The Best Things We Saw at EDC Mexico 2019

Marc van der Aa for Insomniac Events

Electric Daisy Carnival has often been seen as one of the meccas of electronic music all around the world. Whether you are in Las Vegas or Orlando you can be rest assured that Insomniac’s quality control comes with every event. But EDC stretches to more than just America. In 2018, EDC held festivals in Shanghai, Tokyo and Mexico City. 2019 brought the return of EDC to Mexico City for the 6th rendition of the festival. EDC Mexico called the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez home February 23 and 24th for the 2019 rendition of the festival and featured 9 stages.

It featured performances from heavy hitters like RL Grime, Alesso, Kaskade, Kygo and Skrillex…and that’s just a few of the acts. If you haven’t made it to an EDC and live in America, EDC Mexico is a fantastic choice. Flights can be extremely reasonable if you book out far enough and your dollar travels far. Definitely put it on your list. We had the chance to make it to EDC Mexico 2019 and took note of some of our favorite things we saw all weekend. 

Most Iconic Set

Skrillex

Every festival has a set that people will remember the most about it – and with it being live streamed, people all over the world were talking about it. Skrillex’s triumphant return to Mexico was loaded with essential Skrillex songs played from front to back. He treated the Mexican crowd to favorites like “Rock N’ Roll” and “Devil’s Den.” He even closed with the vocals from “Cinema” before playing out “Bangarang” and a drum and bass remix of “Scary Monsters Nice Sprites.” Skrillex is back everybody.

Best House Party Set

Snakehips

A music festival has all kinds of sets – some are made for main stages, some are for a tent with minimal production – but every now and then you run into a set that can thrive on not just any stage at a music festival and if the same set was played in a basement house party – it would go off just as well. Snakehips’ set at the circuit grounds on day two featured vocals from the likes of DMX, Waka Flaka Flame, and of course Soulja Boy. Blended with their affinity for future bass and the occasional trap tune it made for the perfect dance party.

Best Early 1-2 Punch

Happy Colors –> GG Magree

Playing the early sets at a dance music festival is never easy – especially one that ends at 2 am. As the Mexican sun beats down, it is sometimes hard to pull the energy out of the crowd. Happy Colors and GG Magree were tasked with the duty of playing the Circuit Grounds at 3:40 and 4:30, respectively. Dominican Republic born Happy Colors’ affinity for Moombahton and latino music was the perfect way for EDC Mexico to get warmed up for the day. GG Magree followed with her EDC Mexico bringing with her an infectious energy that the crowd easily picked up on. Her energy gave life to the crowd and she prepared everyone for the rest of the day.

Scott Hutchinson for Insomniac Events

Best Crowd Control

Justin Martin

Crowd Control is hard to justify – I like to define it as who looks like they controlled the crowd the most like a puppet master. Justin Martin played the Neon Garden for almost 2 hours on Saturday night. The tent features minimal production besides a few lights and lasers making it the perfect environment for house music. His control over the crowd was truly a thing to see. When J-Mart raised his hands – the crowd followed suit – as he took the crowd with his unique take on dance music, they matched his energy almost to a T. When he danced, they danced. If he screamed, they screamed. House music is universal.

Best Mashup

Wuki – Pon De Time

Wuki’s “Pon De Time” made it to a handful of sets over the weekend – and let me tell you – it went off ever.single.time. By the time Gryffin played it at 9:30 PM on the second day of the festival the crowd was ready for it – and started singing along before the drop. Expect to keep hearing it all festival season.

MVPs

Beer & Food Vendors

Imagine this-you’re deep in the crowd maybe 8 rows back from the rail, there’s a sea of people every day around you – you’re hungry, thirsty and you just ran out of beer. Most festivals you’ll have to leave the crowd and then wait in line at a booth or a bar. EDC Mexico’s street vendor culture extends to deep into the fest. Beer, water, food and snack vendors will make their way deep into a crowd to sell whatever they have. Beers, ramen, tacos even Domino’s pizza will show up right in front of you. If you watch these guys navigate through the crowd, you will immediately gain respect for them.

Biggest Surprise

The amount of Drum and Bass What So Not Played

What So Not’s set at EDC Mexico was jam packed with songs from his newest album – but the biggest surprise was the amount of Drum and Bass he played. It was such a nice change of pace from the whole festival and the crowd was hungry for every single switch-up. The combination of What so Not anthems, drum and bass the occasional experimental bass tune was such a breath of fresh air in a long two days of music.

Best Festival Amenities

Portapotties b2b Uber

A music festival at heart is stages with great music playing, but it takes more than just great acts to put on a fest. Other festivals should take notes – the amount of portapotties in each bathroom section were almost endless. If you walked towards the end – there was portapotties that felt almost brand new even at 9 pm. It may sound like an interesting thing to celebrate – but you truly don’t want to be at a festival where bathrooms are an issue. 

Tied with the portapotties is The Uber lines to get out – the walk from the festival gates to the Uber line to get out was filled with Uber employees explaining where to go with smiles on their faces. The Uber waiting section had wifi and charging stations so everyone could get home safely and quickly enough. Sure with thousands of people trying to get out, it may have taken a bit long – but the wait was pleasant enough.

Thank you to EDC Mexico for an incredible 2019 – can’t wait to see what 2020 brings.

The Best Things We Saw at EDC Mexico 2019