Mason · Bailey · Drake · Matt · Dave · Trent — this is for the six of you. Saturday splits naturally: four of us land in Vegas, three of you are already at the Speedway for Day 2. Sunday all seven of us are inside the gates. The one moment I'd love to share with everyone — Alison Wonderland. Everything else is yours, however you want it.
2016. Mason and I went to our first EDC. The first person we met — in the elevator, before the Day 1 shuttle — was Drake. 2026. The three of us hit our 10th together, and we get to share it with you all. Bailey's bringing Mason in from LA. Matt's the local — Summerlin, EDC vet. Dave + Trent — Dave was on that 2019 Electric Zoo VIP list with Drake and me. EDC turns 30, we turn 10. So glad you're in it with us.
Saturday splits naturally. Four of us — me, Drake, Mason, Bailey — land in Vegas mid-afternoon and have the night to settle in. Three of you — Matt, Dave, Trent — are already at the Speedway for Day 2. The two tracks meet up Sunday.
🩸 What I'm thinking · Universal Horror Unleashed @ AREA15
Year-round, Thu–Sun. Four movie-IP haunted houses — Universal Monsters · Blumhouse's Exorcist: Believer · Texas Chainsaw Massacre · Scarecrow: The Reaping. Four themed zones, roaming scare actors, live stage show, bars and dining. Mason — this is your lane, and AREA15 is off-Strip near Meow Wolf, likely a quick hop from Angela's.
How I'd love to play it: Unlimited-entry for the four of us so we can re-hit the best house. Roll in around 5 PM, swing the will-call pickup on the way, dinner inside (next card), back to Angela's by 11. Open to anything else though — say the word if a different shape works better.
🍷 Bigger swing · Food, Film, Frights @ Premiere House
Inside UHU. Blumhouse-themed restaurant. 4-course prix fixe + a surprise horror movie + themed cocktails. Brand-new series — runs only "select Sat/Sun nights" all of May 2026, maybe 4-8 total seatings. The version of the night I think we'd be telling stories about for years.
I'm trying to book it for May 16. The calendar isn't web-indexed; it's a phone-call situation — (800) 447-0679. No credit card to book. UHU admission required. 21+ for cocktails. Will let y'all know what I lock down.
👻 If UHU doesn't pull anyone
⏰ Two soft ideas for Saturday
Will-call pickup if it's easy. Sat 2 PM – 2 AM window is generous. Picking up wristbands Saturday means Sunday is just music.
Pacing. Sunday's 7 PM → 5:30 AM. Whatever lets you wake up Sunday feeling fresh.
Matt, Dave, Trent — y'all are inside the Speedway Saturday while the rest of us settle into Vegas. It's your night. Different headliners, different stages, your rhythm. No expectations from the group chat — enjoy it however it feels right. We meet up Sunday.
Convoy thoughts: the four of us at Angela's can roll out together — Matt, want to scoop us, or should we meet you somewhere on the way? Whatever's easiest. Bailey's car is also an option since you're driving from LA anyway. Dave + Trent — y'all are already in EDC orbit Saturday, so let's just plan to find each other inside the gates. The giant owl in Downtown EDC is the easy landmark; if 7:30 PM works for a quick hi, beautiful — if not, the Alison meet-up at midnight is the one I really hope we all make. Pre-game dinner thoughts: Esther's Kitchen, Echo & Rig, or whatever's near Angela's. Coming home at sunrise: caravan back, crash at Angela's.
Roam however you want. Drake, Bailey, Matt, Dave, Trent — everyone has their own ears. Chase the sets that pull you, drift the corners that feel right. Trying to herd seven through nine stages was never going to work, and I love that about all of you.
Mason and I will be the easy pair. The hour-by-hour below is the path I'm drawing for the two of us. It's a path, not the path. Join us anywhere it sounds good, leave anywhere it doesn't.
The one moment I'd love to share: Alison Wonderland · 12:05 AM · Cosmic Meadow. If you're close and the night allows it, come find the rail. Everything else is yours.
The Speedway lays out as one giant oval. Memorize this and you'll never lose the crew. Daisy Lane runs across the top connecting Bionic Jungle → Kinetic → Stereo Bloom → Quantum Valley. Memory Lane drops south from Cosmic Meadow into Downtown EDC, the central plaza. Rainbow Road + Electric Avenue get you to the bottom-row stages (Wasteland, Bass Pod, Circuit Grounds).
Walking times that matter Sunday: Cosmic Meadow → Kinetic ≈ 10 min via Daisy Lane. Cosmic → Stereo Bloom ≈ 8 min (the Skream detour). Cosmic → Bass Pod ≈ 10 min. Kinetic → Circuit ≈ 12 min. Plan one stage migration per hour, not two.
A reminder I want to give myself out loud: EDC isn't only stages. Some of the best moments — every year — happen between sets. Walking Daisy Lane at 8 PM with the sun gone and the lasers warming up. Stopping under the giant owl in Downtown EDC just to look up. A stranger handing you a bracelet. Climbing on an art car as it rolls past. The Ferris wheel from the back of the Cosmic Meadow lawn.
The hour-by-hour below is a path I'm drawing — but I want to leave real space for wandering. If a card below says "9:00 PM" and at 9:00 PM the magic is happening on a different lane, that's the magic. Go.
