and creating new memories that will last a lifetime. Now that it has been over a week since Insomniac’s largest flagship festival took place, let’s look at some of the most memorable moments and performances of EDC Las Vegas 2023
The unexpected rainfall during Above & Beyond’s set at circuitGROUNDS
Temperatures during the month of May are known to be rather hot in Las Vegas and this year was no different, with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. This year though, a rather more-than-unusual amount of scattered thunderstorm clouds had been seen rolling through the desert sky. Though things had been pretty dry all throughout the day and night at the festival, a heavy downpour of rain occurred as Above & Beyond’s Paavo Siljamäki and Jono Grant performed at the circuitGROUNDS stage. The rain began a little before the festival’s daily fireworks show and ended shortly after the magical display in the sky did, creating a magical and rare 20-minute moment of transcendence that will be cherished forever.
Dom Dolla brought the heat at circuitGROUNDS
Dominic Matheson, more commonly known as Dom Dolla, brought his house groove to the LED walls of circuitGROUNDS. All gas, no brakes is the best way to describe the sensation that was felt during the Australian DJ/producer’s set as he played his tunes such as ‘Take It’ and ‘San Frandisco’ and his track that went viral on TikTok before even releasing it ‘Rhyme Dust’ with MK. The tempo began to speed up as Dom Dolla got to the last half of his set and the lasers and strobe lights filled the sky above the crowd as he played MEDUZA’s ‘Friends’ followed by Mau P’s latest techno release ‘Your Mind Is Dirty.’ As Dom Dolla danced to the tunes that he was mixing, his visuals were playing on the giant LED wall right behind him and on the walls surrounding both sides of the stage, creating another immersive element for the crowd to enjoy as they danced the night away. He ended his set with Dimension’s electrifying drum n’ bass remix of his track ‘Rhyme Dust,’ making sure that no gas went to waste.
The synchronized festival fireworks show with kineticFIELD
The main stage and heart of EDC is no other than the larger-than-life kineticFIELD. Its massive display of production will always remind you that you are in a special world that has been carefully thought out by Pasquale Rotella and the whole Insomniac team. Elements of the stage awaken at various points throughout the festival, with special ceremonies occurring during some changeovers. The most exciting ceremony no doubt is the fireworks ceremony when kineticFIELD synchronizes with the festival’s fireworks show that fills up the whole entire sky above. A special soundtrack is played through the main stage’s speakers, which has been timed to last throughout the whole fireworks show. You don’t have to pay close attention to realize that the fireworks are literally dancing and firing off to what is being played at kineticFIELD. Although DJs are playing at the other stages during the fireworks show, their sets aren’t specially synchronized with the precision of the soundtrack of kineticFIELD. With that being said, catching the festival fireworks at the main stage at least once in one of the three nights during EDC is a moment one must experience for themselves.
Armin van Buuren brought kineticFIELD into A State Of Trance
Nostalgia was alive and well as Armin van Buuren opened his set with his 2023 ID remix of his 2013 track ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ featuring Trevor Guthrie. A great display of fireworks, pyro, lasers, strobes and floodlights set off each time at the beginning of each drop as Armin played multiple IDs, as well as his tracks such as ‘Let’s Rave, Make Love’ with Shapov, ‘Tarzan’ with Blasterjaxx, his mashup of ‘Reflexion’ with ‘Leave A Little Love,’ and ‘On and On’ with Punctual. At this point of the set, Armin had full control of the crowd and began to kick things up a notch to an even faster. He brilliantly mashed up his trance track ‘Orbion’ with the drop of Hardwell and Olly James’ ‘Flatline,’ indicating that things are about to head in a dark direction. 138 BPM beats begin to blast through the speakers of KineticField such as Hardwell’s remix of Calvin Harris’ ‘Miracle’ and Armin’s tracks ‘Computers Take Over The World’ and ‘Great Spirit’ with Vini Vici. Things went to even higher depths as Armin played his energetic ID ‘Space Case’ shortly before bringing up the Rave Mamas up to the stage with him as he closed his set with an insane hardstyle mashup of ‘Blah Blah Blah’ with ‘Wild Wild Son.’
Don’t miss out on any magical moments such as the ones above next year! Be sure to sign up for the EDC Las Vegas 2024 pre-sale here.

- David Guetta: Cover Story