Things worth a wander when you have a window: Downtown EDC (giant owl + art installations + kandi exchanges + art cars), the Insomniac Passport stamp activations early (lines are nothing 7–10 PM), the carnival rides, the Trinket Tent for 30th-anniversary merch, Memory Lane's art at midnight. None of it requires planning. Just leave the room for it.
Side stages worth bumping into: for the 30th, EDC has 8 side stages + art cars beyond the 9 mains — they cluster near Downtown EDC. The standout for Sunday: Takis Rave Hangar, the drum & bass den. Rohaan plays a DnB set 10:00–11:30 PM, and Skanka, Justin Hawkes, AK1200, and others rotate through across the weekend. If DnB pulls you, this is the room.
Walk in. The festival is the opening act.
wanderWhichever gate, drift toward Daisy Lane. The first hour is for letting the place wash over you — the giant owl, the megastructure, art cars rolling, the lasers warming up against the dusk. No need to sprint anywhere yet. Hit Casa Bacardi for a first drink if it pulls you. Mason and I will probably just walk for the first hour.
Wander or warm up — Sippy, Ship Wrek, or Downtown EDC
bassPOD: Sippy kineticFIELD: Ship Wrek or wanderSippy at Bass Pod (7:50–8:40) is bass-pop joy and an easy first set. Ship Wrek at Kinetic if you want the big-room glow. Or stay in Downtown EDC — the Insomniac Passport stamp lines are nothing this early, the art is fresh, and the kandi exchanges flow easily before the crowd thickens.
Anna · techno cathedral
circuitGROUNDSBrazilian techno queen, 8:30–10:00. The 1720-Warehouse-coded slot of the night. Worth catching 30 min, then drifting. Alt: Layton Giordani at Kinetic for harder, faster minimal.
⭐ San Holo · Cosmic Meadow
cosmicMEADOWWholesome riddim. Melodic dubstep with feelings. The "tear up on purpose" warmup before Alison if you want the long approach — easy to settle in at Cosmic from here.
If a different sound is calling: Funk Tribu (Kinetic, 10:07–11:15) for Italian techno that's been the talk of the season — or Rohaan at Takis Rave Hangar (10:00–11:30) for the drum & bass den, if DnB is your thing.
Dabin · holds the room
cosmicMEADOWDabin → Alison is a beautiful pairing. If you're aiming for the rail, this is when it's worth claiming. A clean water break here goes a long way before the big one.
Detour for legends: Skream masterclass at stereoBLOOM, 10:30–11:45. Dubstep originator. Worth the 7-minute walk if Mason wants the throwback.
Electric Zoo 2019 — Brennan and me, tearing up at her set, "in the dancefloor sense and the good cry sense." Drake, Dave — you were on that VIP list with us. Seven years and one full chapter later, I get to watch her again with Mason next to me, Bailey, Matt, Trent, and the two of you. The ten-year arc, the seven of us.
Seven Lions · stay put
cosmicMEADOWSeven Lions follows Alison at the same stage — melodic bass into trance. The flow is intentional and the floor will not move. Ride it.
Choose your second peak
Solomun (Circuit, 1:00–2:30) Martin Garrix (Kinetic, 1:47–2:57)Two A-tier paths. Solomun is the deep-house pilgrimage; Garrix is the festival-anthem fireworks. Wander wherever the music sounds best to you — Mason and I will probably let the floor decide.
Vintage Culture · Cloonee · or wander it out
circuitGROUNDS kineticFIELD or wanderVintage Culture (Circuit, 2:30–4:00) is your gorgeous-Brazilian-house finale. Cloonee (Kinetic, 3:01–4:10) is your tech-house anthem moment. Or take this hour to wander Downtown EDC — the late-night version of the plaza is its own thing, art cars roaming, kandi flowing easy, the Ferris wheel turning. Easy time to find a stranger to trade beads with before the sunrise push.
⭐ Armin van Buuren · the SUNRISE set
kineticFIELD4:14 → 5:28 AM. The closing set on the main stage as the desert sky turns pink. Hard to imagine a sweeter way to end the tenth. Mason and I will be at Kinetic for this — if you want the sunrise on the main stage, that's where we'll be.
If you want the underground sunrise instead: Aeon:Mode (Blanke's project) at bassPOD, 4:30–5:30. Cinematic dubstep dawn. Both work.
Mason, Drake, and I got into our first elevator together in 2016, rode the shuttle, and never stopped. Matt — you've been doing EDC from Summerlin and are in the gates all three days. Bailey — driving Mason from LA, joining the Sunday floor. Dave — you were on that 2019 Electric Zoo VIP list with Drake and me, the same trip where Alison Wonderland made me cry — and Trent's joining you.
Mason and I will be the easy pair Sunday. Everyone else — follow your ears. Dave + Trent will want their own thing. Drake will chase what Drake wants. Matt knows the speedway. Bailey too. The one moment I'd love to share with everyone: Alison Wonderland, 12:05 AM, Cosmic Meadow. The rest is yours. The dancefloor is where the people you love stop being who they are everywhere else and become who they are with you. Cosmic at midnight if you can. Sunrise at Kinetic if you want it. Ten years on the wrist.